The top 20 everyday words Brits struggle to pronounce correctly

The top 20 everyday words Brits struggle to pronounce correctly The nation’s most mispronounced words are acai, segue and charcuterie. A study of 2,000 adults found many stumble over commonly used words, with other ‘difficult’ phrases including quinoa, gnocchi and Worcestershire. Also in the top 10 most mispronounced words are Chipotle, phenomenon and gyro, with hyperbole, aesthetic and even gif also proving tricky for some Brits. It also emerged 85% have had someone correct them after poorly pronouncing a word, leaving a quarter of people feeling embarrassed. Because of this, 24% admitted they aren’t confident giving unfamiliar words a go. But a further 27% have continued to confidently spout a word incorrectly, despite knowing they were still getting it wrong. Kirsten Stagg, a spokesperson for Škoda, which commissioned the research after revealing people have been saying the name of the car brand wrong for years, said: "Sometimes, there are words that simply don't sound how they are spelt, and even everyday terms tend to catch people out. “Škoda is a perfect example. The distinctive mark above the S, known as a hacek, or caron, can throw people off, and here in the UK the name is commonly pronounced ‘S-co-der’ rather than the correct ‘Sh-co-da’. “What’s great to see from the research is that the majority of people are still willing to have a go, even when they’re unfamiliar with a word and risk getting it wrong.” The study also found more than eight in 10 (85%) of adults believe correct pronunciation is important, with 59% of those believing it helps avoid misunderstandings. Others think it shows respect for language (52%), makes them appear more knowledgeable (38%) and professional (34%). Nearly four in 10 would even go as far as to say the way someone pronounces words can influence the impression they have of them. Attitudes towards mispronunciation vary across generations, with more than half (53%) of Gen Z claiming a person’s pronunciation would impact what they think of them, compared to just 24% of Boomers. Likewise, 57% of Gen Z have been known to correct family, friends and colleagues on their pronunciation, but only 29% of Boomers do the same, according to the OnePoll data. Among those who avoid correcting others, the most common reasons were not wanting to embarrass them (39%), not wanting to appear rude (35%) and not feeling it’s their place to do so (33%). It also emerged 47% of adults believe words should be spelt the way they are said, but 30% credit social media for making them more aware of how to pronounce words. Stagg added: “As a brand whose name people haven’t always found easy to pronounce, we know better than most that some words can be trickier than others. That’s exactly why we’ve launched our ‘Šhhhkoda’ campaign… along the way, hopefully we can help more people discover how we say ours.” Top 20 mispronounced words - Acai - mispronunciation: “ah-sigh” vs. correct pronunciation: “ah-sigh-ee" - Segue - “seeg” / “seg” vs. “seg-way” - Charcuterie - “char-koo-ter-ree” (harsh c) vs. “shar-koo-tuh-ree” - Quinoa - “kwin-wa” or “kwin-no-a” vs. “keen-wa” - Gnocchi - “no-kee” vs. “nyawk-kee” - Worcestershire - “wor-chest-er” vs. “wus-ter-sher” - Chipotle - “chip-oh-ttul” vs. “chi-poht-lay” - Phenomenon - “phenom-nom-non” vs. “phe-nom-enon” - Gyro - “gi-ro” vs. “yee-ro” (rolled r) - Similarly - “si-mi-ly” vs. “si-mi-lar-ly” - Hyperbole - “hy-per-bly” vs. “hy-per-bo-ly” - Aesthetic - “aesth-tic” vs. “as-the-tic” - Gif - “jif” vs. “g-if” - Entrepreneur - “on-tre-prener” vs. “on-tre-pre-neur” - Colonel - “co-lo-nel” vs. “cur-nel” - Necessarily - “ne-siss-rily” vs. “ne-siss-sar-ri-ly” - Specific - “spe-sthi-fic” vs. “spe-ci-fic” - Espresso - “ex-press-o” vs. “es-press-so” - Brewery - “broo-wry” vs. “broo-wer-ry” - Squirrel - “skwirl” vs. “skwi-rrel”