By the Dictionary Wiki Editorial Team · Published · Updated · 1,104 words · Pronunciation
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English spelling and English speech rarely shake hands. Silent letters, borrowed vocabulary, shifting stress, and centuries of sound changes leave even careful speakers second-guessing a handful of words. The hundred entries below cover the classic culprits — the words that regularly trip people up at job interviews, in lectures, on podcasts, and around the dinner table. Each row lists the spoken form you're aiming for and the slip-up that usually takes its place. Whether you grew up speaking English or picked it up later, you'll find quick wins here.
What Makes These Words So Slippery
A few repeating culprits explain almost every pronunciation stumble. Once you can name the pattern, you can see errors coming before they happen — even with words that never made this list.
Frozen spellings: English often preserves how a word used to sound or how it sounded in its original language. Colonel, Wednesday, and February all fossilize older pronunciations their spellings no longer match.
Letters that aren't spoken: Some letters sit silently in the spelling, like the b in subtle, the l in salmon, or the middle t that gets swallowed in often.
Imported vocabulary: Words pulled from French, Italian, Latin, Greek, and Nahuatl often keep the rules of their home language — hence genre, cache, bruschetta, and quinoa.
Wrong syllable gets the stress: Multi-syllable words invite guesses about which beat gets the weight. Comparable, formidable, and mischievous are repeat offenders.
Sounding it out too literally: Saying a word exactly as it looks on the page may feel safe, but it's precisely what leads to "ofTen," "arTic," and "nuke-u-lar."
Words 1 to 25: Daily Speech Traps
#
Word
Correct
Common Error
1
pronunciation
pro-NUN-see-AY-shun
"pro-NOUNCE-ee-ay-shun"
2
often
OFF-en or OFF-ten
Both are now accepted
3
February
FEB-roo-air-ee
"FEB-yoo-air-ee"
4
library
LY-brair-ee
"LY-berry"
5
Wednesday
WENZ-day
"Wed-NES-day"
6
comfortable
KUMF-ter-bul
"com-FOR-ta-bul"
7
clothes
KLOHZ (one syllable)
"KLOH-thiz" (two syllables)
8
jewelry
JOOL-ree
"JOO-luh-ree"
9
vegetable
VEJ-tuh-bul
"VEJ-eh-TAY-bul"
10
interesting
IN-tris-ting
"in-ter-EST-ing"
11
ask
ASK
"AKS"
12
nuclear
NOO-klee-er
"NOO-kyoo-ler"
13
mischievous
MIS-chuh-vus (3 syllables)
"mis-CHEE-vee-us" (4 syllables)
14
arctic
ARK-tik
"AR-tik"
15
supposedly
suh-POZ-ed-lee
"suh-POSE-ub-lee"
16
espresso
es-PRESS-oh
"ex-PRESS-oh"
17
et cetera
et-SET-er-uh
"ek-SET-er-uh"
18
specifically
spuh-SIF-ik-lee
"puh-SIF-ik-lee"
19
picture
PIK-cher
"PITCH-er"
20
probably
PROB-ub-lee
"PROB-lee"
21
supposedly
suh-POZ-id-lee
"suh-POSE-ab-lee"
22
athlete
ATH-leet (2 syllables)
"ATH-uh-leet" (3 syllables)
23
escape
ih-SKAPE
"ek-SKAPE"
24
height
HYTE (rhymes with "bite")
"HEIGHTH"
25
miniature
MIN-ee-uh-chur
"MIN-uh-chur"
Words 26 to 50: Workplace and Classroom
#
Word
Correct
Common Error
26
hierarchy
HY-er-ar-kee
"HY-ar-kee"
27
hyperbole
hy-PER-buh-lee
"HY-per-bowl"
28
epitome
ih-PIT-uh-mee
"EP-ih-tohm"
29
colonel
KER-nul
"KOL-oh-nel"
30
cache
KASH
"ka-SHAY" (that's cachet)
31
niche
NEESH or NITCH
"NISH"
32
subtle
SUT-ul (silent b)
"SUB-tul"
33
paradigm
PAIR-uh-dyme
"PAIR-uh-dig-um"
34
analogous
uh-NAL-uh-gus
"an-uh-LOG-us"
35
heinous
HAY-nus
"HEE-nus"
36
moot
MOOT (rhymes with boot)
"MUTE"
37
prerogative
prih-ROG-uh-tiv
"per-ROG-uh-tiv"
38
spurious
SPYOOR-ee-us
"SPUR-ee-us"
39
segue
SEG-way
"SEG"
40
coup
KOO
"KOOP"
41
debris
duh-BREE
"DEB-ris"
42
genre
ZHON-ruh
"JEN-er"
43
facade
fuh-SAHD
"fuh-KAYD"
44
awry
uh-RY
"AW-ree"
45
faux pas
FOH PAH
"FAWKS PASS"
46
albeit
all-BEE-it
