22 Words You’re Mispronouncing

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As you probably know, I’m not an English native speaker but my dad’s from Brazil and my mom is from Germany where I grew up. So how can I tell you how to pronounce something in English?

Well, first of all, I made all of those mistakes but I had to learn consciously how things are pronounced and I realized there was no particular rule to it. If you’re a native speaker, you’re just used to things the way they are pronounced and you probably learned them from your parents and you never gave much thought to them and how they’re pronounced.

Why Is It Important To Pronounce Words Correctly?

Well, people make assumptions about you and they judge you all the time. It starts with what you wear and your clothes, they send a signal and even though people might think they don’t judge subconsciously, they do.

Practice your expressions
Practicing how to pronounce the words in front of a mirror can be helpful. [Image Credit: Asking Matters]

The same is true when you open your mouth, it’s about the volume, what you say, but also how you pronounce it. Pronouncing words properly even as a foreigner will help you to get more respect and people will automatically think of you more highly.

English dictionaries and thesaurus books
English dictionaries and thesaurus books [Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons]

Commonly Mispronounced Words

1. Pronunciation – /prəˌnənsēˈāSH(ə)n/

We say “I pronounce, you pronounce, or mispronouncing”, but it is pronunciation; there is no “noun” in that word.

2. Salmon – /ˈsamən/

There is an L but it’s silent so it’s not SaLman or SaLmon.

3. Niche – /niCH/

This word is French and it’s pronounced niCH. Most Americans still call it NITCH some even call it NISH and all three of them are correct according to Merriam-webster.

4. Mischievous –  /ˈmisCHivəs/

It’s not misHchievous, as you might think it sounds if you just read the word.

5. Kibosh – /ˈkīˌbäSH/

It’s not ke-bosch and it’s meant to put a stop or a check on something, like “Put the kibosh on that”.

6. Sherbet – /ˈSHərbət/

Some people say sure-bay because they think about sorbet or other similar things, they are sweet, they are desserts, but this one is different from sorbet.

7. Antarctic – /an(t)ˈärktik/

It’s pronounced the way it’s written with a T, it’s not An-artic.

8. Prestigious – /preˈstējəs,preˈstijəs/

It’s not prestEEgious or anything else.

9. Banal – /bəˈnäl,bəˈnal/

It means as much as boring or interesting and it’s not pronounced bay-nal.

10. Peremptory – /pəˈrem(p)t(ə)rē/

It’s not preemptory.

11. Realtor – /ˈrē(ə)ltər/

This can be a false friend for many foreigners because you see the O and think it’s called real-tor but it’s not.

12. Cache – /kaSH/

We deal with computers or any kind of memory, you’ve probably run into this word.

13. Epitome – /əˈpidəmē/

This means a person or thing that is a perfect example of a particular quality or type.

14. Espresso – /eˈspresˌō/

It’s pronounced the way it’s written; there’s no X in there, so it’s not eXpresso.

15. Etcetera – /et ˈsedərə/

It’s not exsetera. If you’re in Germany, you probably pronounce it, et cetera.

16. Affidavit – /ˌafəˈdāvit/

It’s not avi-david like the name.

17. Cavalry – /ˈkavəlrē/

It’s not caval-ry or shaval-re.

18. Dilate – /dīˈlāt,ˈdīˌlāt/

It’s not de-late or dial-late.

19. GIF – /jif/

If you are taking animated pictures with your phone, it’s called a jiff.

20. Albeit – /ôlˈbēit,alˈbēit/

Another word for although.

21. Coup – /ko͞o/

This one can be different for foreigners. It is read with a silent P.

22. Debris – /dəˈbrē,ˌdāˈbrē/

It’s a silent S.

CONCLUSION

If you’re ever unsure about how to pronounce a word properly, I suggest going to google, type in the word into the dictionary, and it usually gives you a little sound button so you can specifically listen to how it is pronounced. Some words in the English language can be very difficult. I’m personally a big fan of reading how it’s pronounced. Yes, it can help but actually listening to the way it’s pronounced is much better.

