100 Most Often Mispronounced Words and Phrases in English

There are spelling rules in English, even if they are difficult to understand, so pronouncing a word correctly usually does help you spell it correctly. HomeGrammar 100MostOftenMispronouncedWordsandPhrasesinEnglish 100MostOftenMispronouncedWordsandPhrasesinEnglish TherearespellingrulesinEnglish,eveniftheyaredifficulttounderstand,sopronouncingawordcorrectlyusuallydoeshelpyouspellitcorrectly.Herearethe100mostoftenmispronouncedEnglishwords("mispronunciation"amongthem). pronunciationofthewordnuclear Advertisement CommonlyMispronouncedWordsandPhrasesinEnglishIt’seasytomispronouncewordsinEnglishforseveralreasons.First,becausemanyEnglishwordscomefromdifferentlanguages,itcanbedifficulttoknowhowtopronouncethem.Otherwordsgetnewpronunciationsinconversationalanddialecticaluse.Checkoutthesecommonlymispronouncedwordsandseewhichpartsofyourvocabularyyoucouldimprove.MispronouncedWordsThatStartWithADoyougetconfusedbetweenAntarcticandAntartic?Onlyoneiscorrect,andthesamegoesfortherestofthesepairsofmispronouncedwordsthatbeginwithA. Dosay:across|Don'tsay:acrossedItiseasytoconfuseacrosswithcrossedbutbettertokeepthemseparate. Dosay:affidavit|Don'tsay:affidavidEvenifyourlawyer'snameisDavid,heissuesaffidavits.Dosay:Alzheimer'sdisease|Don'tsay:old-timer'sdiseaseWhileitisadiseaseofolderpatients,itisnamedfortheGermanneurologist,Dr.AloisAlzheimer.Dosay:Antarctic|Don'tsay:Antartic(ant-ar-tic)Justthinkofanarcofants(anantarc)andthatshouldhelpyoukeepthe[c]inthepronunciationofthisword.Dosay:Arctic|Don'tsay:ArticAnotherhard-to-see[c],butitisthere.Dosay:ask|Don'tsay:aksoraxeThismispronunciationhasbeenaroundforsolong(over1,000years)thatlinguistMarkAronoffthinksweshouldcherishitasapartofourlinguisticheritage.Mostofuswouldgivetheaxeto"aks."Dosay:athlete,athletic|Don'tsay:athelete,atheleticTwosyllablesareenoughforathlete.Dosay:Australia|Don'tsay:OstrayaThispronunciationparticularlybothersAustraliansthemselves,mostofwhomcanmanagethe[l]quiteeasily,thankyou.MispronouncedWordsThatStartWithBThislistofcommonlyconfusedwordsmaybeablessingindisguise!TakealookatthesecommonlymispronouncedwordsthatbeginwithB. Dosay:barbedwire|Don'tsay:bobwire(orbarbwire)No,thiswordwasn'tnamedforanyonecalledBoborBarb.Itshouldbebarbedwire,indicatingthatthewirehastinybarbsonit.Dosay:barbiturate|Don'tsay:barbituateManypeopleleaveoutthe[r]soundwhenpronouncingthisword.However,thewordbarbituratecomesfromtheclassofdrugsmadewithbarbituricacid.Dosay:ablessingindisguise|Don'tsay:ablessingintheskiesThisphraseisnoblessingifitcomesfromtheskies.Pronounceitcorrectlyandhelpmaintainthedisguise.Dosay:business|Don'tsay:bidnessThechangeof[s]to[d]before[n]isfromthedialectoftheSouthernUnitedStates.Butit’sespeciallyimportanttopronouncethiswordcorrectlyinbusinesscontexts.MispronouncedWordsThatStartWithCSomepeopleconsidermispronouncedwordstobeacacophonyontheirear!DevelopacacheofperfectlypronouncedtermwiththislistofwordsthatstartwithC. Dosay:cache(cash)|Don'tsay:cachet(cash-ay)TheFrenchwordcachemeans“ahiddenplace.”SomepeopleconfuseitwiththeFrenchcachet,meaning“prestige.” Dosay:cacophony(ca-caw-fone-ee)|Don'tsay:caucaphony(caw-ca-fone-ee)Thereisnogreatercacophonytotheearsthantohearthevowelsswitchedinthepronunciationofthisword. Dosay:candidate|Don'tsay:cannidateYouaren'tbeingcannytodropthe[d]inthisword.Dosay:cardsharp|Don'tsay:cardsharkYoumaybesurprisedtohearthatcardsharkisn’tanactualphrase.Itsmispronunciationfromcardsharpovertheyears,however,hasledtocardsharkbeingmorepopularinAmericathantheoriginalphrase. Dosay:carpaltunnelsyndrome|Don'tsay:carpooltunnelsyndromeThisoneismispronouncedandmisspelledseveralways.Carpalmeans''pertainingtothewrist.''Dosay:TheCaucasus(caw-cah-suhs)|Don'tsay:TheCaucases(caw-cah-says)Althoughtherearemorethanonemountaininthischain,theirnameisnotapluralnoun.Dosay:cavalry(cav-al-ree)|Don'tsay:Calvary(cal-vah-ree)Theseareactuallytwodifferentwords:cavalrymeans“anarmyonhorseback,”whileCalvarydenotesthehillonwhichJesuswascrucifiedintheBible.They’redefinitelynotinterchangeable,sobesureyou’rechoosingtherightword. Dosay:champatthebit|Don'tsay:chompatthebitChomphasprobablyreplacedchampintheU.S.,butwethoughtyoumightliketoberemindedthatthevowelshouldbe[a]not[o].Dosay:chestofdrawers|Don'tsay:chesterdrawersThedrawersofChesterisatypicalwayoflookingatthesechestsdownSouth,butitmissesthepoint.Dosay:clothes|Don'tsay:closeThe[th]isaverysoftsoundlikelytobeoverlooked.Showyourlinguisticsensitivitywhenpronouncingit.Dosay:cornet(kor-net)|Don'tsay:coronet(kor-oh-net)Ifyou’retalkingaboutabrassinstrumentsimilartoatrumpet,usecornet.Acoronetisaroyalcrown.Theymightbothbepresentatacoronation,buttheyareverydifferentitems. Advertisement MispronouncedWordsThatStartWithDandEThere’snoescapefromjudgementifyoumispronounceawordincorrectly.However,studyingthislistofcommonlymispronouncedwordsthatstartwithDandEcanhelpyouout,especiallywhenspeakinginfrontofacrowd. Dosay:dilate(dye-late)|Don'tsay:dialate(dye-ah-late)The[i]inthiswordissolongthereistimeforanothervowel,butdon'tsuccumbtothetemptation. Dosay:diphtheria|Don'tsay:diptheriaThe''ph''inthiswordispronounced[f],not[p].Dosay:dog-eat-dogworld|Don'tsay:doggydogworldTheworldisevenworsethanyouthinkifyoubelieveitmerelya"doggy-dogworld."Sorrytobethebearerofsuchbadnews.Dosay:drown|Don'tsay:drowndYouaddthe[d]onlytothepasttense(drowned)andpastparticiple.Dosay:electoral|Don'tsay:electorialThere’sno[i]inthisword.Thesameruleappliestomayoralandpastoral.Dosay:escape|Don'tsay:excapeEventhoughtheprefixex-means“outof,”it’snottherightwaytosayescape.ItcomesfromtheoldFrenchwordeschaper,whichcombinestheprefixex-withcappa,theLatinwordfor“cloak.”Theword’stransitionintoandoutofFrenchmakestheex-intoanes-prefix. Dosay:espresso|Don'tsay:expressoWhileIcan'texpressmyloveforespressoenough,thiswordwasborrowedfromItalianwellaftertheLatinprefixex-haddevelopedintothees-prefix.Dosay:etcetera|Don'tsay:exceteraLatinfor"and"(et)"therest"(cetera)areactuallytwowordsthatshouldbewrittenseparately.Dosay:especially|Don'tsay:expeciallyEspeciallyistheadverbformoftheadjectiveespecial.Somemaypronouncethewordwithan[x]toindicatethataneventisunexpected,butit’snotthesameword. Advertisement