130+ Commonly Mispronounced English Words (And How to Say Them Right)

Even confident, native English speakers stumble over certain words on a regular basis. Spelling doesn't always match sound, stress can land in unexpected places, and words borrowed from French, German, Greek, Korean, and beyond carry pronunciation rules that don't follow English's usual patterns. That's exactly why words like espresso, mischievous, and Worcestershire trip people up in meetings, interviews, and everyday small talk — and why even sharp, well-read people quietly avoid saying certain words out loud.

This guide brings together more than 130 of the words people misspeak most often, sorted into the situations where they tend to come up: casual conversation, food and drink, the office, science class, geography, well-known brands, and imported expressions that never lost their foreign accent. Each entry gives you a simple way to say the word and a quick note on the slip-up to watch for. Don't try to absorb all 130 at once — skim the whole list first, then circle back to the dozen or so you actually use, and drill those.

Pronunciations below reflect common contemporary English. Where widely accepted variants differ by accent or region, both are noted.

Everyday & Conversational Words

These are the ones that show up in ordinary conversation, so fixing them pays off constantly.

• Accessory — ak-SESS-uh-ree — Two clear "s" sounds; it isn't "ah-sess-uh-ree."
• Albeit — awl-BEE-it — Read it as three words mashed together: "all," "be," "it."
• Asterisk — ASS-tuh-risk — Keep the final "k"; it isn't "asterix."
• Athlete — ATH-leet — Two syllables only, no extra "uh" squeezed in.
• Bury — BEH-ree — Rhymes with "berry," never with "hurry."
• Business — BIZ-nis — The middle vowel almost vanishes; it isn't "bizz-i-ness."
• Cache — kash — Rhymes with "cash," never "cash-ay."
• Candidate — KAN-duh-dayt — Try to keep all three syllables distinct.
• Chaos — KAY-oss — The "ch" is a hard "k" sound.
• Comfortable — KUMF-tuh-bul — Most speakers compress this to three syllables, not four.
• Coupon — KOO-pon (US) or KYOO-pon (UK) — Both forms are standard.
• Definitely — DEF-uh-nit-lee — Watch out for "defiantly," which is an entirely different word.
• Divorce — dih-VORSS — Stress falls on the second syllable.
• Envelope — EN-vuh-lohp (or ON-vuh-lohp) — Either version works, as long as the stress stays up front.
• Especially — ih-SPESH-uh-lee — Starts with "es," not "ex."
• February — FEB-roo-air-ee — The first "r" is easy to drop in careful speech.
• Federal — FED-er-ul — Three clear syllables, not a mushy "fed-ruhl."
• Film — pronounced as one syllable — In some dialects an extra vowel creeps in ("fil-um"), but the standard form stays tight.
• Gauge — gayj — Rhymes with "cage," not "gawj."
• Gist — jist — Opens with a soft "j," like in "giant."
• Height — hyt — Ends with a clean "t," never "heighth."
• Ingenuity — in-juh-NOO-uh-tee — Five syllables, with a soft "j" in the middle.
• Iron — EYE-ern — Two syllables that fold the "r" and "n" together.
• Itinerary — eye-TIN-uh-rair-ee — Don't shorten it to "eye-tin-ary."
• Library — LY-brair-ee — Keep both "r" sounds; it isn't "ly-berry."
• Lip-sync — lip-SINGK — Ends in a hard "k," not "lip-sing."
• Mischievous — MIS-chuh-vus — Only three syllables; there's no "mis-CHEE-vee-us."
• Often — OFF-en or OFF-ten — Both are accepted, so take your pick.
• Probably — PRAH-buh-blee — Keep all three syllables; it isn't "prolly" in careful speech.
• Quote — kwoht — Rhymes with "boat," not "coat."
• Statistics — stuh-TIS-tiks — Keep the middle consonants crisp.
• Status — STAT-us or STAY-tus — Both are fine, though STAT-us is more common in American English.
• Stomach — STUM-uk — Ends softly; never "stoh-match."
• Subtle — SUT-ul — The "b" is completely silent.
• Supposedly — suh-POH-zid-lee — "Supposably" is a different, rare word, not a substitute here.
• Suspicious — suh-SPISH-us — The middle sound is a soft "sh."
• Tomb — toom — Rhymes with "room"; the "b" is silent.
• Wednesday — WENZ-day — Compress it to two syllables, skipping the middle "nes."

Food & Drink Words

Menus and recipes are full of words borrowed from other cuisines, which is exactly why they're so easy to get wrong.

