How do you correctly pronounce the word "niche"?

Question

Like niche market, for example. Is it nitch or neesh?

Answer 1

neesh or nitch, either is acceptable

Answer 2

From the American Heritage® Book of English Usage.
A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English. (1996)

"This 17th-century borrowing from French has traditionally been pronounced (nich), rhyming with itch. The pronunciation (neesh), rhyming with quiche, is a 20th-century revival of the French pronunciation, which some people dislike because they think it seems affected. However, this pronunciation is now given by most dictionaries as a standard variant."
http://www.bartleby.com/64/C007/0139.html

Answer 3

I was always taught it was "Neesh" if you were talking about, for example, a "niche market", that the "nitch" pronunciation was more about something else, like talking about corners, nooks and crannies (small spaces in other words).

I could be wrong though, language changes all the time, and that doesn't even count dialect. Either one is in the ballpark. :)

Answer 4

Read (pro. reed), is a verb and read (pro. red) is past tense for "reed.". So, 1. Could be reed or red depending on the context. 2. Pronounced red is correct. 3. Like I said, it could go either way depending on the context. If you read something in the past, it's pronounced "red". If you are explaining how you generally, do read (reed) something, then "reed" is correct. Hope this clarifies things for you.

Answer 5

I think both would be fine. There's an audio clip of that word's pronunciation at
http://www.answers.com/niche

Answer 6

It's nitch

Answer 7

Several pronunciations are considered correct/acceptable - can rhyme with "pitch" or "fish" or or "quiche" according to merriam webster, and I've heard it rhymed to "teach" and thought it was fine.

Answer 8

Both are correct, although in business they use "nitch."

Answer 9

It's the latter.

Answer 10

I've heard both with about equal frequency and use both with about equal frequency.