Outfit Rundown

A casual combination consisting a green safari jacket, long sleeve polo shirt and jeans.
A casual combination consisting of a green safari jacket, long sleeve polo shirt, and jeans.
Shadow Stripe Ribbed Socks Dark Navy Blue and Royal Blue Fil d'Ecosse Cotton - Fort Belvedere

Fort Belvedere

Shadow Stripe Ribbed Socks Dark Navy Blue and Royal Blue Fil d'Ecosse Cotton

A green linen Safari jacket paired with a long sleeve polo shirt in white. I’m skipping the neckwear instead, I’m wearing a pair of jeans with a brown leather belt that matches the brown leather loafers. I added a dash of color with my teal and purple shadow striped socks. If you learn more about classic clothing and see how I usually dress please check out our other videos.

What are some English words you used to mispronounce?

Reader Comments

  1. We may not always have seen eye to eye but you are the one man who can help with my latest business venture which will make us both millionaires, in sterling. I have been tasked with recycling the baked bean tins left after last Saturday’s jamboree. You are Brazilian and must know many of the men who live in the rainforest wearing nothing more than a piece of string. I expect that the more fashion conscious among them buy their string from you. The plan is that you sell two of my tins to each of your friends, so that next time any of them needs to make an urgent call but finds himself stranded in the rainforest with a flat battery and miles from the nearest telephone kiosk, he can make his own telephone from two empty tins and a piece of string.

  2. Well done.For a man with Brazilian and German lineage you pronounce words very well.I am English by the way!

  3. So… you’re still saying things wrong, but at least you’re not saying the most common errors like:

    miss chee vee ous

  4. Und wie sollen wir sagen “arbiter elegantiarum?”
    Answer: Sven! :-)

  5. Desuetude. Forte is often mispronounced (George Carlin tried to clear that one up).

    1. The British love to anglicize words, so they pronounce forte, fort, not for-tay, so both are acceptable, I guess. They do the same thing with valet and fillet (or filet), pronouncing the “t”, while Americans, and others, say val-lay and fil-lay. I’ll have to find George Carlin’s take on forte.

      1. But “forte” means strong and comes from French, so it should be pronounced “fort.” Also, in the entries for “prestigious”, in the phonetic spelling, there’s a long “e”, so it can/should be pronounced “prestEEgious.”

        1. forte comes from Italian as it is a very common musical term. forte is correct, not fort…

  6. For friends in the Nation’s Capital where I grew up…I would remind those folks…there is NO “r” in Washington.

    And, to the woman I love…photos are not “pitchers’…they are PIC-tures.

    FUN reading. Thanks

    1. Dear Randall,

      An interesting regional pronunciation among many natives of Washington State indeed leave in the “R,” and say “Worshington.”

      Next time you hear that, just assume it’s an old-timer from Walla Walla!

      Regards,

      Andrew Gregg,
      Palm Springs, CA
      (Native of Vancouver, WA)

  7. I’ve found that with the word sherbet, people very often pronounce it sher-bert. In fact I’ve had people comment when I pronounce it correctly, thinking it sounds British. Thanks for clearing up the pronunciation of “gif”. I’ve never spoken it, but now I know. A great article, thanks!

    1. That is NOT the undisputed “correct” way to pronounce that word. Don’t let the author fool you.

      1. Im pretty sure the creator of the first GIF cleared it up, it is indeed ‘jiff’.

  8. Great article. I would like to add another word to the list. Patronize. Americans pronounce it as pay-tronize but UK folks pronounce it more phonetically as paa-tronize. Which is correct?

    1. Well, if one pronouces it “pay-tronize”, he better stick to “talk-down to somebody”. It is: pa-tronize.

  9. You pronounced the word “coup” correctly, but you spelled it “coop” which IS pronounced with the “p” at the end.

    1. Of course it is coup. Our editor got that wrong and nobody on our team noticed it :(

  10. I’m disappointed that you did not include the word “Route.” Many people pronounce this as “rout”, which is a completely different word with a totally different meaning. To get this correct one only has to listen to the famous 1940’s American Jazz song, “Route 66.”

