40 Commonly Mispronounced English Words, Grouped by the Mistake

Most lists of commonly mispronounced words are simply lists. That is not very useful, because the same few mistakes produce almost all of them. A learner who says com-for-ta-ble will also say ve-ge-ta-ble and in-te-res-ting, and fixing the pattern fixes all three.

The forty words below are grouped by the type of error. Transcriptions are British first, with American shown where it differs. Say each word before reading its transcription, then check.

1. Words with fewer syllables than their spelling suggests

In these words an unstressed vowel in the spelling is not pronounced at all in normal speech. The syllable simply disappears.

The pattern: an unstressed vowel between a consonant and /r/ or /l/ tends to vanish. When you meet a long word, find the stressed syllable first; the weak vowels around it are candidates for deletion. The schwa guide explains the underlying rule.

2. Silent letters

The pattern: most of these letters were added by scholars who wanted English spelling to look like Latin (debt from debitum, receipt from recepta), or they reflect sounds English stopped pronouncing centuries ago. See silent letters in English for the groups.

3. Words stressed on the wrong syllable

The pattern: these are frequently cognates whose stress differs in the learner's language. Spanish tecnología, French hôtel and Portuguese carreira all put the stress somewhere else. Because stress errors cost more intelligibility than sound errors, this group is the most important to fix.

4. Vowels the spelling hides

The pattern: high-frequency words kept old pronunciations while their spelling stayed fixed. There is no shortcut. These have to be learned individually, but there are few of them.

5. Loanwords that kept (or lost) their origin

The pattern: words borrowed from French often keep French-like stress or sounds (suite, genre), while words from Greek often keep a pronounced final e (recipe, epitome, catastrophe, apostrophe). A final -e after a consonant in a Greek-looking word is a signal to check the dictionary.

Words native speakers say two ways

Not every "mistake" is a mistake. For these words, both pronunciations are standard, and dictionaries list both. Learners sometimes get corrected for one of them by a teacher who happens to use the other. Pick one and use it consistently.

How to use this list

1. Read every word aloud and mark the ones you got wrong.
2. Look at which group your errors fall into. Most learners have one dominant group.
3. Practise that group first, and apply the pattern to new words as you meet them.
4. Record yourself saying the words in a sentence, not in isolation: "I'd like a comfortable hotel near the restaurant on Wednesday."

Frequently asked questions

What is the most mispronounced word in English?

There is no single answer, but comfortable, Wednesday and vegetable appear on almost every list because they all have fewer syllables than their spelling suggests. Learners who fix that pattern fix all three.

Is it wrong to pronounce every syllable in words like family or chocolate?

It is understood, but it sounds careful or foreign. Native speakers drop the weak middle vowel in normal speech. In very formal or slow speech, some keep it.

Why is colonel pronounced kernel?

English borrowed the word from French coronel, with an r, and later changed the spelling to match Italian colonnello. The spelling was changed, but the r-based pronunciation stayed.

Sources and further reading

• Wells, J. C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Pearson Longman.
• Jones, D. (2011). Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (18th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
• Upward, C. and Davidson, G. (2011). The History of English Spelling. Wiley-Blackwell.

Read More in This Topic

• Silent Letters in English Pronunciation: Why the Spelling Still Matters
• Word Stress Rules in English: What Learners Need to Hear First
• Heteronyms: English Words With One Spelling and Two Pronunciations

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