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Words Even Native English Speakers Get Wrong

These trip up people who have spoken English their whole lives.

mischievousMIS-chuh-vus

Not four syllables — resist "mis-CHEEV-ee-us".

et ceteraet SET-er-uh

Not "ex-cetera".

espressoes-PRESS-oh

Still no X.

nuclearNOO-klee-er

Not "nuc-yoo-ler".

libraryLY-brer-ee

Keep both Rs.

FebruaryFEB-roo-air-ee

The first R is easy to drop.

probablyPROB-uh-blee

Not "PROB-lee" — keep all three syllables when speaking carefully.

especiallyih-SPESH-uh-lee

Not "ex-specially".

realtorREEL-ter

Two syllables, not three.

jewelryJOOL-ree

Compresses in fast speech.

supposedlysuh-POH-zid-lee

Not "supposably" — that's a different (nonstandard) word entirely.

irregardless(nonstandard word)

The standard word is simply "regardless".

expresso(misspelling of espresso)

No X in the correct spelling or pronunciation.

askASK

Keep the S before the K.

quote-unquoteKWOHT-un-KWOHT

Often garbled in fast, casual speech.

More mispronounced word lists

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