Nations whose English spelling misleads — including a few with two accepted forms.
QatarKUH-tar (or "cutter")
Not "kuh-TAR" — stress the first syllable.
Nigernee-ZHAIR
French-influenced — not like the river spelling suggests.
Colombiakuh-LOM-bee-uh
Spelled with an O, not a U — unlike Columbia.
MaldivesMAWL-deevz
The final syllable rhymes with "leaves".
Seychellessay-SHELZ
French — silent final S in the singular spelling.
Azerbaijanaz-er-by-JAHN
Four syllables, stress at the end.
KyrgyzstanKEER-giz-stahn
The Y letters are short I sounds.
Kiribatikir-ee-BAHSS
The TI is an "ss" sound in Gilbertese.
Djiboutijih-BOO-tee
The D is barely sounded.