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How to Pronounce Tricky English Words
Guides for 71,994 English words, each with American and British audio, IPA, a plain respelling, syllable stress and the meaning. Start with the words people find hardest, or browse everything from A to Z.
Silent letters
Letters that are written but never spoken. Most are leftovers from older spellings or from Latin and Greek roots. Read the tips.
- aisle
- island
- debt
- doubt
- subtle
- plumber
- tomb
- almond
- calm
- yolk
- listen
- castle
- whistle
- fasten
- autumn
- column
- hymn
- solemn
- condemn
- gnome
- foreign
- sovereign
- campaign
- psychology
- pneumonia
- psalm
- receipt
- sword
- answer
- honest
- heir
- knowledge
- wrestle
- rhythm
- mortgage
- handkerchief
- raspberry
- cupboard
- muscle
- scissors
- indict
- yacht
Borrowed from French
English kept many French words close to their original sound, so the last letters are often silent and the stress lands late. Read the tips.
- bouquet
- buffet
- entrepreneur
- genre
- gourmet
- rendezvous
- connoisseur
- bourgeois
- chauffeur
- cliche
- cache
- lingerie
- naive
- facade
- suite
- coup
- corps
- faux
- chic
- debut
- depot
- valet
- beige
- ensemble
- repertoire
- silhouette
- Renaissance
- liaison
- sabotage
Food and drink
Dishes and ingredients from Italian, Spanish, Japanese and other languages, often said very differently from how they look. Read the tips.
- quinoa
- gnocchi
- bruschetta
- espresso
- acai
- chipotle
- Worcestershire
- croissant
- macaron
- prosciutto
- focaccia
- cumin
- turmeric
- quesadilla
- tortilla
- jalapeno
- guacamole
- Bologna
- edamame
- sherbet
- charcuterie
- latte
- paella
- gyro
- pecan
- caramel
Said differently in the US and UK
Words where American and British speakers move the stress or change a vowel. Neither is wrong; pick the one that matches your audience. Read the tips.
- garage
- ballet
- debris
- tomato
- schedule
- leisure
- vitamin
- advertisement
- controversy
- privacy
- missile
- fragile
- herb
- route
- niche
- lieutenant
- zebra
- yogurt
- basil
- oregano
- pasta
- adult
- vase
- clerk
- dynasty
- khaki
- figure
- laboratory
Stress in an unexpected place
Words that are easy to spell out but easy to get wrong, because the strong syllable is not where you would guess. Read the tips.
- hyperbole
- epitome
- hegemony
- comparable
- preferable
- photographer
- catastrophe
- apostrophe
- anemone
- archipelago
- albeit
- giraffe
- mosaic
- rationale
- hypothesis
- ibuprofen
- metamorphosis
- choreography
- develop
- economics
- hotel
- cement
- police
- guitar
- event
Spellings that mislead
Everyday words whose letters point you toward the wrong sound. Read the tips.
- colonel
- choir
- quay
- queue
- women
- busy
- bury
- phlegm
- thorough
- through
- though
- tough
- cough
- borough
- sergeant
- leopard
- jeopardy
- recipe
- sew
- chaos
- segue
- suave
- mauve
- iron
- comfortable
- vegetable
- temperature
- pronunciation
Same spelling, two pronunciations
Heteronyms: words spelled the same way that change sound with meaning. In many noun and verb pairs the noun is stressed first and the verb last. Read the tips.
- record
- present
- object
- project
- produce
- permit
- conduct
- contract
- desert
- refuse
- lead
- read
- tear
- wind
- wound
- live
- bass
- bow
- close
- minute
- row
- dove
- invalid
- content
- excuse
- separate
- estimate
Often mispronounced
Common words that pick up an extra sound, lose one, or swap two. Read the tips.
- athlete
- nuclear
- library
- jewelry
- Realtor
- mischievous
- often
- especially
- supposedly
- probably
- asterisk
- prescription
- height
- triathlon
- arctic
- specific
- picture
- ask
- salmon
- almost
- mayonnaise
- drowned
- across
- escape
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