  11. Fun read, including the comments. English, as a language, is a mine field to learn. It borrows so many words from other languages, some pronounced as in the original language and some anglicized, and some both, depending on what side of the pond one is on – Great Britain and the United states, two countries separated by a common language…
    There is also the vexing problem for foreign speakers trying to learn English of “agreement” In most other languages, a singular noun takes a singular verb, but in English, this is not always so – “he does” (note the plural “s”) vs. “they did”, which agrees with the singular “I did”. When the English or Americans wanted to make fun of immigrants coming from cultures with romance language backgrounds and their command of English, the one thing chosen to poke fun at, and insinuate that a speaker was illiterate, was this inaccurate grappling with English subject/verb agreement.

  12. “Nuclear” is not “Noo-cue-lur”. Plus, our American friends love to say “Noter Dayme” instead of “Notre Dame”.

  13. Great and Informative video. Sven Raphael what brand is your safari jacket, loved it.

  14. Interesting deconstruction of the American dialect/pronunciation of the English language.
    America is known as the nation of nations because you live in such a cultural melting pot.
    I am of Czech-Malian descent and grew up in Australia and I can surely say the way English is spoken here… you have to be multilingual!
    I gained most of my vocabulary from an older version of the LOED (British people will know this acronym) and the Macquarie Dictionary which is designed for Australian english speakers.
    In addition to pronunciation, the correct application of grammar is essential to communication and, to avoid sounding like a snob, not wordsmithing to appear intelligent.
    Ps. Sven, my younger sister’s husband has a German father and Brazilian mother.

  15. The one I hate is when people go to the movies and say theat they saw a great fill-um.

    1. Dear Simon,

      Americans who are native to the Midwest say “fill-um;” it’s a regional pronunciation.

      In addition, Americans who are native to the Mountain West often drop their “L’s.” So, the movies are pronounced “fim,” and wolf becomes “wuf.”

      Try not to hate those who do not say words as you do. Instead, delight in the ways in which language may be expressed.

      Sincerely,

      Andrew Gregg,
      Palm Springs, CA

      1. I didn’t say I hate anybody Andrew. I said I hate they way some people say “film”.

    2. Fill-um is the Irish version or, possibly, Northern English. (My wife is of Irish extraction and from Newcastle- a great Northern City).

  16. The most common mistake I see in this list is Calvary for cavalry. This one also shows up in spelling, as in calvary twill trousers, often seen on Ebay.

  17. This was a very helpful video, even for a native English speaker like myself. But in the same spirit of constructive criticism, may I point out two words that you, Sven, consistently mispronounce in your video presentations? One is “harmonious”–which you pronounce without the implied “a” sound between the “o” and “n.” The other is “polyester,” which you pronounce with a “pole” sound on the first syllable. That said, I envy your command of multiple languages–and marvel at how dynamic your presentations have become over the years. Thank you and your staff or all your great and instructive work.

  18. Well done Raphael, great pronunciation for a non-native speaker, and pleasing to see an American get it just right. I am a teacher but you taught me something: “jiff” for GIF. Thanks.

    1. The pronunciation is not agreed upon. The inventor of GIFs says it should be pronounced with a hard “G” sound.

  19. The man who invented GIFs says that the word should be pronounced with a hard “G” instead of the “J” sound.

  20. Contri-bute instead of con-tribute.
    Manda(y)tory instead of manda-tory.

    The USA pronunciations of harassment and Caribbean e.g., are, of course, correct but are pronounced differently in the UK.
    You wouldn’t think so if you listen to most news broadcasts in the UK.The USA influence is enormous and are referred to, somewhat unkindly, as ‘mid-Atlanticisms’.
    It’s the same language but with different rules.

Comments are closed.