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
Make us preferred on Google

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

Screenshot of Curtis Hertel; Haley Stevens
@Acyn/X; Finn Gomez/Getty Images

Michigan Democratic Party Chair Rips Dem Rep. After Kicking Her Out Of Party For Endorsing GOP Senate Candidate

Curtis Hertel, the chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, criticized Representative Haley Stevens after she shockingly endorsed Republican Mike Rogers for Senate over Democrat Abdul El-Sayed.

Stevens sought to make her participation in a joint appearance on Sunday with El-Sayed and South Carolina Representative Jim Clyburn contingent on El-Sayed disavowing an advertisement by one of his allies that criticized Israel. In response, El-Sayed’s campaign asked Stevens to stay away from his events.

Keep ReadingShow less
Zelda Williams (left) and Robin Williams (right) arrive at the "Old Dogs" Premiere at the El Capitan Theatre.
John Shearer/WireImage

Zelda Williams Just Called Out Conspiracy Theorists Who Think She Helped Her Dad Fake His Own Death—And Fans Are Devastated For Her

Zelda Williams has spent years asking people to stop using her late father, Robin Williams, as fodder for bizarre internet theories and AI-generated content. Now, the 37-year-old is confronting conspiracy theorists who believe the Oscar-winning actor never died—and that his own daughter helped cover it up.

At the center of this latest conspiracy is Uncle Pappy, a social media personality who uses an aging filter while impersonating Robin Williams. Somehow, his videos have convinced some viewers that the late actor is still alive.

Keep ReadingShow less
split screen of Jimmy Fallon and Jamie Lee Curtis from a "Tonight Show" skit.
@The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon/YouTube

Jamie Lee Curtis Just Did Her Impression Of Elizabeth Holmes On 'Fallon'—And It's Too Good

Even with its nearly three-hour running time, You Can See Everything has gone on to become the highest-grossing documentary in 15 years, taking in over $45 million in just two weeks.

The documentary chronicles Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes just prior to serving her prison sentence after a federal grand jury indicted her for defrauding investors.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sir Patrick Stewart
Just For Laughs/YouTube

Patrick Stewart Delivered His Own Eulogy 11 Years Ago—And It's Hilariously Raunchy

The entertainment world lost one of its all-time greats on October 28 when Sir Patrick Stewart passed away at 86.

The actor, best known for playing Captain Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Professor X in the X-Men film series, along with innumerable appearances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, passed after a battle with Alzheimer's disease and lewy body dementia.

Keep ReadingShow less
Randy Rainbow; Mitch McConnell
Randy Rainbow/YouTube

Randy Rainbow Hilariously Drags Mitch McConnell's Unlikely Senate Return With 'Mitchcraft' Parody Video

Singer and satirist Randy Rainbow has been parodying politics since the first presidency of MAGA Republican President Donald Trump. But Trump isn't the focus of Rainbow's latest comedy music video.

Instead, the performer—whose name really is Randy Rainbow—set his sights on the mysterious 92-day disappearance of Kentucky MAGA Republican Senator and former Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell. In June, the 84-year-old lawmaker reportedly fell at his home and was taken to the hospital.

Keep ReadingShow less