MispronouncedWordsThatStartWithFSeveralwordsonthislistaremispronouncedbecausepeoplethinktheyrequireaFrenchflair.However,wordslikefoyerarepronouncedjustasthey’respelledinAmericanEnglish. Dosay:February(Feb-roo-air-ee)|Don'tsay:Febuary(Feb-you-air-ee)Wedon'tliketwosyllablesinsuccessionwithan[r]sosomeofusdumpthefirstoneinthisword.Mostdictionariesnowacceptthesingle[r]pronunciationbut,ifyouhaveanagiletongue,youmaywanttoshootfortheoriginal. Dosay:federal(fed-err-all)|Don'tsay:fedral(fed-rall)Syncopationofanunaccentedvowelisfairlycommoninrapidspeechbutincarefulspeechitshouldbeavoided.Dosay:film|Don'tsay:fillumWealsodonotlikethecombination[l]+[m].Trytoresistaddinganothervowelinbetweentheseconsonants.Dosay:fiscal|Don'tsay:fisicalSomepeoplepronouncethemonetarytermfiscalthesamewaythey’dpronouncethewordphysical.Butthesewordsshouldnotbeconfusedwitheachother.Dosay:foliage(foh-lee-age)|Don'tsay:foilage(foy-ull-age)Remember,the[i]comesafterthe[l],asinrelatedfolio.Dosay:forallintentsandpurposes|Don'tsay:forallintensivepurposesThismaybeanothersurpriseforpeoplewhohavebeenpronouncingthisphraseasforallintensivepurposes.Theyoungergenerationismispronouncingthisphrasesointensivelythatithasbecomepopularbothasamispronunciationandmisspelling.Dosay:forte(for-tay)|Don'tsay:fort(fort)Ifyou’respeakingaboutamilitarystrongholdbuilding,usethewordfort.Ifyou’redescribingamusicphraseplayedatastrongervolume,useforte.Dosay:founder|Don'tsay:flounderAsverbs,bothwordshavesimilarmeaningswithfloundermeaningtomakealotoferrorsortohavetroublemoving;however,tofounderistototallyfail. Dosay:foyer|Don'tsay:foy-ayIt’stemptingtomaketheelegantentrancetoahomesoundextrafancywithaFrenchpronunciation.However,inAmericanEnglish,youcansay“foy-ur.” Advertisement MispronouncedWordsThatStartWithG,HandIItcanbedifficultforotherstointerpretyourmeaningwhentheyhearyoumispronouncebasicwords.Scanthesewordstoseewhichothersyoumightbemispronouncing. Dosay:GIF(jiff)|Don'tsay:GIF(ghiff)SteveWilhite,whocreatedthetermGIF(GraphicsInterchangeFormat)in1987,prefersthepronunciationofGIFwithasoft[g]torhymewith“Jif,”thepeanutbutterbrand.Butpopularusagehasgiventhiswordacommonmispronunciationsimilartothefirstsoundofgift.Dosay:height|Don'tsay:heighthTheanalogywithwidthmisleadsmanyofusinthepronunciationofthiswordbecausewetrytoendthewordwiththe"th"sound.Theinitial[h]andthefinal[t]isalwayspronounced.Dosay:Heimlichmaneuver(ormanoeuvre,Br.)