Learn commonly mispronounced words in English!
Language can be fun, beautiful, even risque. But for words to be anything or mean anything, they first have to be spoken. And if a word is spoken, but mispronounced, what has been gained? Making a mistake when pronouncing a word is usually a minor issue, but one slight alteration can change everything. There is a bit of a difference between a preacher giving a strong message, and a preacher giving a strong message.
So it is important to pronounce words correctly. Still, there are many words in the English language that are mispronounced. Well, we can fix that.
Below are some commonly mispronounced words.
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Commonly Mispronounced Words
Here are 13 commonly mispronounced words in the English language.
Mayonnaise
Pronounced “May-o-naze”—NOT pronounced “Man-aze”. If you are at a restaurant after not eating all day, begin to order a sandwich, and realize that you can’t remember how to pronounce this word, don’t worry. Just close your eyes and think about it. In a moment or two, you will be ready. Open your eyes, call the waiter over, and order soup.
I use grapeseed oil for mayonnaise, finding that olive oil gives too rich a flavor.
Height
Pronounced “Hite”—NOT pronounced “Hidthe”—There is no reason to make this any harder than it needs to be.
The students were regrouped according to height and weight.
Mischievous
Pronounced “Mis-chi-vous”—NOT pronounced “Mis-chee-vi-ous”. Unless, of course, you are simply feeling mischievous, and that’s the reason you are pronouncing it wrong.
You’d speak to your little son; he’s too mischievous.
Spay
Pronounced “Spay”—NOT pronounced “Spade”. You take your female pet in to be spayed so it can no longer reproduce. Then the vet will spay it. But if you pick up a spade and chase your pet around the block, your pet won’t stop reproducing, no matter how many times you chase it.
It’s really important to spay or neuter your pets.
Voluptuous
Pronounced “Vo-lup-chu-ous” NOT pronounced “Vo-lump-chu-ous”. Okay, there are volumptuous —oops—voluptuous women out there who are a bit lumpy, but reminders can be very dangerous things.
Enter the voluptuous femme fatale with dangerous links to the mob.
Nuclear
Pronounced “Nu-clee-er” NOT pronounced “Nu-cu-ler” One of the most common of commonly mispronounced words.
The general argued that the nuclear program should still continue.
Potable
Pronounced “Po-ta-ble” NOT “Pott-able”. You might be able to put your drink in a pot, all right, but if you want to say it is drinkable, the word has to begin with “po”, like the first two letters of “poke”. Potable means drinkable. Pottable means it can be potted.
The potable water expansion tank shall be a Watts Model PLT.
Antarctic
Pronounced “Ant-arc-tic” NOT pronounced “Ann-art-ic”. The antarctic has been there a long time, so if you need help remembering how to pronounce this word, just think of something else that is old—like an Aunt so old, she must have been on the ark with all the ticks.
In the Antarctic, the temperature rarely rises above the freezing point.
Foyer
Pronounced “Foy-er” in the United States. Pronounced “Foy-ay” in other places. What can we say? Americans do things the way we do them.
We arranged to meet up in the foyer of the Hyatt hotel.
Gyro
Pronounced “Yee-roh”. Now, whether you remember how to pronounce mayonnaise or not, you can still have a sandwich!
The supporting case is the outer enclosure of the gyro component.
Acai
Pronounced “Ah-sah-EE”, with the accent on the last syllable. Why do they have to make things so difficult?
Acai, Green Tea, and Ginkgo Biloba Extract for their potent antioxidant and anti-aging benefits.
Worcestershire
Pronounced “Wus-ter-sher”. Now you know what to call that stuff that’s been sitting in your cupboard for ages.
Peter Righton from Evesham in Worcestershire, was questioned and later released on bail.
Triathlon
Pronounced “Try-ath-lon” NOT pronounced “Try-ath-a-lon”. The word seems to develop a rhythm that demands that extra “a”, but you must resist.
The triathlon is the ultimate endurance test.
Mispronounced Words | Infographic
Commonly Mispronounced Words in English
