24 Words That Are Almost Impossible to Pronounce Correctly
English is a tough language to speak, and sometimes, a single word can be challenging through and through. Certain letters and sounds have no business being next to each other. But nevertheless, they sit side-by-side.
From rural to erinaceous, the words on this list are enough to make any American’s tongue twist.
1: Anemone
An anemone is a small flowering plant that many colloquially refer to as a windflower. Given how difficult anemone is to pronounce, we’re all for using the common name.
2: Anesthetist
Anesthetists have to be clever, as putting patients under anesthesia can have complications. Still, we imagine even they have a hard time stating their title out loud.
3: Antidisestablishmentarianism
Antidisestablishmentarianism isn’t just a terrifyingly long word; it’s also difficult to say. Luckily, there’s not much use for the term anymore. It mainly refers to a 19th-century British political movement that advocated for the Church of England to receive government patronage.
4: Rural
Rural may look like a simple word, but pronouncing it is a challenge. Two “r’s” that lead to an “l” can tie any English speaker’s tongue.
5: Floccinaucinihilipilification
Floccinaucinihilipilification, pronounced flok-suh-naw-suh-ny-hil-uh-pil-uh-fi-kay-shun, is difficult for even the most seasoned English speakers to pronounce. It refers to the act of estimating something to be worthless.
6: Remuneration
In many cases, you can say compensation instead of remuneration and save yourself this tongue-twister. If you must say remuneration, speak slow, or else the “r”-“m” combo is sure to trip your tongue.
7: Sesquipedalian
Sesquipedalian refers to something characterized by long words. It’s pronounced ses-kwi-pi-day-lee-un.
8: Sphygmomanometer
The machine that measures your blood pressure is called a sphygmomanometer. If you prefer to keep your tongue out of knots, you can just say blood pressure cuff.
9: Triskaidekaphobia
Triskadekaphobia is an irrational fear of the number 13. Luckily, it’s almost never used in conversation or text.
10: Worcestershire
It seems like every American English speaker has their own way of pronouncing the name of this tangy brown sauce. The official American pronunciation is wu-stuh-shr, which means you completely skip the first “r” and the “ce,” then stumble over the second “r.”
11: Ignominious
An “n” followed by an “m” and another “n” makes ignominious tough to say. It means deserving of public disgrace or shame.
12: Synecdoche
Pronounced sin-ek-duh-kee, synecdoche means a figure of speech. So, the term tongue twister is a synecdoche.
13: Particularly
Saying “particular” is easy, but add an extra “ly” to the end and many Americans fumble the word. Unfortunately, “particularly” is a common phrase that binds our tongues in knots on a near-daily basis.
14: Specific
An “s” combined with a soft “c” makes one’s tongue and lips work extra hard. Every once in a while, even the best English speakers are destined to mispronounce the word “specific.”
15: Thistles
Even if you’ve never had a lisp, the word “thistles” can make you sound like you have one. Going from “th” to “sl” is extraordinarily difficult.
16: February
Many English speakers botch the word February, in part because of the way it’s spelled. Where did that extra “r” come from?
17: Juror
The only thing worse than trying to pronounce juror is putting the word rural in front of it, as an episode of the comedy show, 30 Rock, made clear. Anytime you see two “r’s” and a “u,” you might want to avoid the word altogether.
18: Peremptory
Peremptory means something is final or absolute and requires no further action or justification. It can be difficult to say, but unless you happen to be a legal professional, you probably won’t run into it often.
19: Picture
Picture seems like an easy word, but many people have problems saying it. Going from a hard “c” to a “t” is tricky.
20: Scissors
With so many “s’s,” it’s a wonder anyone can say scissors. For people learning English, scissors are particularly difficult to pronounce.
21: Stultiloquence
Another word for stultiloquence is babble, which is what you’ll feel like you’re doing when you try to say this word out loud.
22: Thorough
To make a “th” sound, you have to push your tongue forward, and to make a “ro” sound, you have to pull it way back. That explains why “thorough” is so difficult to pronounce.
23: Anthropomorphism
It takes practice to pronounce anthropomorphism out loud without stumbling. Anthropomorphism means to attribute a human trait to an animal, object, or god.
24: Erinaceous
Trying to say erinaceous aloud is no easy feat. Fortunately, you probably won’t need to use it often unless you’re studying about hedgehogs. Erinaceous refers to something relating to the spikey woodland creatures.
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