13 Foods From Around The World You've Never Pronounced Right

It’s super embarrassing when you confidently ask for a delicious-sounding menu item, only to have the server snigger at your mangled pronunciation.

When you’re visiting a different country, it’s easy to mispronounce food you’ve never eaten or seen before; important thing is to always give a go and accept that everyone makes mistakes.

But just in case you want to avoid warm cheeks and the feeling of humiliation, we’ve assembled a list of hard-to-pronounce foods that could trip your tongue up, from Spanish sausages to Italian chocolate spread. We can’t promise that you won’t make a language blunder on your travels ever again, but this should certainly help.

Chorizo

Spicy sausage, often served fried as tapas.

Provenance: Spain

How you probably say it: chur-rits-oh

How you should say it: cho-ree-tho

Pho

Spicy noodle soup with chilli and herbs.

Provenance: Vietnam

How you probably say it: fo

How you should say it: fuh

Sriracha

Chilli-garlic hot sauce.

Provenance: Thailand

How you probably say it: sree-rah-cha

How you should say it: see-rach-cha

Acai

A berry often frozen and served in a blended smoothie bowl.

Provenance: South America

How you probably say it: a-ky

How you should say it: a-sigh-ee

Quinoa

Grain with a nutty, creamy taste.

Provenance: Peru and Bolivia

How you probably say it: quin-oh-ah

How you should say it: keen-wah

Maraschino cherry

Cherry preserved in syrup, often coloured red. Use in cocktails or as a sundae garnish.

Provenance: Croatia

How you probably say it: mare-uh-sheeno

How you should say it: mare-uh-skeeno

Nutella

Chocolate-hazelnut spread beloved around the world.

Provenance: Italy

How you probably say it: nuh-tell-ah

How you should say it: noo-tell-ah

Seitan

A meat alternative made from wheat gluten, with a mild taste and meaty texture.

Provenance: China

How you probably say it: see-tan

How you should say it: say-tan

Espresso

A short, strong shot of black coffee.

Provenance: Italy

How you probably say it: ex-press-oh

How you should say it: es-press-oh

Anise

A star-shaped spice used in Asian cooking, with flavours of liquorice and aniseed.

Provenance: Southwest Asia

How you probably say it: ah-nees

How you should say it: ann-iss

Hummus

A dip made from mashed chickpeas, tahini (sesame seed paste), lemon, olive oil and garlic.

Provenance: Middle East

How you probably say it: hum-iss

How you should say it: hoom-is

Endive

A bitter-leafed, crunchy vegetable.

Provenance: Belgium

How you probably say it: en-dive

How you should say it: on-deeve

About the author

Alice Johnston

Food Editor

Alice is always planning her next meal. She studied English at the University of Bristol before getting her Master’s in newspaper journalism from City University London. She worked on Femail at Mail Online for 18 months writing about lifestyle and food and has also worked at Metro.co.uk, The Guardian, Mumsnet and The Sun. After starting at Culture Trip as a Social Content Producer writing travel and lifestyle stories, she was promoted to the role of Food Editor and now specialises in culinary culture, trends and social issues around food. When she’s not writing, eating or travelling, she can be found cooking overly elaborate dinners, reading cookbooks in bed or playing with her cat, Orlando. Her favourite foods include fishfinger sandwiches, burnt caramel panna cotta, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and oysters.