"Warhammer forty thousand" or "Warhammer forty K"?

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**Pointed Stick**

I've always been curious about this. I've always said "Forty K", but the TableTopGames people and some of GM's own promotional material feature people saying "Forty Thousand" so now I'm wondering which one is the more widespread.

**Slayer-Fan123**

I've never seen the former used ever since I started the hobby 16+ years ago maybe?

**Overread**

Both.

I say/read/write both of those terms quite regularly. Online you tend to see 40K a lot more because its just a lot quicker to type

**Vankraken**

40k is generally the short hand for the setting and a large portion of people in the geek/gaming world will recognize if you say something like "the forty K universe" or "forty k Space Marines". If you said "forty thousand Space Marines" they might initially think you mean a quantity before realizing your talking about 40k.

The proper name is Warhammer 40,000 "Forty Thousand" but that's a more formal name compared to using Warhammer 40k "forty K" or just Forty K.

**Fictional**

"Warhammer Forty Thousand" if talking to the unfamiliar or if talking formally.

"40K" otherwise.

**Tibs Ironblood**

I've always said forty K as it sounds a lot better to me and I have heard forty thousand thrown out there, but just doesn't sound "right" to me.

**Elbows**

As some other people have said, it depends entirely on the type of person I'm talking to:

A) A person with zero gaming experience, etc. etc. : "Warhammer 40,000"

B) A gamer, but perhaps not a GW gamer: "Warhammer 40K"

C) A Warhammer gamer: "40K".

**The Newman**

D) A long time 40k player: "that's a strange way to spell 'garbage fire'".

Only kidding. (Mostly.) I've been playing since 2nd ed and I've mostly heard it referred to as "Warhammer" or "40k", with AoS referred to as "Fantasy". I don't think I've ever heard anyone around here call it "Warhammer 40k" or "Warhammer 40,000".

**chaos0xomega**

Officially its Warhammer 40,000 (GW gets pissy at its license holders if they refer to it otherwise), but ive always called it 40k

**JohnnyHell**

Jes Goodwin calls it 40K, brand be damned. He gets a certain leeway as the creative godfather. Everyone else at GW gets messily turned into a Servitor should they fail to call it Warhammer Forty Thousand in full.

**Excommunicatus**

I tend to have to use Warhammer Forty-Thousand when I'm talking to people who aren't into the whole wargaming bit.

Normally I use Warhammer Forty-Kay.

**Argive**

Who even says forty thousands bruh..??

That's like way too many syllables. Who has time for that when there's a galaxy full of enemies to burn for heresy..

**solkan**

It's pronounced "Rogue Trader, 9th edition".

(Or is it the 8th edition, counting Rogue Trader. I forget.)

**Voss**

Both.

**Sgt. Cortez**

I use 40K when writing and "Warhammer vierzigtausend" when talking.

**Sunny Side Up**

solkan wrote:
It's pronounced "Rogue Trader, 9th edition".
(Or is it the 8th edition, counting Rogue Trader. I forget.)

Dunno. Depends on what you consider a new edition and what an updated revised edition. GW doesn't number them after all.

The commonly referred to "7th" wasn't much of an update over "6th", so it could be considered 6.5 or so, and thus we'd currently be playing 7th.

Then again, all the editions commonly referred to as 3rd to 7th were back-compatible, so maybe they were just 3rd, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, etc.. and we're now playing 4th Edition for the last two years?

8th Edition is the one that seems to stick around the most, but even more than fourty-thousand vs. 40K, there's no official guide in this particular case. So be the snowflake and call it 4th or whatever.

**BobtheInquisitor**

Before I knew the game, I always saw the abbreviation "WH40k", which mentally came out sounding like "Who forked?"

**sajmonikpl1**

Both terms are correct but i use forty k because its simpler.

**NoiseMarine with Tinnitus**

40K every day

**Haasbioroid**

I'm new to actually collecting armies and I've still not played but I've known of Warhammer for over a decade and I've always heard it called 40k, up until I began listening to podcasts. A lot of podcasters, especially when discussing lore refer to it as Warhammer 40000....and it sounds stupid every time I hear it.

**nou**

Because polish language has declension we even drop K and go by simple "czterdziestka". I have heard full "Warhammer 40,000" used only in those rare cases when person spoken to doesn't have a clue about TTGs. Even convention events or dedicated FLGS days often use "czterdziestka".

When posting online in english I use 40K almost exclusively.

**oni**

Both, it's situational.

I'll use Forty Thousand when I want to be more formal, clear or might be discussing it with someone who isn't familiar with it.

I'll use Forty K when I'm bantering with fellow enthusiasts.

When typing I'll generally abbreviate as W40K.

**timetowaste85**

I have never seen a single person IRL say “Warhammer forty thousand”. It’s always been “Warhammer 40k” or “40k”. Not once. Not even in a GW store.

**Casualty**

I only call it its full name when I'm mad.

**Ginjitzu**

Warhammer: Four Hundred Hundred, or Warhammer: Age of Guilliman, or Warhammer: Space Marines and Pals.

**Darian Aarush**

40K all the way

**Crispy78**

oni wrote:

I'll use Forty Thousand when I want to be more formal, clear or might be discussing it with someone who isn't familiar with it.

I'll use Forty K when I'm bantering with fellow enthusiasts.

When typing I'll generally abbreviate as W40K.

This. Had too many "eh, what's 4TK?" type comments when talking to non-hobbyists

**Laffin**

Warty Kay is the only way!

**Aash**

Neither.

40k when talking to other hobbyists and Warhammer when talking to people outside of the hobby.

**redux**

Spelling aside, it is pronounced "Kill Team".