Common pronunciation mistakes in English
These are words that are commonly mispronounced by English learners. This table gives the correct British and American pronunciations.
| Word | British 🇬🇧 | American 🇺🇸 | |
| 1 | mischievous1 | /ˈmɪs.tʃɪ.vəs/ | /ˈmɪs.tʃɪ.vəs/ |
| 2 | says | /sez/ | /sez/ |
| 3 | secretary1 | /ˈsek.rə.tri/ | /ˈsek.rə.ter.i/ |
| 4 | company2 | /ˈkʌm.pə.ni/ | /ˈkʌm.pə.ni/ |
| 5 | compass | /ˈkʌm.pəs/ | /ˈkʌm.pəs/ |
| 6 | money3 | /ˈmʌn.i/ | /ˈmʌn.i/ |
| 7 | country | /ˈkʌn.tri/ | /ˈkʌn.tri/ |
| 8 | fruit | /fruːt/ | /fruːt/ |
| 9 | vegetable | /ˈvedʒ.tə.bəl/ | /ˈvedʒ.tə.bəl/ |
| 10 | chocolate | /ˈtʃɒk.lət/ | /ˈtʃɑːk.lət/ |
| 11 | biscuit | /ˈbɪs.kɪt/ | /ˈbɪs.kɪt/ |
| 12 | cacao | /kəˈkaʊ/ | /kəˈkaʊ/ |
| 13 | cocoa | /ˈkəʊ.kəʊ/ | /ˈkoʊ.koʊ/ |
| 14 | raspberry | /ˈrɑːz.bər.i/ | /ˈræz.ber.i/ |
| 15 | lychee | /ˈlaɪtʃi/ | /ˈliːtʃi/, /ˈlaɪtʃi/ |
| 16 | lettuce | /ˈlet.ɪs/ | /ˈlet̬.ɪs/ |
| 17 | cucumber | /ˈkjuː.kʌm.bə/ | /ˈkjuː.kʌm.bər/ |
| 18 | onion | /ˈʌn.jən/ | /ˈʌn.jən/ |
| 19 | salmon | /ˈsæm.ən/ | /ˈsæm.ən/ |
| 20 | breakfast | /ˈbrek.fəst/ | /ˈbrek.fəst/ |
| 21 | dessert | /dɪˈzɜːt/ | /dɪˈzɜːrt/ |
| 22 | sword | /sɔːd/ | /sɔːrd/ |
| 23 | nuisance | /ˈnjuː.səns/ | /ˈnuː.səns/ |
| 24 | busy | /ˈbɪz.i/ | /ˈbɪz.i/ |
| 25 | business | /ˈbɪz.nɪs/ | /ˈbɪz.nɪs/ |
| 26 | meme | /miːm/ | /miːm/ |
| 27 | chaos | /ˈkeɪ.ɒs/ | /ˈkeɪ.ɑːs/ |
| 28 | effort | /ˈef.ət/ | /ˈef.ərt/ |
| 29 | stomach | /ˈstʌm.ək/ | /ˈstʌm.ək/ |
| 30 | tongue | /tʌŋ/ | /tʌŋ/ |
| 31 | choir | /kwaɪə/ | /ˈkwaɪ.ər/ |
| 32 | gauge | /ɡeɪdʒ/ | /ɡeɪdʒ/ |
| 33 | sieve | /sɪv/ | /sɪv/ |
| 34 | thermometer | /θəˈmɒm.ɪ.tə/ | /θərˈmɑː.mə.t̬ər/ |
| 35 | syringe | /sɪˈrɪndʒ/ | /sɪˈrɪndʒ/ |
| 36 | asthma | /ˈæs.mə/ | /ˈæz.mə/ |
| 37 | pronunciation | /prəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/ | /prəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/ |
| 38 | recipe | /ˈres.ɪ.pi/ | /ˈres.ɪ.pi/ |
| 39 | receipt | /rɪˈsiːt/ | /rɪˈsiːt/ |
| 40 | queue | /kjuː/ | /kjuː/ |
| 41 | coupon | /ˈkuː.pɒn/ | /ˈkuː.pɑːn/, /ˈkjuː.pɑːn/ |
| 42 | suit | /suːt/ | /suːt/ |
| 43 | suitable | /ˈsuː.tə.bəl/, /ˈsjuː.tə.bəl/ | /ˈsuː.t̬ə.bəl/ |
| 44 | suite | /swiːt/ | /swiːt/ |
| 45 | hotel | /həʊˈtel/ | /hoʊˈtel/ |
| 46 | idea | /aɪˈdɪə/ | /aɪˈdiː.ə/ |
| 47 | video | /ˈvɪd.i.əʊ/ | /ˈvɪd.i.oʊ/ |
| 48 | clothes | /kləʊðz/ | /kloʊðz/ |
| 49 | iron | /ˈaɪ.ən/ | /ˈaɪ.ərn/ |
| 50 | cupboard | /ˈkʌb.əd/ | /ˈkʌb.ərd/ |