|Don'tsay:HeinekenremoverThistermismispronouncedmanydifferentways.Thismaneuver(manoeuvre)wasnamedforU.S.surgeonHenryJayHeimlich. Dosay:hierarchy(hi-err-ar-key)|Don'tsay:hi-archy|(hi-ar-key)Remember,hierarchiesgohigherthanyoumightthink.Thisoneispronounced"higherarchy"andnot"higharchy."Dosay:interpret|Don'tsay:interpretateThiserrorresultsfromtheback-formationfrominterpretation.Butbackformationisn'tneeded;wealreadyhaveinterpret.MispronouncedWordsThatStartWithJandLLearninghowtospeakEnglishcorrectlymeansthatyou’reliableforanymiscommunicationcausedbypronouncingwordsincorrectly.GetyourpronunciationsstraightwiththesewordsthatstartwithJandL. Dosay:jewelry(jool-ree)|Don'tsay:jewlery(joo-luh-ree)Therootofthiswordisjewelandthatdoesn'tchangeforeitherjewelerorjewelry.TheBritishaddasyllable:jewellery.Dosay:just|Don'tsay:jistnorjusAsopposedtotheadjectivejust,thiswordisalwaysunaccented,whichencouragesvowelreduction.However,itsoundsbettertoreducethe[ê]ratherthanreplaceitwith[i]. Dosay:larynx(lare-inks)|Don'tsay:larnyx(lare-nicks)Herethe[n]and[y]switchplaces.Mindyour[n]sand[y]sasyoumindyour[p]sand[q]s. Dosay:lawandorder|Don'tsay:LauraNorderThesound"aw"picksupan[r]insomedialects(also"sawr"and"gnawr").AvoiditandkeepLauraNorderinherplace.Dosay:lease|Don'tsay:leashSouthernAmericansareparticularlyliabletoconfusethesetwodistinctwordsbuttheconfusionoccurselsewhere.Lookoutforit. Dosay:liable|Don'tsay:libelYouareliableforthedamagesifyouaresuccessfullysuedforlibel.Butdon'tconfusethesediscretewords.Dosay:library|Don'tsay:libaryAsmentionedbefore,Englishspeakersdisliketwo[r]sinthesameword.However,wehavetobuckupandpronouncethemall. Advertisement MispronouncedWordsThatStartWithMandNItmayfeelmischievoustopronouncewordslikenuclearandmootasnucularandmute.However,thesepronunciationscanconfuseyourlistener.TakealookatthislistofcommonlymispronouncedwordsthatstartwithMandN. Dosay:masonry|Don'tsay:masonaryMasonsaremostlikelytoinsertasparevowelintothisworddescribingtheiroccupation,butothersareknowntodothis,too.Dosay:mauve|Don'tsay:mawvThiswordhasnotmovedfarenoughawayfromFrenchtoassumeanEnglishpronunciation,"mawv,"andshouldstillbepronounced"mowv."Dosay:mayonnaise|Don'tsay:man-naiseEverwonderwhytheshortformofawordpronounced"mannaise"is"mayo"?It'sbecausetheoriginalshouldbepronounced"mayo-naise."Dosay:miniature(min-ee-ah-ture)|Don'tsay:miniture(min-ih-ture)There’sareasonwhytheshortenedversionofminiatureismini.Makesureyoupronounceallfoursyllablesinthisword. Dosay:moot|Don'tsay:muteJustbecauseatopicismoot,orirrelevant,doesn’tmeanit’smute,orsilent.Dosay:mischievous(mis-chiv-ous)|Don'tsay:mischevious(mis-chee-vee-ous)Manypeopleputfoursyllablesinthisword.Butaneasywaytorememberitspronunciationistosayitsrootword–mischief–andaddthesuffix-ous.Dosay:nuclear|Don'tsay:nucularTheBritishandAustraliansfindtheAmericanrepetitionofthe[u]betweenthe[c]and[l]quaintlyamusing.Goodreasontogetitright.Dosay:nuptial(nup-shul)|Don'tsay:nuptual(nup-shu-ull)ManyspeakersintheU.S.addaspurious[u]tothisword,too. Advertisement