“Fack-Aid” Instead Of “Facade”: 17 Words People Mispronounced For Waaaaay Too Long Because They Hadn’t Heard Them Said

1.

“[Hyperbole]. The mispronunciation is HY-per-BOWL, and the correct pronunciation is hy-PER-bo-LEE.”

— andyvn22

2.

“I had quite a few of these growing up. The one I think is most common is ‘segue.’ Did you know it’s pronounced ‘segway’? I didn’t for a very, very long time.”

— J.T. Grimes

3.

“Colonel. This has to be the worst word for me. I know that it is pronounced ker-nil, but EVERY time I read it, the pronunciation in my head is col-o-nel. How is colonel “ker-nil” anyway?!”

— bryan

4.

“Paradigm (par-uh-dahym). I’ve winced a couple of times when people have said ‘par-uh-di-jum.'”

— Matt

5.

“Rapport (pronounced ra-PORE, not ra-PORT).”

— res

6.

“Epitome. For years, I thought this was EPPY-tome.”

— njd

7.

“Facade should be pronounced ‘fuh-SAHD.’ At first, I pronounced it ‘fack-AID.'”

— kitukwfyer

8.

“Height sounds like high+t, which is logical, I suppose, but I used to think it rhymed with eight.”

— bbleeker

9.

“Ennui. Imagine my surprise at learning that it’s pronounced ‘on-wi’ and not ‘eh-new-ee!'”

— Jonik

10.

“Misled. When I was a kid, I thought it was pronounced like a strange combination of ‘miser’ and ’tiled.’ You know, mise-uld!”

— Neil McGuigan

11.

“Biopic, which does not rhyme with ‘myopic’ (stress on ‘o’). It’s pronounced like bio-pic (primary stress on ‘bi’). Even after I found that out, I still don’t like it.”

— Kosmonaut

12.

“Behemoth. I always stress the first syllable (BEE-heh-moth), even after hearing it with the stress on the second syllable (buh-HEE-muth). I just can’t seem to get past it.”

— user362

13.

“Queue. I’ve never known how to pronounce this. On the rare occasions when it comes up in conversation, I generally say ‘Qu… K… Line.'”

— Obsidian

14.

“Worcestershire, as in the sauce. The obvious pronunciation is ‘wor-chest-er-shy-er,’ but apparently the correct pronunciation is ‘werst-er-sher.'”

— Gary

15.

“I was in my twenties before I learned that hors d’oeuvres (ôr dûrvz) was NOT pronounced (whores duh vree).”

— user4597

16.

“One I’ve just learned of: viscount. Apparently, it’s pronounced VYE-count. Who knew?”

— francois

17.

Finally, here’s one I learned while making this post: “Draught, as in draught beer, pronounced as ‘draft’ and not dr-aw-ght.”

— JoseK

What’s a word you’ve always mispronounced? Tell us in the comments below!

Note: Responses have been edited for length and clarity.