how do you pronounce Dubai?

[funkyblackbird]

Dobuy
or Dewbuy?

We've been watching the programme about the QE2 hotel and one presenter says Dobuy and the other Dewbuy. Aside from one of them being intensely irritating because it's wrong we are now wondering if we have been saying it wrong all this time!

Do buy.

Although both sound right 🤔

Umm none of those ways, 'dub-eye' here.....

Doo bye

Its doo by.

That makes it sound really similar but definitely 'DU' rather than 'DO'

DoBUY.

The emphasis is another debate.

Do bye

DoBuy

Emirati locals pronounce it more Debb-EYE, but the 'D' sound is soft, like the 'th' sound at the beginning of 'thou'.

Du-bey, this is how it’s pronounced in Arabic .

Otherwise du-bye.

And to be perfectly honest, the overwhelming majority of non-Arabic-speaking expats who live there could not be less concerned about the correct pronunciation of the name of where they live.

Dew-bye is wrong. It is pronounced Doo-bye (although the latter syllable has a slightly different sound to the way we say "bye", it's too hard to write)

doo-bye

Worked in Travel for many years. Everyone I ever met in the UK Industry pronounces it DoBuy with emphasis on 2nd syllabus.

Yep in Arabic speaking/Muslim countries its pronounced Du-bay.

OP do you mean ‘Jew-buy’ vs ‘Do-buy’? I saw the QE2 documentary and couldn’t believe the narrator was pronouncing it ‘jew-buy’! I cringed every time she said it...

I probably need to enunciate better but I say it as D'buy. If I were to speak more slowly and correctly I'd say Donut rather than Dewbuy.

Same as @Cheesecakejar so does everyone I know.

Or at least those of which have used the word Dubai around me.

If I were to speak more slowly and correctly I'd say Donut rather than Dewbuy.

I used to work for the ruling family and they say 'Doo-bye', but with a slightly different accent. Certainly not 'dew' or 'bay'

Ha ha ha @Knocka - shitting autocorrect! That'll teach me!

Doo-bye.

Doobye.
I used to live in that part of the world and that’s what everybody called it.

Do bye