How do you pronounce "xth"?

I'm wondering how do you pronounce letters when used in place of ordinal numbers.

Examples:

• The xth root of five.
• Two to the yth power.
• The ith odd number.
• The jth item on the queue.

I know how to pronounce nth, i.e. /ɛnθ/, but I don't think that I can do the same with x, y or other letters (I find it really hard to pronounce /ɛksθ/). Should I spell x-t-h?

Some native speakers find it difficult to pronounce sixth ( /sɪksθ/ ). It is not uncommon to hear people say 'sikth' ( /sɪkθ/ ). I believe that some are unaware of this mispronunciation.

I personally pronounce 'xth' as /ɛksθ/.

Unfortunately, saying /ɛkθ/ simply sounds wrong so I don't suggest that as an alternative.

If you are reading the expression from a board or a display where the listeners can see it, then you could get away with pronouncing it as /ɛks/. Listeners would tend to fill in the missing sound mentally. (Edit: Another very good approximation is /ɛkst/ )

In India many people pronounce it as /ɛksəθ/. Having a syllable between s and θ helps people say it.