20 Commonly Mispronounced English Words (and How to Say Them)
Twenty words almost everyone gets wrong — from "quinoa" and "colonel" to "mischievous" — with the correct pronunciation and why they trip people up.
Some words trip up native and non-native speakers alike — silent letters, borrowed spellings, and an extra syllable that sneaks in. Here are twenty of the most commonly mispronounced English words, how to say them, and why they're tricky. Tap any word to hear it in four accents.
| Word | Say it | Why it's tricky |
|---|---|---|
| quinoa | KEEN-wah | Not “kwih-NO-ah” — it's from Quechua. |
| colonel | KER-nl | Two syllables, an R that isn't written. |
| mischievous | MIS-chuh-vus | Three syllables — no “-ee-us” at the end. |
| espresso | es-PRESS-oh | No X — it's not “expresso”. |
| gnocchi | NYOK-ee | Italian: the gn is a soft “ny”. |
| worcestershire | WUUS-ter-sher | Half the letters are silent. |
| salmon | SAM-un | The L is silent. |
| almond | AH-mund | The L is usually silent. |
| genre | ZHON-ruh | A soft French “zh” at the start. |
| hyperbole | hy-PUR-buh-lee | Four syllables — not “hyper-bowl”. |
| epitome | ih-PIT-uh-mee | The final E is pronounced. |
| niche | neesh (or nitch) | Both are accepted; “neesh” is more common. |
| acai | ah-sah-EE | Three syllables, stress at the end. |
| cache | cash | One syllable — not “ca-shay”. |
| gyro | YEE-roh | The Greek food — soft G. |
| anemone | uh-NEM-uh-nee | Four syllables; easy to trip over. |
| prescription | pruh-SKRIP-shun | Not “per-scription”. |
| february | FEB-roo-air-ee | There's an R after Feb. |
| jewelry | JOOL-ree | Not “joo-la-ree”. |
| pronunciation | pruh-nun-see-AY-shun | Yes — it's “nun”, not “noun”. |
Why these words trip us up
- Silent letters — salmon, almond, colonel keep spellings from older forms of English (or other languages).
- Borrowed words — gnocchi, genre, and açaí follow the rules of the language they came from, not English.
- Extra syllables — we tend to add sounds that aren't there (mischievous, espresso).
Want more? Browse the full commonly mispronounced word lists — 30 curated categories covering brands, food, place names, and more.