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Original poster

Words you realised you pronounce different or wrong?

238 replies

heartbroken22 · 04/12/2023 05:59

What words have you realised aren't pronounced the way you pronounce them? How did you find out? Tribute was pronounced try bute by me. Only realised when a child corrected me 😂

OP posts:
pickledandpuzzled · 04/12/2023 14:27

IngridMcDonald · 04/12/2023 14:23

I say almond - all mund, but lots of people seem to say ah mund.

When I was about 7 I can remember saying determined as deter-mind-ed in my head when I was reading.

A work colleague pronounces ibuprofen as eye-bup-ruh-fn rather than eye-bew-pro-fen

Brufen (broo fun) was a brand name and that confused people I think.

and A’mund- a Californian tried to tell me a joke about almonds- when they’re harvested, they shake the ‘l’ out of them.

It fell flat as I pronounce the l in almond!

Wilkolampshade · 04/12/2023 14:31

'Rifling' as in to search for something hurriedly. I always though it was pronounced 'rye-full-ing', but the narrators of umpteen audiobooks show me I was very, very wrong and it is in fact 'ri-full-ing'
Is 'rifling' as in the grooves inside the barrel of a gun the other way I wonder? As its to do with a rifle?
Also, if you say rifle a lot it doesn't half sound odd.

KirstenBlest · 04/12/2023 14:34

How to pronounce DOUR in English (cambridge.org)

KirstenBlest · 04/12/2023 15:05

@ClaudiaWankleman , which was what you did. I've only ever heard it said as doo-r, and the link I posted was the first one that came up.

SinnerBoy · 04/12/2023 15:12

StillWantingADog · Today 13:38

I thought it was keenwah, but she gritted her teeth as she put me right. The thing is, I've forgotten how she said it now!

BabyYoshke · 04/12/2023 15:21

SinnerBoy · 04/12/2023 15:12

StillWantingADog · Today 13:38

I thought it was keenwah, but she gritted her teeth as she put me right. The thing is, I've forgotten how she said it now!

I think you say it “pure gross”

RestingCatsArseFace · 04/12/2023 15:24

SinnerBoy · 04/12/2023 15:12

StillWantingADog · Today 13:38

I thought it was keenwah, but she gritted her teeth as she put me right. The thing is, I've forgotten how she said it now!

Bolivian and Peruvian people say kee-no-ah.
We call it keenwah or kinwah.

I know this because my friend has a habit of correcting stuff regardless of whether it's right or not so I checked. See also how to say 'Auchan', which created a long discussion.

(Edit for typo, thanks to small cat).

ChanelNo19EDT · 04/12/2023 16:24

Yeh I speak Spanish and I wouldn't say keeno ah upon finding that it's a food from South America. In Spain they have a word for quinoa, 'asqueroso'

SinnerBoy · 04/12/2023 16:44

BabyYoshke · Today 15:21

I think you say it “pure gross”

😂

SinnerBoy · 04/12/2023 16:45

RestingCatsArseFace · Today 15:24

Bolivian and Peruvian people say kee-no-ah.

We call it keenwah or kinwah.

I think it's because that's how Americans say it.

aubergineman · 04/12/2023 16:48

Not me but my DH. Recently realised he says "au-ver-jean" instead of "au-ber-jean".

He had no idea he was saying it wrong his whole life, but fully acknowledges he is. It's so engrained that even though he knows he's wrong, he can't fix it.

StillWantingADog · 04/12/2023 16:54

Stephisaur · 04/12/2023 14:05

Segue is a tricky one for me, I still want to say "seg-ewe" 😂

Don't get me started on the spellings of locations within the UK. Just the other week I discovered the town of Towcester (pronounced 'Toaster')

I have a friend from Toaster. I thought it was an odd name for a place
and then finally realised much later she meant Towcester

Caledoniadreaming · 04/12/2023 17:18

StillWantingADog · 04/12/2023 16:54

I have a friend from Toaster. I thought it was an odd name for a place
and then finally realised much later she meant Towcester

Show quote history

I feel less alone now!

Yo-gurt v yog-hurt is an interesting battle in our house, especially with the 3 year old....😬however I have heard him saying "wee" for little more than once, so that's a victory in my book.

Joolery · 04/12/2023 17:27

Jewellery.

Apparently it's pronounced "Jewel-ry," but I never noticed this, and for some reason everyone in my family used to say "Joo-lery," so that's how I pronounce it.

What makes it awkward is that I was 30 before anyone actually pointed this out to me. And I spent my 20s teaching English as a Foreign Language in various countries. I specifically remember 'correcting' many people's pronunciation of this word to "joo-lery" over the years. So now there are people all over the world mispronouncing this word because of me.

BabyYoshke · 04/12/2023 17:53

I’ve always said joo-lery. I think it’s fine.

but when did priv - acy become prive-acy??

Stressyfab · 04/12/2023 17:57

I spent years thinking clergyman was pronounced with a hard g.
Thankfully I never had to say it out loud 😂

TicTacNicNak · 04/12/2023 18:21

My old nan - God rest her soul - used to say Charles Az-na-var-va (Aznavour) and also referred to Josafats Witnesses (Jehovah's).

For me it's Controversy. I've always pronounced it con-trovasee, but I hear it said as con-tra-ver-see.

Redebs · 04/12/2023 18:28

Only recently did I come to know that 'bold' and 'bald' are pronounced differently.
For decades I thought they were homophones.

RainbowConnection1 · 04/12/2023 18:30

Newtonianmechanics · 04/12/2023 08:25

I remember Simon Cowell and hyperbole on BGT.

I have to consciously correct Suite as in a hotel Suite. I say Suit.

My friend says wardrum for a wardrobe. Have not corrected her in 35 years. It's cute.

Where I live lots of people say quite as sweat. More than once someone has told me they're looking for a new sweat.

mamaduckbone · 04/12/2023 18:31

Chewbecca · 04/12/2023 09:38

Hermione!

Me too! I read it in a novel long before H Potter and was corrected by my (posh!) brother in law.
Thought it was Her-mee-own.
I still struggle with segue when I see it written.

Redebs · 04/12/2023 18:32

Lots of people pronounce basmati as 'baz martee'
It's 'bar smutty'

SarahShorty · 04/12/2023 18:33

When I was like 8. Portacabin. I said 'poor-tacka-bin'. My dear old nan couldn't stop laughing. Oh and 'knock', I always pronounced the 'k'. So knock-knock jokes were.... a disaster when I read them out. People corrected me eventually, I guess it was just too funny for a while 😂

enchantedsquirrelwood · 04/12/2023 18:40

MistyGreenAndBlue · 04/12/2023 12:32

Anemome. I always want to say anenome. Meh - close enough 😂

I have a similar problem with remuneration. To me it's renumeration. I don't know why.

I have just realised I do both of those too :)

pickledandpuzzled · 04/12/2023 20:04

Redebs · 04/12/2023 18:28

Only recently did I come to know that 'bold' and 'bald' are pronounced differently.
For decades I thought they were homophones.

DH doesn’t distinguish. He also says tongue as the singular of tongs.

It winds me up a bit. I have to ask whether he means hairless.