How to Pronounce Djimon Hounsou's Name (We've Been Doing It Wrong All Along)

Summary

• Djimon Hounsou has been a household name for years.
• But are we pronouncing it right?
• Actually, there are two ways to do it, and they both include a silent 'D'.

He has been popping up on our screens since the late 1980s. With an impressive list of 69 acting projects, Hounsou is part of many fan-favorite franchises including the MCU, DCEU, Stargate, Fast & Furious, Quiet Place, and now Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon. He is a multiple award winner and two-time Oscar nominee. He is just a guy with a mesmerizing screen presence. And we still don't know how to pronounce his name.

The outstanding actor was born in Cotonou, Benin, which means that his name is of French origin. And we know how difficult French names can be for English speakers to pronounce. In fact, Djimon Hounsou can be pronounced in two different ways.

The American vs. French Pronunciation

In most interviews and introductions by various English-speaking hosts, the Guardians of the Galaxy star's name sounds like this - JIY-MUN HAAN-SOO. The first name rhymes with 'Simon', with JIY sounding like 'bye' and MUN - like 'sun'. In the family name, HAAN rhymes with 'darn' and SOO rhymes with 'too'.

The actor himself has never disputed this way of pronouncing his name. But as a man who grew up speaking French, it is probably more comfortable for him to hear the authentic French version. In one of the interviews, Hounsou confirmed that the correct pronunciation of his name is ZHEE-MOOR, where the soft ZHEE rhymes with 'free' and MOOR - with SORE, spoken by a Londoner. The emphasis is on the second syllable and the 'D' is silent.

As for the last name, the way the French pronounce it, the first letter 'H' is also silent. It goes like this - OON-SOO with a long nasal U at the beginning and SOO again rhyming with 'too'.

What is Djimon Hounsou doing now?

Now that we know how to pronounce his name authentically, let's see what discussions about ZHEE-MOOR OON-SOO await us in the near future.

The actor continues to play Henri, an alien invasion survivor in the A Quiet Place franchise, with the latest film still in theaters and coming to Paramount+ sometime in August or September.

Additionally, an R-rated director's cut of Rebel Moon - Chapter Two, titled Curse of Forgiveness, is scheduled to premiere on Netflix on August 2, 2024. Djimon Hounsou plays Titus, an Imperium general who has turned against the world he once defended.

The future projects with the participation of Djimon Hounsou include Last Breath and The Zealot. The first is a survival thriller based on a real case of a diver trapped under the sea. It is expected to be released on February 28, 2025.

And The Zealot finally gives Hounsou a well-deserved starring role as a Somali-American driver in desperate need of money who agrees to transport a suspicious passenger (Kodi Smit-McPhee) to another city, only to find himself in a terrifying situation.

Source: YouTube.