If you’re an ESL student, there’s a good chance that at some point you’ll stumble over a word that’s hard to pronounce. To help make sure this doesn’t happen often, we’ve put together a list of 100 commonly mispronounced words in English. You can download the PDF below!
100 Mispronounced Words
| Correct Pronunciation | Incorrect Pronunciation |
| Carpal tunnel syndrome | Carpool tunnel syndrome |
| Film | Fillum |
| Library | Libary |
| Perspire | Prespire |
| Stub | Stob |
| Arctic | Artic |
| Diphtheria | Diptheria |
| GIF (jiff) | GIF (ghiff) |
| Nuclear | Nucular |
| Prostate | Prostrate |
| Tenterhooks | Tenderhooks |
| Antarctic | Antartic (ant-ar-tic) |
| Dilate (dye-late) | Dialate (dye-ah-late) |
| Foyer | Foy-ay |
| Moot | Mute |
| Pronunciation | Pronounciation |
| Tenet | Tenant |
| Affidavit | Affidavid |
| Clothes | Close |
| Forte (for-tay) | Fort (fort) |
| Miniature (min-ee-ah-ture) | Miniture (min-ih-ture) |
| Prescription | Perscription |
| Tack | Tact |
Words with Correct Pronunciation
| Correct Pronunciation | Incorrect Pronunciation |
| Cacophony (ca-caw-fone-ee) | Caucaphony (caw-ca-fone-ee) |
| Et cetera | Excetera |
| Law and order | Laura Norder |
| Percolate | Perculate |
| So | Sose |
| Zoology (zo-ol-oh-gee) | Zuology (zu-ol-oh-gee) |
| A blessing in disguise | A blessing in the skies |
| Champ at the bit | Chomp at the bit |
| Foliage (foh-lee-age) | Foilage (foy-ull-age) |
| Mauve | Mawv |
| Potable | Pottable |
| Supposedly | Supposably |
| Candidate | Cannidate |
| February (Feb-roo-air-ee) | Febuary (Feb-you-air-ee) |
| Lease | Leash |
| Peremptory | Preemptory |
| Spay | Spade |
| Across | Acrossed |
| Chest of drawers | Chester drawers |
| For all intents and purposes | For all intensive purposes |
| Mayonnaise | Man-naise |
| Prerogative | Perogative |
| Supremacist | Supremist |
| Barbiturate | Barbituate |
| Escape | Excape |
| Jewelry (jool-ree) | Jewlery (joo-luh-ree) |
| Ostensibly | Ostensively |
| Sherbet | Sherbert |
| Wasn’t | Wadn’t |
| Australia | Ostraya |
| Electoral | Electorial |
Common Mispronounced Words
Below are words that are mostly pronounced in a wrong way.
| Correct Pronunciation | Incorrect Pronunciation |
| Hierarchy (hi-err-ar-key) | Hi-archy |
| Ordnance | Ordinance |
| Relevant | Revelant |
| Verbiage (ver-bee-age) | Verbage (ver-bage) |
| Ask | Aks or axe |
| Dog-eat-dog world | Doggy dog world |
| Height | Heighth |
| Nuptial (nup-shul) | Nuptual (nup-shu-ull) |
| Realtor (real-tor) | Realator (real-a-tor) |
| Triathlon (tri-ath-lon) | Triathalon (tri-ath-a-lon) |
| Cardsharp | Card shark |
| Federal (fed-err-all) | Fedral (fed-rall) |
| Liable | Libel |
| Pernickety | Persnickety |
| Stamp | Stomp |
| Athlete, athletic | Athelete, atheletic |
| Drown | Drownd |
| Heimlich maneuver (or manoeuvre, Br.) | Heineken remover |
| Often | Off ten |
| Regardless | Irregardless |
| Utmost | Upmost |
| Business | Bidness |
| Especially | Expecially |
| Just | Jist nor jus |
| Other | Nother |
| Silicon | Silicone |
| Whet | Wet |
| Alzheimer’s disease | Old-timer’s disease |
| Cornet (kor-net) | Coronet (kor-oh-net) |
| Founder | Flounder |
| Mischievous (mis-chiv-ous) | Mischevious (mis-chee-vee-ous) |
| Correct Pronunciation | Incorrect Pronunciation |
| Probably | Probly, prolly |
| Take for granted | Take for granite |
| The Caucasus (caw-cah-suhs) | The Caucases (caw-cah-says) |
| Cavalry (cav-al-ree) | Calvary (cal-vah-ree) |
| Fiscal | Fisical |
| Masonry | Masonary |
| Pollute | Plute |
| Suite (sweet) | Suit (soot) |
| Cache (cash) | Cachet (cash-ay) |
| Espresso | Expresso |
| Larynx (lare-inks) | Larnyx (lare-nicks) |
| Parliament | Parlament |
| Sneaked | Snuck |
| Yolk | Yoke |
| Barbed wire | Bob wire (or barb wire) |
| Enclosed in parentheses (pare-en-the-sees) | Enclosed in parenthesis (pare-en-the-sis) |
| Interpret | Interpretate |
| Orient | Orientate |
| Respite (res-pit) | Respite (res-pite) |
| Voluptuous | Volumptuous |
Leave a Comment