How to Pronounce COVID-19

COVID-19 is pronounced "KOH-vid NINE-teen." The first part rhymes with "go" and "video," and the second part is just the number 19 said out loud. The stress falls on the first syllable: KOH-vid.

COVID-19 includes the year "19" because the disease was first identified in 2019. The full name helps distinguish it from other coronavirus diseases. Many people shorten it to just "COVID" in everyday conversation, which is perfectly fine.

COVID stands for "Coronavirus Disease." The full scientific name of the virus that causes it is SARS-CoV-2, but COVID-19 is the name doctors and news outlets use when talking about the illness itself.

COVID-19 has three syllables when you say it out loud: CO-vid-NINE-teen. The stress naturally falls on the first syllable (KOH), making it sound like "KOH-vid nine-TEEN" in normal speech.

Many people accidentally stress the second syllable and say "co-VID nineteen," but the correct way puts the emphasis on the first syllable: "KOH-vid nineteen." Another common mistake is pronouncing it "CO-vid" to rhyme with "vivid," when it should rhyme more with "go."

Not exactly—coronavirus is a broad family of viruses, while COVID-19 is the specific disease caused by one coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2. Think of it like this: all COVID-19 cases involve a coronavirus, but not all coronaviruses cause COVID-19.

The standard way to write it is "COVID-19" with a capital C and a hyphen between "COVID" and "19." Some sources write it as "COVID 19" (with a space instead of a hyphen) or just "COVID," and all of these are understood, but COVID-19 with the hyphen is most correct.

Here's an example: "During the pandemic, many people had to learn how to pronounce COVID-19 correctly." You'd use it the same way you'd use the name of any other disease—as a noun that describes a specific illness.