MispronouncedWordsThatStartWithONeedtoorientyourselfinthesecommonlyconfusedwords?Onceyoulearnhowtopronouncethem,you’llfindwaystosaythemoften! Dosay:other|Don'tsay:notherMisanalysisisacommontypeofspeecherrorbasedonthemisperceptionofwheretodrawthelinebetweencomponentsofawordofphrase."Awholenother"comesfrommisanalyzing"another"as"another."Dosay:often|Don'tsay:offtenThe[t]wassilentinthepronunciationoftheword"often"untilcirca19thcenturyEnglishwhenmorepeoplebecameabletowriteandspell.Todaythe[t]iswidelypronouncedinEngland,theBritishIsles,AustraliaandinsomeregionsoftheU.S.MostU.S.dictionariesshowbothpronunciations,frequentlyshowingtheunspoken[t]asthemostpreferred.Dosay:ordnance|Don'tsay:ordinanceYoumayhavetouseordnancetoenforceanordinancebutyoushouldnotpronouncethewordsthesame.Dosay:orient|Don'tsay:orientateAnotherpointlessback-formation.Wedon'tneedthismispronunciationfromorientationwhenwealreadyhaveorient. Dosay:ostensibly|Don'tsay:ostensivelyBesuretokeepyoursuffixesstraightonthisone.Itsoundslikeextensively,butostensiblyisanentirelydifferentword.MispronouncedWordsThatStartWithPIfyoufeellikethislistisabitpernickety,you’reprobablyright.Butit’sneverabadideatoletthecorrectpronunciationofawordpercolateforabitlongerbeforeyousayitoutloud. Dosay:enclosedinparentheses(pare-en-the-sees)|Don'tsay:enclosedinparenthesis(pare-en-the-sis)Noonecanencloseanexpressioninoneparenthesis;atleasttwoparenthesesarerequired.Dosay:parliament|Don'tsay:parlamentAlthoughsomedictionarieshavegivenuponit,thereshouldbea[y]after[l]:"pahr-lyê-mênt." Dosay:percolate|Don'tsay:perculatePronouncingthiswordas"perculate"isquitepeculiar.Alsorememberthatitmeans''dripdown''not''up.'' Dosay:pernickety|Don'tsay:persnickety Youmaythinkustoopernicketytoevenmentionthisone.ItisaScottishnoncewordtowhichU.S.speakersaddeda[s]overacenturyago.OutsidetheU.S.,thetermispernickety. Dosay:peremptory|Don'tsay:preemptoryTheoldpre-/per-problem.Donotconfusethiswordwithpreemptive;theprefixhereisper-. Dosay:perspire|Don'tsay:prespirePer-hasbecomesucharegularmispronunciationofpre-,manypeoplenowcorrectthemselveswheretheydon'tneedto. Dosay:pollute|Don'tsay:pluteThisone,like"plice"[police],spose[suppose]andothers,commonlyresultfromrapidspeechsyncope,thelossofunaccentedvowels.Justbesureyoupronouncethevowelwhenyouarespeakingslowly. Dosay:potable|Don'tsay:pottableTheadjectivemeaning"drinkable"rhymeswithfloatableandisnottobeconfusedwiththeonethatmeans"capableofbeingpotted." Dosay:prerogative|Don'tsay:perogativeEvenindialectswhere[r]doesnotalwaystradeplaceswiththeprecedingvowel(asthepronunciations"differnce"or"vetern"),the[r]inthisprefixoftengetsswitched. Dosay:prescription|Don'tsay:perscriptionManypeoplesimplyconfusepre-andper-sincebotharelegitimateprefixes.Dosay:probably|Don'tsay:probly,prollyHaplologyisthedroppingofoneoftwoidenticalsyllablessuchasthe[ob]and[ab]inthisword,usuallytheresultoffastspeech.Slowdownandpronouncethewholewordformaximumclarityandtoreduceyourchancesofmisspellingtheword. Dosay:pronunciation|Don'tsay:pronounciationJustasmisspellingisamongthemostcommonlymisspelledwords,pronunciationisamongthemostcommonlymispronouncedwords.Don’tmistakeitwithitsnounformpronounce. Dosay:prostate|Don'tsay:prostrateThedifferencebetweenthesewordsismorethantheletter[r].Theprostateglandisatotallydifferentwordthanprostrate,whichmeans“lyingontheground,facedown.” Advertisement MispronouncedWordsThatStartWithRRegardlessofwhatyou’retalkingabout,pronouncingwordscorrectlyisalwaysarelevantskill.SeehowmanyRwordsyou'vebeenmispronouncing. Dosay:realtor(real-tor)|Don'tsay:realator(real-a-tor)Asyouavoidtheextravowelinmasonry,remembertodothesameforrealtor,theguywhosellswhatthemasoncreates.Dosay:regardless|Don'tsay:irregardlessThesuffix-lessalreadysays''without''sothereisnoneedtorepeatthesamesentimentwiththeprefixir-. Dosay:relevant|Don'tsay:revelantHereisanotherwordthatseemstoinvitemetathesis.Peopleoftenswitchthe[v]and[l]sounds,probablybecauseofsimilarwordssuchasrevolution.Dosay:respite(res-pit)|Don'tsay:respite(res-pite)Despitethespellingsimilarity,thisworddoesnotrhymewithdespite;itispronounced"'re-spit."Giveyourselfapermanentrespitefrommispronouncingit.MispronouncedWordsThatStartWithSandTHearingcommonwordssaidinthewrongwaysupposedlymakesEnglishteachersstamptheirfeet.KeepyourteacherhappybyclearingupthesewordsthatstartwithSandT. Dosay:sherbet|Don'tsay:sherbertSomeofthesamepeoplewhodonotliketwo[r]sintheirwordscan'thelprepeatingtheoneinthisword. Dosay:silicon|Don'tsay:siliconeSiliconisthematerialtheymakecomputerchipsfrombutimplantsaremadeofsilicone.Dosay:sneaked|Don'tsay:snuckIdoubtwewillgetsnuckoutofthelanguageanytimesoon,buthereisareminderthatitisn'ttheproperpasttenseformofsneak.Dosay:so|Don'tsay:soseThephrase"soas"hasbeenreducedtoasingleword"sose"evenwhenitisnotcalledfor."soseIcango,"shouldbesimply"soIcango."Dosay:spay|Don'tsay:spadeYoucanhaveyourdogspayedbutpleasedon'tspadeher. Dosay:stamp|Don'tsay:stompStampsaresocalledbecausetheywereoriginallystamped(notstomped)onaletter.Youstampyourfeet,too.Dosay:stub|Don'tsay:stobIfyou’veeverstubbedyourtoe,youmightnotcareabouttheproperpronunciationinthatpainfulmoment.Butafterward,besureyou’resayingstubinsteadofstob.Dosay:suite(sweet)|Don'tsay:suit(soot)Ifyouwearit,it’sasuit.Ifyouliveitin,it’sasuite,asinalivingroomsuiteorasuiteofrooms.Dosay:supposedly|Don'tsay:supposablySupposablyisn’tawordatall.Supposedlymeans“allegedly”or“soI’vebeentold.” Dosay:supremacist|Don'tsay:supremistThiswordisderivedfromsupremacy,notsupreme.Dosay:tack|Don'tsay:tactYoucantryadifferenttack,orcourseofaction,ifthingsaren’tgoingyourway.However,youmaywanttousediscretion,ortact. Dosay:takeforgranted|Don'tsay:takeforgraniteIfyou’reassumingsomethingwillalwaysbeavailable,you’retakingitforgranted.Takingsomethingforgranitewouldbemistakingthetypeofrocktheobjectis,andisprobablynotwhatyou’retryingtosay. Dosay:tenet|Don'tsay:tenantAtenantissomeonewhorentsfromalandlord.Atenetisastronglyheldbelief. Dosay:tenterhooks|Don'tsay:tenderhooksTentersareframesforstretchingclothwhileitdries.Hangingontenterhooksmightleaveyoutenderbutthatdoesn'tchangethepronunciationoftheword. Dosay:triathlon(tri-ath-lon)|Don'tsay:triathalon(tri-ath-a-lon)Wedon'tlike[th]and[l]together,sosomeofusinsertasparevowel.Peoplealsomaymistakeitformarathonwhentheyaddtheextra[a].Pronounceitright,spellitright. Advertisement MispronouncedWordsThatStartWithUandVWhenworkingonyourverbiage,tryyourutmosttomakeyourmeaningasclearaspossibletolisteners.TheremaybemorecommonlymispronouncedwordsthatstartwithUandVthanyouthink. Dosay:utmost|Don'tsay:upmostWhilethisworddoesindicatethateffortsareup,thewordisutmost,isahistoricalvariationofoutmost.Dosay:verbiage(ver-bee-age)|Don'tsay:verbage(ver-bage)Hereisanotherwordthatlosesits[i]inspeech.Pronouncingitcorrectlywillhelpyouspellitcorrectly. Dosay:voluptuous|Don'tsay:volumptuousSomevoluptuouswomenmaybelumpy,butpleaseavoidthisFreudianslipthatapprisesthemofit.MispronouncedWordsThatStartWithW,YandZDidthisalphabetofcommonlymispronouncedwordswhetyourappetiteformore?Ifso,examineyourownspeechandseehowmanywordsyoumaybepronouncingincorrectly. Dosay:wasn't|Don'tsay:wadn'tThatpesky[s]before[n]again.See"bidness"and"idn't." Dosay:whet|Don'tsay:wetIntheNortheasternUSthesound[hw],spelled"wh,"isvanishingandthesetwowordsarepronouncedthesame.Elsewheretheyshouldbedistinguished.Dosay:yolk|Don'tsay:yokeAnotherdialectalchangeweprobablyshouldnotcallanerror:[l]becomes[w]or[u]whennotfollowedbyavowel.Somepeoplejustconfusethesetwowords,though.Dosay:zoology(zo-ol-oh-gee)|Don'tsay:zuology|(zu-ol-oh-gee)Actually,weshouldsay[zo],not[zu],whenwegotothezoo. Advertisement ImprovingYourSpeechandSpellingLearninghowtopronouncethesecommonwordscanhelpyoucommunicatemoreclearly.Severalcommonerrorsaretheresultofrapidspeech,sotakeyourtimespeaking,correctlyenunciatingeachword.Thesameruleappliestowriting–it’seasytospellwordsincorrectlyifyou’rerushing.Checkoutalistof100commonlymisspelledwordsinEnglishtoimproveyourspellingaswellasyourpronunciation. JenniferGunner StaffWriter elementaryschoolmiddleschoolhighschoolcollegeRelatedArticles150CommonlyMisspelledWordsinEnglishYoumayhavehadsomefunlearningaboutthe100mostoftenmisspelledwords,butnowit'stimeforthemotherofalllists.Hereare150moreEnglishwordsthatarecommonlysusceptibletoconfusingspellings.DifferenceBetweenEnunciationandPronunciation:ACrystal-ClearExplanationPronunciationandenunciationarecloselyrelatedtermsthatoftengetconfusedwitheachother.Pronunciationisrelatedtotheworditself,focusingonwhichsyllablesshouldbeemphasizedandhowcertainletters(orcombinationsofletters)shouldsoundwhenspoken.Enunciationreferstohowclearlyanddistinctlyaparticularindividualformsthesoundsthatmakeupaword.