Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Confess Which Words They Mispronounced For The Longest Time

People Confess Which Words They Mispronounced For The Longest Time
Brett Jordan on Unsplash

As with any language, English has a wide variety of dialects.

Pronunciations in one region—even within a single country—can vary.

But then there are those creative pronunciations that are just wrong—no matter the region or country.


Redditor nichtwarum asked:

"Which word have you proudly mispronounced for the longest time?"

Like Water?

"My husband pronounces condescending as 'condensending' and it drives me crazy."

"I've told him how it's pronounced a couple of times, but he still keeps saying it."

"I feel like I'm being condescending if I keep correcting him..."

- truryufhvcgdtre

Oh myyy...

"Armadildo."

- Back2Bach

"Armored dildo."

- blamethepunx

"I pronounce it this way the first time just to make the person question what I said. Then I say 'armadillo, what did you think I said?'."

"The follow up has yet to not be extremely satisfying. I hold those precious moments of embarrassed confusion and kinky realization in memory for when I really need a laugh."

- Fallacy_Spotted


Giphy

Saucy

"Worcestershire."

"This word is physically painful attempting to say."

- Microscopiccheese

"I heard someone call it 'wash your sister' sauce, and I haven’t attempted any other pronunciation since."

- BoofingPalcohol

Chickens?

"Military coup."

"Pronounced it as 'coop' several times during a national debate competition, then got corrected in the middle of the debate by the judge."

"Opposing team laughed at me lol, but we still won."

- Substantial-Chef-198

Giphy

Don't get us started on gif.

"Meme, pronouncing it me-me."

- batangtaft

"Had a manager who called any gif or anything sent to the group chat a 'me-me'."

"Loved him, best boss I’ve ever had, and I didn’t have it in me to correct him."

- geoffissiffoeg

Just say weiner dog.

"Dachshund."

"Always thought it was dash-hound until college. Not sure how I missed that lesson in german class."

- sonicaxura

"We had Dachshunds (Jake and Elwood). All the time, people would come up and say 'oh I love dash-hounds' and we would 'yes Dax-unds are great'."

"We would go back and forth discussing dash-hounds and dax-unds as if both sides were not pronouncing it differently."

- stuck_in_traffic

Giphy

Week...

"I used to say the phrase 'Play it by year' but in reality it was 'Play it by ear' which makes a lot more sense."

- Garden_of_Pillows

No, Vyvyan.

"For years, my family has pronounced those things you use to look at far-off objects as 'binoc-a-lears'."

"That's all very well as a family joke, but when you actually say the word out in public by mistake, it's excruciating."

"It has to be said in a whiney voice as per Ade Edmondson in The Young Ones, when he wants to know why he can't use some 'real binoc-a-lears'."

- Rsoles

Giphy

And potpourri?

"Sachet, I always said it satch-it."

"Even now I feel like I'm just saying sashay and the world is trying to trick me."

- Pale-Procedure895

Rhymes with Pampers.

"For my whole life I thought diaper had an M in it, diamper."

"I still call it a diamper."

"Side note, was playing a party steam game you play with your phones and I realized I'd been wrong forever when my answer 'diamper' got made fun of horrendously..."

- feistiestmango

Giphy

Apt error

"It took me way too long to realize it’s Alzheimer’s and not Old Timers."

- feistiestmango

Hooked on phonics

"Horse doovers [for hors d'oeuvres]. Yes I am an animal."

- txarbuilder

"I'm only slightly more sophisticated than you, I knew it was fancy and called them oars-du-vores."

- zandyman

Giphy

Actually...

"I pronounced 'quinoa' as 'kin-oh-ah' for the longest time...in public."

- atltop5150

"If it makes you feel any better, in South America, where quinoa mostly comes from, we pronounce it like you used to!"

"The emphasis is on the O, as in ki-nO-ah."

- whiskercheeks

Giphy

Here's the T

"Often. I didn't know you should actually pronounce the 't'."

"I said offen for an awfully long time, well I was taught that way, I still mispronounce it very often."

- raemi134

Zapped

"Champagne. In honour of Zapp Brannigan."