| 51 | subtle | /ˈsʌt.əl/ | /ˈsʌt̬.əl/ |
| 52 | doubt | /daʊt/ | /daʊt/ |
| 53 | debt | /det/ | /det/ |
| 54 | comb | /kəʊm/ | /koʊm/ |
| 55 | tomb | /tuːm/ | /tuːm/ |
| 56 | womb | /wuːm/ | /wuːm/ |
| 57 | climb | /klaɪm/ | /klaɪm/ |
| 58 | plumber | /ˈplʌm.ə/ | /ˈplʌm.ər/ |
| 59 | law | /lɔː/ | /lɑː/ |
| 60 | Cambridge | /ˈkeɪm.brɪdʒ/ | /ˈkeɪm.brɪdʒ/ |
| 61 | Australia | /ɒsˈtreɪ.li.ə/ | /ɑːˈstreɪ.li.ə/ |
| 62 | Switzerland | /ˈswɪt.sə.lənd/ | /ˈswɪt.sər.lənd/ |
| 63 | Iceland | /ˈaɪs.lənd/ | /ˈaɪs.lənd/ |
| 64 | ocean | /ˈəʊ.ʃən/ | /ˈoʊ.ʃən/ |
| 65 | guarantee | /ˌɡær.ənˈtiː/ | /ˌɡær.ənˈtiː/ |
| 66 | mountain | /ˈmaʊn.tɪn/, /ˈmaʊn.tən/ | /ˈmaʊn.tən/4 |
| 67 | fountain | /ˈfaʊn.tɪn/, /ˈfaʊn.tən/ | /ˈfaʊn.tən/4 |
| 68 | woman | /ˈwʊm.ən/ | /ˈwʊm.ən/ |
| 69 | women | /ˈwɪm.ɪn/ | /ˈwɪm.ɪn/ |
| 70 | develop | /dɪˈvel.əp/ | /dɪˈvel.əp/ |
| 71 | infamous | /ˈɪn.fə.məs/ | /ˈɪn.fə.məs/ |
| 72 | statistics | /stəˈtɪs.tɪks/ | /stəˈtɪs.tɪks/ |
| 73 | purchase | /ˈpɜː.tʃəs/ | /ˈpɜːr.tʃəs/ |
| 74 | national | /ˈnæʃ.ən.əl/, /ˈnæʃ.nəl/ | /ˈnæʃ.ən.əl/, /ˈnæʃ.nəl/ |
| 75 | series | /ˈsɪə.riːz/ | /ˈsɪr.iːz/ |
| 76 | serious | /sɪə.ri.əs/ | /sɪr.i.əs/ |
| 77 | photography | /fəˈtɒɡ.rə.fi/ | /fəˈtɑː.ɡrə.fi/ |
| 78 | colonel | /ˈkɜː.nəl/ | /ˈkɜːr.nəl/ |
| 79 | mortgage | /ˈmɔː.ɡɪdʒ/ | /ˈmɔːr.ɡɪdʒ/ |
| 80 | audience | /ˈɔː.di.əns/ | /ˈɑː.di.əns/ |
| 81 | awesome | /ˈɔː.səm/ | /ˈɑː.səm/ |
| 82 | brewery | /ˈbruː.ə.ri/ | /ˈbruː.ə.ri/ |
| 83 | dangerous | /ˈdeɪn.dʒər.əs/ | /ˈdeɪn.dʒər.əs/ |
| 84 | diamond | /ˈdaɪ.mənd/ | /ˈdaɪ.mənd/ |
| 85 | focus | /ˈfəʊ.kəs/ | /ˈfoʊ.kəs/ |
| 86 | heir | /eə/ | /er/ |
| 87 | language | /ˈlæŋ.ɡwɪdʒ/ | /ˈlæŋ.ɡwɪdʒ/ |
| 88 | ritual | /ˈrɪtʃ.u.əl/ | /ˈrɪtʃ.u.əl/ |
| 89 | towel | /taʊ.əl/ | /taʊ.əl/ |
| 90 | foreign | /ˈfɒr.ən/ | /ˈfɔːr.ən/, /ˈfɑːr.ən/ |
| 91 | foreigner | /ˈfɒr.ə.nə/ | /ˈfɔːr.ən.ər/, /ˈfɑːr.ən.ər/ |
| 92 | parent | /ˈpeə.rənt/ | /ˈper.ənt/ |
| 93 | daughter | /ˈdɔː.tə/ | /ˈdɑː.t̬ər/ |
| 94 | son5 | /sʌn/ | /sʌn/ |
| 95 | calm | /kɑːm/ | /kɑːm/ |
| 96 | palm | /pɑːm/ | /pɑːm/ |
| 97 | fasten | /ˈfɑː.sən/ | /ˈfæs.ən/ |
| 98 | soften | /ˈsɒf.ən/ | /ˈsɑː.fən/ |
| 99 | island | /ˈaɪ.lənd/ | /ˈaɪ.lənd/ |
| 100 | yacht | /jɒt/ | /jɑːt/ |
1. Many native speakers also mispronounce these words.
2. The first syllable is pronounced the same as the word “come”.
3. “Money” rhymes with “funny”.
4. In reality, many people replace the /t/ with a glottal stop.
5. “Son” is pronounced the same way as “sun”.