A guide to saying it correctly
How to Pronounce San Jose
Pronounce the 'o' like 'oh' and the 'e' like 'ay' for this major California city.
san jose
san HO-zay
/ˌsæn ˈhoʊ.zeɪ/ · san · HO · zay
Native US English · Kokoro neural TTS · 0:01
It's a major hub in Silicon Valley.
Where the word comes from
The city was founded by Spanish settlers in 1777 and named after Saint Joseph (San José in Spanish).
Common ways people get it wrong
- san JO-zee This common mistake likely comes from misinterpreting the Spanish 'j' sound or confusing it with other English words ending in '-ee'.
- san ho-ZAY While the end is correct, the stress should fall on the middle syllable, 'HO', not the last one.
Frequently asked
Is it San Ho-say or San Ho-zay?
The standard American English pronunciation is 'San HO-zay', with the 'z' sound. The 'say' sound at the end is key.
What's the stress pattern for San Jose?
The main stress falls on the second syllable: san HO-zay. There's a secondary stress on the first syllable, 'san'.
How do Spanish speakers pronounce San Jose?
In Spanish, it would be closer to 'Sahn Ho-SEH', with a distinct 'h' sound and the stress on the final syllable.