- TomCBC

"Good old sham-pag-nee."

- That_Cosmic_Chealien

"I started doing this with guacamole for the same reason, but have done it so often that I forget to un-butcher it when not with my friends…"

"I have embarrassed myself a couple times at restaurants haha."

- El_Frencho

Giphy

Horrifying

"Macabre."

"I pronounced it ‘mah-cuh-bee’ forever like an idiot."

"I thought it was one of two ways to pronounce it, depending on the sentence. I was wrong."

- snarlyelder

Café

"I did say Expresso for far too long."

- chica771

GIF by Royal Cup Coffee & TeaGiphy

A bit of mischief

"I used to say 'mischievious' instead of 'mischievous' (misCHivəs)."

- kikiiie

"The incorrect pronunciation of that one is so common that it’s almost become an acceptable alternate pronunciation, in my opinion."

- ToBeReadOutLoud

Chop, chop

"I don’t know but when I was a kid, 'helicopters' were 'hopter-copters'."

- ApollosOwl

"I called them 'helichopters'."

- yoiliketopramen

upside down spinning GIFGiphy

Isn't it ironic?

"Ironically 'mispronunciation'."

"I used to say 'mis-pro-NOUN-ciation'."

- AerobaticDiamond

So, do you or someone you know have any words you proudly mispronounce?

Share them in the comments.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Matt Gaetz; alien making heart symbol
Brandon Bell/Getty Images; MediaProduction/Getty Images

Matt Gaetz Dragged After Claiming U.S. Government Has Secret Alien-Human 'Breeding Programs'

MAGA Republican President Donald Trump's first choice for Attorney General is back in the news, but not because his replacement, Pam Bondi, just got fired.

Former Florida MAGA Republican Representative Matt Gaetz made a wild claim while speaking with far-right podcaster Benny Johnson. Gaetz said he was briefed about a top secret breeding program between extraterrestrials and humans being conducted by the United States government.

Keep ReadingShow less
Karoline Leavitt; Donald Trump
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Alex Brandon/Pool/Getty Images

Karoline Leavitt Is Getting Dragged Hard After Claiming That Trump Is The 'Most Well-Read Person In The Room'

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had people rolling their eyes after she showered praise on President Donald Trump for being the "most well-read person in the room."

Leavitt was speaking at George Washington University as part of Turning Point USA's latest tour of college campuses when she made the claim while in conversation with Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk. Kirk, the widow of the late far-right activist Charlie Kirk, after Kirk asked her about lessons she'd learned while on the job.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pam Bondi; Screenshot of Donald Trump "South Park" character
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images; Comedy Central

'South Park' Epically Trolls Pam Bondi With Hilariously Gross Send-Off After Her Firing

After President Donald Trump announced that Pam Bondi would be leaving her post as attorney general and "transitioning" to a role in the private sector, South Park shared a fitting send-off from a 2025 episode that featured Bondi.

Although South Park is currently between seasons, the show’s X account posted for the first time in more than two months shortly after Bondi lost her job.

Keep ReadingShow less
Charlie Day smiles on the red carpet during a Paley Center event appearance.
Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images

'Super Mario Bros' Star Charlie Day Just Made A Seriously Dark Joke About Luigi—And Fans Are Stunned

On paper, it’s a softball setup: You voice Luigi. You’re asked about Luigi. You say Luigi.

But Charlie Day… did not do that.

Keep ReadingShow less
A young attendee wearing a NASA cap with a mounted GoPro is interviewed by CNN at Kennedy Space Center ahead of the Artemis II launch.
Courtesy of CNN

CNN Asked A Kid Why He Was At The Artemis II Launch—And His Hilarious Response Is Everything

As crowds gathered for the Artemis II launch on Wednesday, one young attendee managed to steal the spotlight from the rocket itself with a response no one saw coming. The boy was at Kennedy Space Center in Florida with a GoPro strapped to his black NASA cap, having traveled to witness the first human-crewed mission to the Moon in more than 50 years.

As he waited, a CNN reporter approached him with a question whose answer usually involves some variation of “inspiration,” “history,” or “science.”

Keep ReadingShow less