• Abalone — ab-uh-LOH-nee — A shellfish name with the stress on the third syllable.
• Açaí — ah-sah-EE — Three syllables, each one clearly separated.
• Almond — AHL-mund — In American English the "l" is usually pronounced, unlike in British English, where it's often silent.
• Charcuterie — shar-KOO-tuh-ree — Borrowed from French; the "ch" softens into "sh."
• Cupboard — KUB-erd — The "p" disappears entirely.
• Dessert — dih-ZERT — Stress the second syllable, unlike "desert," which stresses the first.
• Espresso — es-PRESS-oh — There's no "x" anywhere in this word.
• Flour — FLOW-er — Two syllables, not a flattened "flar."
• Gnocchi — NYOH-kee — The "g" is silent, and the double "c" makes a "k" sound.
• Gyro — YEE-roh — Starts with a "y" sound in the Greek pronunciation.
• Quinoa — KEEN-wah — Two syllables; the spelling is misleading here.
• Salmon — SAM-un — The "l" is silent.
• Sour — SOW-er — Two syllables, rhyming with "flower."
• Yolk — yohk — The "l" drops out, so it rhymes with "poke."
• Zucchini — zoo-KEE-nee — The double "c" makes a "k" sound, not a "ch."

Business, Academic & Professional Words

These tend to surface in higher-stakes settings — presentations, interviews, thesis defenses — exactly where a slip is most likely to get noticed.

• Cavalry — KAV-ul-ree — Don't confuse it with "Calvary," a completely different word.
• Colonel — KER-nul — Sounds exactly like "kernel."
• Consensus — kun-SEN-sus — No hidden "sh" sound in the middle.
• Debacle — dih-BAH-kul — Stress lands on the second syllable.
• Debut — day-BYOO — French-derived, with the stress at the end.
• Entrepreneur — on-truh-pruh-NUR — Opens with a nasal "on" sound, not "en."
• Epitome — ih-PIT-uh-mee — Four syllables; it doesn't rhyme with "home."
• Facetious — fuh-SEE-shus — The first syllable is a quick "fuh," not "fay."
• Hierarchy — HY-uh-rar-kee — Don't collapse the middle syllable.
• Hyperbole — hy-PER-buh-lee — It isn't "hyper-bowl"; the word trails off softly.
• Ignoramus — ig-nuh-RAY-mus — Stress the third syllable.
• Incentive — in-SEN-tiv — The "c" is soft, like an "s."
• Niche — neesh — A French-style pronunciation, rhyming with "leash" (though "nitch" is also accepted).
• Paradigm — PAIR-uh-dym — The "g" is silent.
• Philanthropy — fih-LAN-thruh-pee — Stress falls on the second syllable.
• Prerogative — prih-ROG-uh-tiv — The first syllable is "prih," not "pree."
• Prestigious — preh-STIJ-us — Keep that middle vowel short and crisp.
• Pronunciation — pruh-nun-see-AY-shun — Ironically, this word about speech gets mangled constantly; "pronounciation" is not correct.
• Pseudonym — SOO-duh-nim — The "p" is completely silent.
• Regime — ruh-ZHEEM — Ends with a soft "zh" sound.
• Remuneration — rih-myoo-nuh-RAY-shun — Easy to mangle into "renumeration," which is a different word.
• Specifically — spuh-SIF-ik-lee — Keep that middle "f" sound crisp and in place.
• Suite — sweet — Sounds identical to "sweet," not "suit."
• Syllable — SIL-uh-bul — Stress the first syllable and let the rest fall away lightly.
• Synonymous — sih-NON-uh-mus — Stress lands on the second syllable.
• Tuition — too-ISH-un — Keep the sounds after the initial "too" clear.
• Vicarious — vy-KAIR-ee-us — The first syllable rhymes with "sky."

Science & Medical Words

Technical vocabulary from physics, chemistry, and medicine often keeps its Greek and Latin roots intact, which is exactly why it ignores ordinary English rules.

• Anemone — uh-NEM-uh-nee — Stress the second syllable of this sea creature's name.
• Arctic — ARK-tik — Keep both hard "k" sounds; don't drop the first one.
• Barometer — buh-ROM-uh-ter — Stress the second syllable, not the third.
• Chimera — ky-MEER-uh — Opens with a hard "k," borrowed from Greek mythology.
• Dilate — DY-layt — Just two syllables.
• Nuclear — NOO-klee-er — Never "nuc-u-lar."
• Ophthalmology — off-thal-MOL-uh-jee — The "ph" makes an "f" sound.
• Pneumonia — noo-MOHN-yuh — The "p" is silent.
• Silicon — SIL-ih-kun — Ends softly, unlike "silicone," a related but different material.

