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

Ellen Pompeo
Dominik Bindl/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival

Ellen Pompeo Sparks Representation Debate After Being Cast As Woman With Hearing Loss In New TV Series

Actor Ellen Pompeo has sparked a debate about representation after announcing her next television gig.

Pompeo, best known for her long-running stint as the titular Dr. Meredith Grey on Grey's Anatomy, is set to star in a new medical drama in development at Hulu playing a character with hearing loss.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

It Looks Like Trump's Tacky Monument To Himself In DC May Become A Reality—And People Are Truly Disgusted

Critics pounced on President Donald Trump's latest vanity project after Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced that excavation will begin for an enormous arch that will bear Trump's name.

Trump has given significant attention to White House renovations and other pet projects around Washington, D.C., since returning to office. Trump's White House renovations have already cost nearly $1 billion, according to one analysis.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kevin Dillon, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Connolly, Debi Mazar, Doug Ellin, Jerry Ferrara, Rex Lee and Jeremy Piven posing on a red carpet event in front of an "Entourage" step and repeat.
Gregg DeGuire / Contributor/Getty Images

'Entourage' Creator Speaks Out After Debi Mazar Claims Set Became 'Toxic' After Birth Of Her 2nd Child

Loosely inspired by the early days of Mark Wahlberg's rise to fame in Hollywood, Entourage, which Wahlberg executive-produced, was one of the most successful original series ever produced by HBO.

Premiering in 2004, Entourage went on to run eight seasons, and win six Emmy awards, even spawning a film, which premiered on HBO in 2015.

Keep ReadingShow less
Evan Rachel Wood reflects on being recast in Practical Magic 2 after originating the role of Kylie Owens.
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images; Courtesy of Warner Bros.

'Practical Magic' Star Evan Rachel Wood Reveals Nobody From Original Film Reached Out To Her Before Her Role Was Re-Cast For Sequel

When Practical Magic 2 was announced last year, fans were ready to head back to the Owens family home—but apparently, not everyone from the original cast got the invitation.

The sequel picks up 25 years after the 1998 cult classic, with Joey King and Maisie Williams taking over as Kylie and Antonia Owens, the daughters of Sandra Bullock’s Sally. The recasting hasn’t exactly worked its magic on everyone, with fans complaining about Evan Rachel Wood and Alexandra Artrip being replaced in the roles they originated.

Keep ReadingShow less
Davis Mallory and Rachel Vaughan
@davismallory/Instagram

'The Challenge' Star Debuts New Girlfriend A Year After Announcing He's 'No Longer Gay' Thanks To 'God'

A former MTV star has revealed that he is "no longer gay" thanks to "God."

Davis Mallory, who starred on MTV's The Real World and The Challenge, recently went Instagram-official with his girlfriend Rachel Vaughan.

Keep ReadingShow less