20 Words You're Probly Mispronouncing

Well, maybe not you, but somebody you know is.

Whether it’s because we’re lazy or we actually just don’t know better, we’re all guilty of mangling the proper pronunciation of any number of words. Here are some of the most common offenders:

1. Nuclear. This is number 1 with a bullet, and it’s pronounced nu-klee-er, not nuke-yoo-ler. Among its most notable offenders are two former US presidents, Dwight Eisenhower and George W Bush.

2. Chimney is chim-nee, not chim-uh-nee, and absolutely not chim-lee.

3. February has two Rs, so hit them both; Feb-roo-airy, not Feb-yoo-airy

4. Especially, not ex-specially

5. Mayonnaise has three syllables, the non-word manaze has two.

6. Espresso does not contain an X, so it’s not pronounced expresso.

7. Escape, not egg-scape

8. Et cetera, not ek-cetera. The hint is in the abbreviation itself, which is etc

9. Diabetes is pronounced die-a-bee-tees, not die-a-beet-us

10. Athlete only has two syllables, so it's not pronounced ath-a-lete

11. Film has one syllable, not like the super-annoying fillum (really, who started that one?).

12. Jewelry: it's pronounced like it's spelled; jewel-ree, not joo-luh-ree

13. Often: Okay, this one isn't pronounced like it's spelled because the "t" is silent. Say

Off-un, not Off-tun.

14. Prostate (gland) contains only one "R", so it's not pronounced prostrate. Don't confuse it with heat prostration.

15. Realtor™, besides being a trademarked brand, is pronounced real-tor, not real-uh-tor. This is so common that I know real estate agents who call themselves real-uh-ters.

16. Arctic has two "C"s, so say them both; ark-tik, not ar-tik (or even worse, ar-dik).

17. Probably has three syllables, so it's not pronounced prob-lee.

18. Quebec, the beautiful Canadian province, is pronounced keh-bek, not kwa-bek or Q-bek.

19. Eastern, Western, and Modern are not pronounced East-run,West-run, and Mod-run.

20. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, IT'S SAND-WITCH!... not sam-widge. Ugh.