Commonly mispronounced English words
Words even fluent speakers get wrong — what people say, and what dictionaries record. Updated 2026-11-08.
These are words that fluent, educated speakers regularly pronounce differently from the form dictionaries record as standard. A note on fairness first: pronunciation changes over time, and several “mistakes” below are now listed as acceptable variants. Where that's the case, we say so. Stressed syllables are in capitals.
Extra sounds that sneak in
| Word | Standard | Common slip | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| espresso | es-PRES-oh | ex-PRES-oh | There is no X in the word; it's Italian for “pressed out”, not related to express in spelling. |
| especially | ih-SPESH-uh-lee | ex-SPESH-uh-lee | Same false X as espresso. |
| athlete | ATH-leet | ATH-uh-leet | Two syllables; the extra vowel breaks up the thl cluster. Same with athletic. |
| height | HYT | HYTTH | By analogy with width, length, depth — but height ends in a plain T. |
| sherbet | SHER-bit | SHER-bert | Only one R in the spelling. The second R is now so common some dictionaries list it. |
| realtor | REEL-ter | REE-luh-ter | Two syllables; the slip mirrors words like jeweler. |
| triathlon | try-ATH-lon | try-ATH-uh-lon | Same epenthetic vowel as athlete. |
Sounds that go missing
| Word | Standard | Common slip | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| library | LY-brer-ee | LY-ber-ee | Two R's close together; the first tends to drop. Very common in fast speech. |
| february | FEB-roo-er-ee | FEB-yoo-er-ee | The same R-dropping, but this variant is now so widespread that dictionaries list it as standard too. |
| probably | PROB-uh-blee | PROB-lee | Fine in casual speech; avoid it in a presentation. |
| pronunciation | pruh-nun-see-AY-shuhn | pruh-nown-see-AY-shuhn | The verb is pronounce, but the noun's spelling (and sound) is -nun-. |
Wrong stress or reordered sounds
| Word | Standard | Common slip | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| mischievous | MIS-chuh-vuhs | mis-CHEE-vee-uhs | Three syllables, stressed on the first. There's no -ious in the spelling. |
| nuclear | NOO-klee-er | NOO-kyuh-ler | The slip swaps sounds by analogy with molecular, particular. |
| jewelry | JOO-uhl-ree | JOO-luh-ree | The L moves; follow the spelling jewel + ry. (British: jewellery, JOO-uhl-ree.) |
| prerogative | pruh-ROG-uh-tiv | per-ROG-uh-tiv | It begins with pre-, not per-. |
| etcetera | et-SET-er-uh | ek-SET-er-uh | Latin et cetera, “and the rest”. Starts with et. |
Spelling that hides the sound
These aren't really mispronunciations — they're words whose spelling actively misleads, usually because the spelling froze centuries ago while the sound kept changing.
- colonel — KER-nuhl. The spelling follows Italian colonnello; the pronunciation follows the older French form coronel.
- wednesday — WENZ-day. The first d and the second e are silent; the name comes from “Woden's day”.
- recipe — RES-uh-pee. Three syllables; the final e is sounded.
- epitome — ih-PIT-uh-mee, and hyperbole — hy-PER-buh-lee. Both are Greek, where a final e was a full vowel.
- quinoa — KEEN-wah. From Quechua via Spanish.
- Silent letters: the L in salmon and yolk, the W in sword, the S in island, the P in receipt, the B in subtle and debt.
Both are fine
Some words get “corrected” when there is nothing to correct:
- often — OFF-en and OFF-ten are both standard. The T was silent for centuries and has been coming back under the influence of spelling.
- either and neither — EE-ther and EYE-ther are both correct in both countries; EE- is more common in the US.
- comfortable — the three-syllable KUMF-ter-buhl is the normal everyday form; the four-syllable KUM-fer-tuh-buhl is fine but sounds deliberate.
- route — ROOT and ROWT are both American English; British English uses ROOT.
- almond — AH-muhnd, AM-uhnd and AHL-muhnd are all heard; regional preference decides.
Every word above has its own page with American and British audio — click through and compare.