7 most commonly mispronounced words in English


7 Commonly Mispronounced Words in English

In this article, you're going to learn 7 most commonly mispronounced words in English. As people often mispronounce the below given words, it's possible that you too say them incorrectly. 

So go through the entire article to know the correct pronunciations of the 7 mispronounced words in English mentioned in this article. 

As you walk through the article, you'll notice that you have not only 7 mispronounced words to learn but have many incorrectly said words that are formed with the same pattern. 

Let's jump into the topic without any further delay!

1. Adjective 

Pronounce this very common word. Is it /ad-jek-tiv/? If you’re saying, /ad-jek-tiv/, then you’re mispronouncing this word.

Because the letter, "j" in this word represents the phonetic symbol, /dʒ/ which has a touch of /d/ sound. And on the other hand, the Latin prefix, "Ad" in "Adjective" has also /d/ sound. 

As the phonetic symbol, /dʒ/ represented by the English letter, "j" has a touch of /d/ sound, and "Ad" in Adjective has also /d/ sound, and pronouncing two /d/ sounds is difficult, this word is correctly pronounced without /d/ sound as /a-jek-tiv/ or /ˈædʒ.ek.tɪv/.

And there are many English words that are formed with the same Latin prefix, Ad, but they are pronounced without /d/ sound. Some of them are as under:

  • Adjacent is pronounced as /a-jei-sant/ or /əˈdʒeɪs(ə)nt/
  • Adjoin is pronounced as /a-jo-in/ or /əˈdʒɔɪn/
  • Adjust is pronounced as /a-jaast/ or /əˈdʒʌst/
  • Adjudicate is pronounced as /a-joo-di-keit/ or /əˈdʒuːdɪkeɪt/
  • Adjunct is pronounced as /a-jaang(k)t/ or /ˈadʒʌŋ(k)t/
  • Adjourn is pronounced as /a-jaan/ or /əˈdʒəːn/
  • Adjudge is pronounced as /a-jaaj/ or /əˈdʒʌdʒ/

2. Meme

 Pronounce this word. Is it /mem/ or /memey/? If you’re pronouncing this word as /mem/ or /memey/, you’re mispronouncing the word.

This word is correctly pronounced as /meem/ or /mi:m/.

It means an amusing and hilarious idea, image or video that’s spread by the internet users very quickly particularly on social media platforms. And this word with its new meaning earned a spot in Merriam Webster in 2015.

3. Achcha, Accha or Achha

Pronounce this word. Is it Aka? If yes, then you’re saying it incorrectly.

This particular word has multiple purposes and meanings, appears in the Urdu and Hindi languages which are major languages in India, and has its origin in the Sanskrit language which is the source language of Hindi. Its popularity got it a place in Cambridge Dictionary in 2020.

The actual pronunciation of this word in Urdu or Hindi is /ach-chha/, and as there’s no /chha/ sound in the English phonology, the sound, /chh/ became /tʃ/ in English. So this word is pronounced as /ˈætʃ.ɑː/.in English.

This word is used to express agreement and surprise. Be careful of the intonation or tone when using this word, because the tone will go down when this word is used for agreement as in "Achcha, I agree.", and the tone will go up when it expresses surprise as in "Acha, is it true?". 

4. Colonel 

Pronounce this word. Is it /ko-lo-nel/? If you say "yes", then it’s mispronunciation.

This word comes from the Italian word, colonello, but it was first taken into French which is pronounced something like coronel. 

Afterwards, the word was borrowed by the English with the Italian spelling and the French pronunciation. 

So this particular word is now spoken the same as kernel with the /r/ sound, not with /l/ sound. The phonetic transcription of this word is /ˈkəːnl/.

The meaning of this word is an army officer who is above the rank of a lieutenant.

5. Wednesday

Pronounce this word. Is it /wed-nes-dei/ or is it /wed-nez-dei/? If you say this either way, it will be a mispronunciation.

Allow me to take you back to the history of this word. The word is derived from the Old English word, Wodnesdæg.

The word was named after the Germanic god, Woden. As such it means Wodan’s day. Wodan’s day, with the passage of time, became wedn’sday, and of course, pronouncing the word, wedn’sday with the /d/ and /n/ sounds together is difficult. 

So the word, wedn’sday became wednesday removing the apostrophe and replacing it with /e/ in spelling.

Again the same problem took place, the problem is the difficulty in pronouncing the combination of /d/ and /n/ sounds at one place. So the word is now pronounced as /wenz-dei/ or /ˈwɛnzdeɪ/.

There are other English words that are pronounced without /d/ sound. Some of them are listed below. 

  • Handkerchief 
  • Sandwich 
  • Handsome 
  • Acknowledge 

6. Hyperbole

Say this word. Is it /hai-par-bol/? If you pronounce it as /hai-par-bol/, it will be mispronunciation.  

The correct pronunciation of hyperbole is /hai-pa(r)bali/ or /hʌɪˈpəːbəli/. Hyperbole is a figure of speech which means exaggerated statement.

7. Boatswain

Pronounce this word. Is it /bo-ats-wein/ or /baut-swein/? If you're saying it either way, then you're mispronouncing the word. 

The word is correctly pronounced as /bo-sun/ or /ˈbəʊsn/. Boatswain is a ship's officer.