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15 Countries and Cities You've Been Mispronouncing Your Entire Life

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Let’s face it, we’ve all mispronounced something in our lives. It’s only human after all, but when you’re in the company of friends it can be a tad embarrassing if you pronounce Gren-ITCH as Green-WITCH. To avoid any future blunders, here’s a handy list of 15 countries and cities you’ve probably been mispronouncing your entire life.

Seoul

Don’t say: see-oohl
Say: soul

Phuket

Don’t say: foo-ket (and don’t get that muddled up with the profanity either)
Say: POO-ket

Beijing

Don’t say: bay-zhinngg
Say: bey-JING

Colombia

Don’t say: co-LUM-bee-uh
Say: co-LOHM-bee-uh

Dubai

Don’t say: du-BYE
Say: du-BAY

Iraq

Don’t say: EYE-RACK
Say: EE-ROCK

Qatar

Don’t say: kuh-TAR
Say: CUT-TER

Greenwich, London

Don’t say: green-witch
Say: grEN-ITCH

Oaxaca

Don’t say: walks-ah-kuh
Say: WUH-HAWK-UH (we were a little confused too)

Antigua

Don’t say: an-TEE-gwah
Say: an-TEE-GUH

Reykjavik

Don’t say: RYE-kah-vik
Say: RAY-kah-vik

Budapest

Don’t say: boo-duh-pest
Say: boo-duh-PESHT

Worcester, England

Don’t say: were-chester
Say: WOOS-ter

Edinburgh, Scotland

Don’t say: edin-BOROUGH
Say: edin-BUR

Melbourne, Australia

Don’t say: mel-BORN
Say: melb’n
Love words and their meanings? Here are 15 unusual travel words you’ve probably never heard of before!

About the author

Luke Abrahams is a born and bred Londoner and is proud to call the capital his home. He mostly writes about popular culture trends and pugs but isn’t afraid to tackle food, art and style from time-to-time.

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