Geography & Place Names

Place names often preserve pronunciations from a local language, or from centuries-old English spelling habits, which is why they rarely sound the way they look.

• Arkansas — AR-kun-saw — The final "s" stays silent.
• Beijing — bay-JING — A clear "j" sound, not the softer "zh" many people use.
• Budapest — BOO-duh-pesht — The city's name ends in a "sht" sound.
• Colombia — kuh-LUM-bee-uh — Don't confuse it with "Columbia," which is spelled differently.
• Depot — DEE-poh — The final "t" is silent.
• Edinburgh — ED-in-bruh — The ending is a soft "bruh," not "burg."
• Iraq — ih-RAHK — The first syllable is a short "ih," not "eye."
• Kyoto — kee-OH-toh — Starts with "kee," not "kai."
• Qatar — KUT-ar or guh-TAR — Both versions are widely accepted in English.
• Schengen — SHENG-en — Starts with a soft "sh," not a hard "sk."
• Worcestershire — WUS-ter-sher — Far shorter than its spelling suggests.

Brand & Fashion Names

Global brands usually keep the pronunciation of their home country, so saying them "the English way" is often the wrong way.

• Adidas — AH-dee-dahs — Stress on the first syllable, German-style.
• Attaché — at-uh-SHAY — Stress falls on the final syllable.
• Boutique — boo-TEEK — Starts with a "boo" sound, not "boh."
• Chevrolet — shev-ruh-LAY — The final "t" stays silent.
• Givenchy — zhee-vahn-SHEE — A soft French "zh" opens this name.
• Hermès — er-MEZ — The initial "h" is silent.
• Hyundai — HUN-day — Closer to "hun-day" than "hi-un-dye."
• Jewelry — JOOL-ree — Often compressed to two syllables.
• Lingerie — lahn-zhuh-RAY — A nasal French vowel opens this word.
• Louis Vuitton — LOO-ee vwee-TAWN — Both names keep their French flavor and their silent letters.
• Mauve — mohv — Rhymes with "stove," not "cow."
• Nike — NY-kee — Two syllables, rhyming with "spiky."
• Porsche — POR-shuh — The final "e" is voiced, not silent.
• Salon — suh-LON — Stress the second syllable.
• Turquoise — TUR-koyz — Ends in "koyz," not "kwiz."
• Volkswagen — FOLKS-vah-gun — The "v" sounds like an "f," and the "w" sounds like a "v" in German.
• Xiaomi — show-MEE — The "x" makes a "sh" sound.

Borrowed Expressions & Tricky Loanwords

English has absorbed hundreds of words wholesale from French and other languages without fully anglicizing their sound — this batch is where that shows up most.

• Cachet — ka-SHAY — A mark of prestige, with a silent "t."
• Chalet — sha-LAY — The final "t" disappears.
• Coup — koo — One syllable; the "p" is silent.
• Debris — duh-BREE — The final "s" is silent.
• Et cetera — et-SET-er-uh — No "x" sound anywhere at the start.
• Façade — fuh-SAHD — The mark under the "c" softens it into an "s" sound.
• Faux pas — foh-PAH — Both the "x" and the final "s" stay silent.
• Foliage — FOH-lee-ij — Three syllables, not "foil-ij."
• Genre — ZHAHN-ruh — Opens with a soft "zh" sound.
• Heinous — HAY-nus — Starts with "hay," not "hee."
• Maniac — MAY-nee-ak — Three syllables, stressed up front.
• Quay — kee — Rhymes with "key," despite the spelling.
• Queue — kyoo — Pronounced exactly like the letter "Q."
• Rendezvous — RON-day-voo — The final "z" stays silent.
• Reservoir — REZ-er-vwar — Ends with a French-style "vwar."
• Segue — SEG-way — Spelled nothing like it sounds.

How to Actually Make These Stick

Trying to memorize all 130-plus words in one sitting won't work, and it isn't necessary. Pick out the ten or so you personally run into most — at work, in your favorite recipes, in the news — and drill those first. Say each word inside a full sentence rather than in isolation, since a word behaves differently on its own than it does in real speech.

Recording yourself and comparing it to a dictionary audio clip will tell you almost instantly whether the sound landed where it should. Use the free word pronouncer to hear each word in your preferred accent, then revisit this list every couple of weeks. Don't be surprised to find you've quietly fixed several words without even trying.