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These are the most mispronounced words in the US

By Owen Scott4 min readThe Independent
These are the most mispronounced words in the USThese are the most mispronounced words in the US
The name of the luxury car brand 'Porsche' was one of the most commonly searched pronunciations (AFP/Getty)

Americans struggled to pronounce the name of a popular dog breed, a British sauce and a word from a hit Disney movie

The words most often mispronounced by Americans have been revealed in a new study.

​The survey found that people across the country struggled with everything from dog breed names to popular dishes, as well as country names and even a famous word from a hit Disney movie.

​However, the word most people turned to Google for help in pronouncing was ‘Worcestershire sauce’, according to the study by online puzzle platform Unscrambler.

A condiment that shares its name with a county in England, it is also known as a key ingredient in a Bloody Mary cocktail.

The name of the luxury car brand 'Porsche' was one of the most commonly searched pronunciations
The name of the luxury car brand 'Porsche' was one of the most commonly searched pronunciations (AFP/Getty)

​Unscramblerer’s study analysed Google Trends data from January 1 until October 20 and focused on searches that included prompts such as: “How to pronounce” and “How do you pronounce.”

​Over 321,600 searches for the pronunciation of Worcestershire sauce were made during that period, which is over 30,000 more than the word that landed in second place.

​The runner-up to Worcestershire sauce was ‘gyro’, the Greek dish in which meat is stacked in layers on a vertical rotisserie and slow-roasted. ​Alabama, Indiana, Mississippi and Missouri were the four states where gyro topped the list of pronunciation queries.

In third place was German dog breed ‘Dachshund’ with ​Nebraska, North Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming coming out top in pronunciation searches.

​In fourth place was niche, followed by ​Porsche in fifth.

Americans also needed help to pronounce 'Dachshund’ correctly
Americans also needed help to pronounce 'Dachshund’ correctly (PA)

The fifteenth most searched-for word is of particular note, as ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ was invented for Disney’s classic movie Mary Poppins.

The film dedicated a song to its pronunciation in a memorable scene with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke.

​Some Americans even searched for the correct pronunciation of their own home states, including people living in Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Nevada and Oregon.

And ​Iran, which has been locked in a conflict with the U.S. since February this year, also featured on the Unscramblerer’s list.

Top 15 most mispronounced words in the United States

  1. Worcestershire sauce (Wuus-ter-sheer sauce) - searched 321,600 times
  2. Gyro (YEE-roh) - searched 290,400 times
  3. Dachshund (DAKS-hund) - searched 259,100 times
  4. Niche (NEESH) - searched 224,500 times
  5. Porsche (POR-shuh) - searched 205,200 times
  6. Qatar (kuh-TAR) - searched 196,800 times
  7. Gif (JIF) - searched 190,700 times
  8. Curacao (KYUR-uh-sow) - searched 189,600 times
  9. Saoirse (SEER-shuh) - searched 181,200 times
  10. Pho (FUH) - searched 174,000 times
  11. Salmon (SAM-un) - searched 171,600 times
  12. Nguyen (WIN) - searched 170,300 times
  13. Aoife (EE-fuh) - searched 169,200 times
  14. Acai (Ah-sigh-ee) - searched 168,000 times
  15. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (Super-cali-FRAJ-al-istic-ex-pi-ali-do-shous) - searched 165,600 times

The most mispronounced word in each states

  1. Alabama – Gyro
  2. Alaska – Juneau (JOO-noh)
  3. Arizona – Saguaro (suh-WAR-oh)
  4. Arkansas – Aoife (EE-fuh)
  5. California – Iran (ih-RAN)
  6. Colorado – Colorado (kah-luh-RAD-oh)
  7. Connecticut – Curacao (KYUR-uh-sow)
  8. Delaware – Water (WAW-ter)
  9. Florida – Schedule (SKEJ-ool)
  10. Georgia – FIFA (FEE-fuh)
  11. Hawaii – Hawaii (huh-WY-ee)
  12. Idaho – Worcestershire sauce
  13. Illinois – Chicago (shih-KAH-goh)
  14. Indiana – Gyro
  15. Iowa – Hozier (HOH-zee-er)
  16. Kansas – Iran
  17. Kentucky – Louisville (LOO-uh-vul).
  18. Louisiana – Eschatology (es-kuh-TAH-luh-jee)
  19. Maine – Bangor (BANG-gor)
  20. Maryland – Gauche (GOHSH)
  21. Massachusetts – Massachusetts (mass-uh-CHOO-sits)
  22. Michigan – Gauche
  23. Minnesota – Nguyen (WIN)
  24. Mississippi – Gyro
  25. Missouri – Gyro
  26. Montana – Xochitl (SOH-cheel)
  27. Nebraska – Dachshund
  28. Nevada – Nevada (nuh-VAD-uh)
  29. New Hampshire – Acai (ah-sigh-EE)
  30. New Jersey – Data (DAY-tuh)
  31. New Mexico – Laufey (LAY-vay)
  32. New York – Iran
  33. North Carolina – Raleigh (RAH-lee)
  34. North Dakota – Dachshund
  35. Ohio – Spaghetti (spuh-GET-ee)
  36. Oklahoma – Acai
  37. Oregon – Oregon (OR-ih-gun)
  38. Pennsylvania – Water (WAW-ter)
  39. Rhode Island – Caprese (kuh-PRAY-zay)
  40. South Carolina – Salmon (SAM-un)
  41. South Dakota – Worcestershire sauce
  42. Tennessee – Sevierville (sev-uh-VEER-ul)
  43. Texas – Pho (FUH)
  44. Utah – Data (DAY-tuh)
  45. Vermont – Montpelier (mont-PEEL-yer)
  46. Virginia – Laufey (LAY-vay)
  47. Washington – Spokane (spoh-KAN)
  48. West Virginia – Dachshund
  49. Wisconsin – Paczki (POONCH-kee)
  50. Wyoming – Dachshund