"AL-bite"
47
miscellaneous
mis-uh-LAY-nee-us
"mis-SELL-uh-nus"
48
prescription
prih-SKRIP-shun
"per-SKRIP-shun"
49
candidate
KAN-dih-dayt
"KAN-uh-dayt"
50
dilate
dy-LAYT
"DY-uh-layt"
Words 51 to 75: Kitchen, Cities, and Imports
#
Word
Correct
Common Error
51
quinoa
KEEN-wah
"kwin-OH-uh"
52
açaí
ah-sah-EE
"ah-KAI"
53
bruschetta
broo-SKET-tah
"broo-SHET-uh"
54
chipotle
chih-POHT-lay
"chih-POT-ul"
55
gnocchi
NYOK-kee
"noh-CHEE" or "GNAK-ee"
56
worcestershire
WUS-ter-sher
"war-SEST-er-shy-er"
57
salmon
SAM-un (silent l)
"SAL-mun"
58
almond
AH-mund or AL-mund
Both are widely accepted
59
croissant
kwah-SAHN
"kruh-SANT"
60
gyro
YEE-roh
"JY-roh"
61
turmeric
TER-muh-rik
"TOO-muh-rik"
62
macabre
muh-KAH-bruh
"muh-KAB"
63
renaissance
REN-uh-sahnce
"reh-NAY-sawnce"
64
lingerie
LAHN-zhuh-ray
"LIN-juh-ree"
65
chagrin
shuh-GRIN
"CHAG-rin"
66
coup de grâce
KOO duh GRAHS
"koo duh GRAH"
67
bourgeois
boor-ZHWAH
"BOR-jee-oiss"
68
Melbourne
MEL-burn
"MEL-born"
69
Edinburgh
ED-in-bruh
"ED-in-burg"
70
Thames
TEMZ
"THAYMZ"
71
Leicester
LES-ter
"LY-ses-ter"
72
Versailles
ver-SY
"ver-SAYLZ"
73
Notre Dame
NOH-truh DAHM
"NOH-ter DAYM"
74
BMW
In German: Bay-Em-Vay
English: Bee-Em-Double-Yoo
75
Porsche
POR-shuh (two syllables)
"PORSH" (one syllable)
Words 76 to 100: Bookish and Obscure
#
Word
Correct
Common Error
76
acai
ah-sah-EE
"AK-ay-ee"
77
ennui
on-WEE
"EN-yoo-ee"
78
hegemony
hih-JEM-uh-nee
"HEJ-uh-moh-nee"
79
chasm
KAZ-um
"CHAZ-um"
80
chaos
KAY-oss
"CHOW-ss"
81
quay
KEE
"KWAY"
82
draught
DRAFT
"DRAWT"
83
receipt
rih-SEET
"rih-SEEPT"
84
queue
KYOO
"KWAY-way"
85
onomatopoeia
on-uh-mat-uh-PEE-uh
"on-uh-MAT-oh-poy-uh"
86
anemone
uh-NEM-uh-nee
"AN-uh-mohn"
87
posthumous
POS-chuh-mus
"post-HYOO-mus"
88
respite
RES-pit
"reh-SPITE"
89
succinct
suk-SINKT
"SUK-sinkt"
90
Antarctic
ant-ARK-tik
"ant-AR-tik"
91
formidable
FOR-mih-duh-bul
"for-MID-uh-bul"
92
comparable
KOM-per-uh-bul
"kum-PAIR-uh-bul"
93
applicable
AP-lih-kuh-bul
"uh-PLIK-uh-bul"
94
integral
IN-tih-grul
"in-TEG-rul"
95
docile
DOS-ul (US) / DOH-syle (UK)
"DOK-ile"
96
cerebral
suh-REE-brul or SER-uh-brul
"ser-EE-bral"
97
camaraderie
kah-mah-RAH-duh-ree
"kam-uh-RAD-ree"
98
comptroller
kun-TROH-ler
"KOMP-troh-ler"
99
victuals
VIT-ulz
"VIK-choo-ulz"
100
synecdoche
sih-NEK-duh-kee
"sin-EK-dosh"
Ways to Stop Mispronouncing New Words
Lean on dictionaries with audio buttons: Before saying a word out loud for the first time, tap the speaker icon. Hearing the word once or twice cements it faster than reading any respelling.
Pick up the basics of IPA: A small investment in the International Phonetic Alphabet pays off forever. Once you can decode an IPA entry, every dictionary in the world opens up.
Don't trust the spelling. English spelling freezes history; it doesn't predict sound. Treat every new word as a sound to learn, not a spelling to decode.
Mark the stress: Wrong stress is behind a huge share of common errors. When you write down a new word, underline or capitalize the stressed syllable so your eye remembers.
Trace the origin. A word borrowed from French (genre, debris, lingerie) or Greek (epitome, hegemony, paradigm) will often follow patterns from those languages. A tiny etymology habit prevents a lot of guesswork.
Ask without embarrassment: A five-second check with a colleague or a quick search beats locking in the wrong version for years.
Nobody reaches perfect pronunciation, and nobody needs to. What matters is that listeners understand you and that you keep a learner's ear. Catching the words on this list is a good start, but the real skill is getting comfortable asking, listening, and adjusting whenever a new one crosses your path.
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