13 September 2011
The 20 Most Commonly Mispronounced Food Words
So you’ll never avoid ordering something because you can’t pronounce it again!
Chipotle: By far the most common response, which surprised me given the proliferation of the chain restaurants named after the smoked pepper.
Proper pronunciation: chi-poht-ley.
Espresso: A long-time pet peeve, this is neither spelled nor pronounced with an “X” anywhere in it.
Proper pronunciation: e-spres-oh.
Bánh mì: This popular Vietnamese sandwich is just as popularly butchered, pronunciation-wise as “ban mee” or “bang mee.”
Proper pronunciation: bahn mee (this is as close as many of us will get to the difficult diphthongs in the Vietnamese language; hear it yourself here).
Pho: This Vietnamese soup is pronounced almost exactly like the French word for fire, feu, for which it’s named. It is not “foe.” Again, with dipthongs it’s difficult to get it exactly right, but you’ll get close.
Proper pronunciation: fəʊ, or like the word “fur” without the “R” at the end.
Gyro: Depending on how correct you want to get, you can pronounce this the more accepted American way or like a true Greek.
Proper pronunciation: yee-raw, if you’re Greek; jeer-oh or zheer-oh if you’re American.
Foie gras: Any attempt to impress your date by ordering this fine food will fall flat when you ask for “foy grass.”
Proper pronunciation: fwah grah.
Gnocchi: As with gyros, you can go one of two ways here.
Proper pronunciation: nyawk-kee if you want to be Italian; nok-ee or noh-kee if you’re American.
Quinoa: Pronunciation isn’t the only thing about quinoa that people often get wrong; it’s not a grain, as is so often assumed. It’s actually a chenopod, like epazote and spinach.
Proper pronunciation: keen-wah.
Caipirinha: The equally difficult-to-pronounce cachaça (kuh-shah-suh) is a main ingredient in this popular Brazilian cocktail.
Proper pronunciation: kai-pee-reen-ya.
Açai berry: As with cachaça, the trick with Açai is in the cé cédille (that “C” with a tail on it) that’s pronounced as a soft “S” instead of a hard “C” sound.
Proper pronunciation: ah-sigh-ee.
If you’re looking for Acai or any other herbs/vitamins rich in antioxidants, visit the healthy food store Holland & Barrett today.
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