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Words Some People Can't Pronounce, No Matter How Often They Try

A list of 50 words by kaichi.

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  • Telofy For “pin�? and “pen�? see, well, pin-pen merger. Sep 15, 2009

  • hereticaneue i LOVE this list and those who have contributed to it. :) Sep 14, 2009

  • kraduate My husband says samwich instead of sandwich.

    LIEberry for library is common where I'm from. Oct 14, 2008

  • kaichi Thanks, veruca! I should not have forgotten Chipotle, especially considering how many restaurants in my area throw that word onto half the dishes on their menu. It's become a stylish word! Jan 24, 2007

  • veruca Chipotle (chi-pote-lay) gets pronounced like chipolte (chi-pole-tay) all the time. Jan 19, 2007

  • kaichi Thanks, again, pamelad! This list seems to be never ending. (O.o) Jan 19, 2007

  • pamelad Anemone often ends up as anenome. Hydrangeas - hyderanges. And instead of a frangipani, my grandma had a fransypansy. Jan 15, 2007

  • kaichi Thanks, Gloriaha! I had wash, already, but none of the others. (^-^) Jan 10, 2007

  • gloriaha espresso ('expresso')

    etcetra ('excetra')

    cinnamon ('cimmanon')

    wash ('warsh')

    pen ('pin')

    homogenous (it's hoMOGenous, not homo-genius!!! This is not to be confused with homogeneous. Note the spelling.)

    err ('air' is incorrect! it's supposed to be 'ur' although widespread and prolonged mispronunciation have almost cause 'air' to trump the correct 'ur') Jan 6, 2007

  • kaichi Thanks, pamelad and veruca! I'd forgotten how many people around here say "pitcher" instead of "picture." ;P Jan 4, 2007

  • seanahan I have one at my office too, Veruca. Jan 2, 2007

  • veruca Picture...Believe it or not I work with several people that pronounce it the same as "pitcher." Jan 2, 2007

  • pamelad Words that sound so differently from the way they're written: banal, macabre, segue Dec 16, 2006

  • kaichi Asativum, thanks! I've heard that one, too. Dec 16, 2006

  • asativum I've heard suite pronounced suit in the South (of the US). Dec 16, 2006

  • kaichi Thanks, yoshiyahu! I had forgotten about "drowning" coming out as "drownding." People here do that, too. And I don't know many people who use "clitoris," but if they did, they'd probably stumble on it, too. ;P

    "Ambulance" gets changed into "AMBA lance" around here. Just as "library" often becomes "LIE berry." *shudders* I also just remembered "tubular," which sometimes sounds like "toobler." Dec 16, 2006

  • inkhorn If I hear someone say nuk-uh-lir one more time, I'm going to explode. Dec 14, 2006

  • yoshiyahu This word and its variants are often pronounced (and even spelled -- google it) "drownding." Dec 14, 2006

  • yoshiyahu There are two common usages, CLIToris and cliTORis. And since clitoris is often thought of part-and-parcel with vagina, pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable, perhaps the emphasis on the second syllable carries over. However, those who say cliTORis usually sound uncomfortable with the pronunciation, not sure themselves whether they should be saying it one way or another. This is probably at least partly because we usually think of it as 'clit' anyway and only say 'clitoris' when we need to go more clinical and formal. So while it's a different kind of pronunciation problem, I humbly offer it for your consideration. Dec 14, 2006

  • angharad Me, I'm puzzled by 'ambulance'.
    Dec 14, 2006

  • angharad vice-versa.

    Small children purportedly say "pusketti" instead of "spaghetti". Dec 14, 2006

  • kaichi "Vietnamese" often becomes "Vietmanese," in my area (Texas). "Spaghetti" sometimes turns into "Pasketti," and "macrame" is, on occasion, pronounced "muh KRAYME" by those who don't know how to use the pronunciation guides in their dictionaries.

    Thanks to sarra for "itinerary," as well, which stuck another one into my head: "potpourri," which I have heard someone say as "POT purry." ;P Dec 12, 2006

  • sarra itinerary! Dec 9, 2006

  • andrew.simone I confess that I often find myself pronouncing realtor as 'reel-i-tur.'

    I would remind word snoots (of which I am one) that perfection is the enemy of the good. Dec 8, 2006

  • kad 'realtor' often becomes 'reel-i-tur' when it should be 'reel-tur' or 're-uhl-tur.' as for vietnamese and spaghetti, i'm as perplexed as you are, pedalinfaith. Dec 8, 2006

  • pedalinfaith OK, I'm having one of those "if I don't know what in the hell they are talking about, then they must be talking about me" moments. Either I'm completely oblivious to my blunders or I'm living in a pronunciation safe zone. Seriously, how does one mispronounce "Vietnamese" and "realtor" and "spaghetti" and "macrame"? Dec 8, 2006

  • kaichi Once, again, I must say "Thanks!" for the words I had forgotten about. (^o^)

    --Kaichi Dec 5, 2006

  • pamelad secretary Dec 4, 2006

  • gratitude similar
    particular
    asterisk
    Dec 3, 2006

  • kaichi Thanks, everyone! These are all great! I'm going to add them! :D

    --Kaichi Dec 2, 2006

  • angharad mischievous Dec 2, 2006

  • angharad february, wednesday, spaghetti Dec 2, 2006

  • pamelad ask (aks) government umbrella (umberella) Dec 2, 2006

  • tankexmortis ambulance (seriously, I have friends that still struggle with this one) Dec 2, 2006

  • angharad library, realtor, athlete, tsunami Dec 2, 2006