The English language isn’t always logical and many words don’t sound the way the spelling suggests they should. Here are some of the trickiest words for non-native speakers to pronounce:
Successful
What it Means: If you say that a person is successful, it means that they have achieved great/impressive things, or they have done what they wanted to do very well. For example, you might say that Beyoncé is a successful singer, or that Richard Branson is very successful. If you say that a thing (like an idea, project, film or book) is successful, it means that it worked really well, that people liked it and/or it achieved its goals. For example, Happy Feet was a very successful film.
Why it’s so hard to say: Many people get confused by the double c and the double s, especially when the second c is pronounced like an s.
Hierarchy
What it Means: A hierarchy is a system that is set out so that the things at the top are the most important, but they are connected to the layer underneath, which is connected to the next (less important) layer underneath, all the way down to the bottom. For example, most companies have a management hierarchy, where the boss or CEO is at the top, and they tell their managers what to do, who tell the supervisors underneath them what to do, who tell the workers below them what to do, and so on.
Why it’s so hard to say: First you have to break up the i and the e into two separate sounds. Then you pronounce the ch as a hard k. How confusing is that?
Miscellaneous
What it Means: Things that don’t fit into any of the other categories or labels. For example: “I have a drawer for my socks, a drawer for my underwear and a drawer for my shirts, and everything else goes in the ‘miscellaneous’ drawer”
Why it’s so hard to say: The c is silent and the a is pronounced ‘ay’ not ‘ah’.
Entrepreneur
What it Means: A person who sets up their own company or business idea.
Why it’s so hard to say: Well, it’s actually a French word that’s been absorbed into English, so it doesn’t follow quite the same rules. The en at the start is more like an “on”.
Throughout
What it Means: All the way through. For example, “You can get mobile phone signal throughout the country” or “She was blonde throughout her 20s, but now she’s dyed it red”
Why it’s so hard to say: The gh isn’t pronounced at all, and the first and second ou are pronounced differently!
Worcester
What it Means: This is the name of a town in England. Worcester Sauce is also a popular condiment.
Why it’s so hard to say: As with many British towns, this sounds nothing like it looks! In fact, you don’t pronounce the ‘rces’ bit of it at all.
Squirrel
What it Means: This is a small animal with a bushy tail that you see all over the world.
Why it’s so hard to say: Germans in particular find this really, really hard to say. There’s something about the s and qu together, and the double r, that makes this really unfamiliar and confusing to many people!
These are just some of the trickier examples, but which words are hardest for you to say will depend on your native tongue and how much time you’ve spent listening to English speakers. Don’t give up, though! Keep practising an you will get there in time!
Which words in English do you find the most difficult to pronounce? Let us know in the comments section below.
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