Russian Greetings: Common Phrases and Basic Words
Привет! We’re going on a journey through Russian greetings and beyond.
Pronouncing ‘colonel’ right on the first try? Mission impossible. 🥵
Struggling with hard words to pronounce? You’re not alone. Hard words to spell and pronounce in the English language are usually trouble for non-native speakers. However, some words are so tricky they even get English native speakers tongue-tied. If you manage to say say ‘rural’, ‘juror’ or ‘colonel’ without breaking a sweat, you must be a diction expert.
So, how do we overcome stammering when saying complicated words? By making a list of all of them, of course! Let’s gather some of the hardest English words to pronounce and simply confront our fear. To make sure this is 100% useful in real life, we’re not gonna include words like ‘antidisestablishmentarianism’ or ‘floccinaucinihilipilification’. Let’s be honest: nobody ever says these words. Instead, we will focus on practical words. For example, some of the hardest English words to pronounce are:
And now, let’s move on to the extended list of hard-to-pronounce words.
The double consonants in ‘accessory’ don’t make things easier. The double C followed by an E and the double S are always a tricky trio to pronounce. As we’ll also see with ‘successful’, it can become downright embarrassing.
How to pronounce it: uhk-SES-uh-ree
Finding Nemo fans will remember this one. ‘Anemone’ is such a confusing word to pronounce, even little Nemo struggles with it. It’s the vowels that make the pronunciation difficult in this situation.
How to pronounce it: uh-NEM-uh-nee
You may not need to pronounce ‘cavalry’ on a daily basis, but when you do, you better do it in style.
How to pronounce it: KAV-uhl-ree
Why is ‘choir’ not pronounced the same way as ‘chair’? Well, it seems that the antique spelling of ‘choir’ was actually ‘quire’. As you can see, this obsolete spelling makes much more sense for how this word is pronounced today.
How to pronounce it: KWIRE
‘Cinnamon’ is often mispronounced because of the unusual spelling. However, once you get the hang of it, it should pose no trouble.
How to pronounce it: SIN-uh-mən
If you get dizzy every time you pronounce ‘colonel’, you’re not alone. Many people who learn English as a second language can’t get it right even after becoming fluent. It simply is one of the hardest words to pronounce for non-native English speakers.
How to pronounce it: KUR-nuhl
What makes ‘coup’ difficult to pronounce for English speakers is its French origin. ‘Coup’ was adopted from French into English but kept its original pronunciation, which is ‘koo’. Once you remember how to pronounce ‘coup’, the word will no longer seem so menacing. In fact, it’s quite easy to pronounce!
How to pronounce it: koo
The mystery behind the word ‘debt’ is the silent B. Once again, non-native English speakers usually struggle with this one until they understand they simply must ignore the B.
How to pronounce it: det
Apparently, this is a very popular topic. Even since crypto’s rise in popularity, people started to wonder what’s the pronunciation of ‘dogecoin’ (DOHJ-coin). Quite a natural thought – we might add – as dogecoin seems to be one of the ‘coolest’ cryptocurrencies out there. It probably has something to do with the dog.
How to pronounce it: DOHJ-coin
This is yet another common case of confusion caused by the many intricacies of the English language. ‘Draught’ looks like it should be pronounced ‘drot’. However, that is not the case.
How to pronounce it: draft
Whoever invented this word wanted to sound really cool. Maybe they did, but that’s not how we sound when we try hard to pronounce and even spell ‘entrepreneur’.
How to pronounce it: ahn-truh-pruh-NUR
‘Epitome’ was adopted into English from Greek. This is why you’re required to pronounce all of the vowels in this word. Quite unlike English, we know!
How to pronounce it: ih-PIT-ə-mee
Normal people tend to replace the first S in ‘espresso’ with an X. Luckily (we’re ironic), there’s always a coffee connoisseur around to correct them. The reason we find this word hard to pronounce is that it comes from Italian.
How to pronounce it: e-SPRES-oh
Yet another loanword — this time from French. The same as with ‘coup’, you just need to remember that ‘faux’ is pronounced ‘foh’. Once you know this, you’ll get it right every single time. In case you’re not familiar with it, ‘faux’ refers to imitation or fake items – usually in the fashion industry.
How to pronounce it: foh
We know what you’re thinking. Is it ‘jif’ or ‘gif’? Plot twist: both ways to pronounce it are actually correct.
How to pronounce it: jif or gif
As you can see, English is big on loanwords. Gnocchi is a word of Italian origin that refers to a varied family of dumplings in Italian cuisine. YUM!
How to pronounce it: NYOK-kee
Like ‘epitome’, ‘hyperbole’ is a word of Greek origin. This means that, once again, English must ask nothing like itself and actually pronounce the final E.
How to pronounce it: hy-PUR-buh-lee
Many English speakers struggle with the pronunciation of TH. Luckily, the TH is ‘isthmus’ is silent – the same as in ‘asthma’. Good news, right? This makes everything easier to pronounce.
How to pronounce it: IS-muhs
Even when alone inside a word, R sounds are never easy to pronounce. When they come in pairs, it’s even worse because it’s double trouble. The only way to overcome the hard pronunciation of R sounds is to just practice.
How to pronounce it: JOOR-awr
Pronouncing ‘Massachusetts’ feels like a very risky and long trip. You never know when you can get lost. This is why you have to take it easy, spell it a couple of times and slowly but surely get to the normal speed. Then, it should roll right off your tongue.
How to pronounce it: mas-us-CHOO-sits
Apart from the considerable length, ‘miscellaneous’ also features double consonants and the tricky SCE trio. Hard to pronounce, but not impossible!
How to pronounce it: mis-uh-LAY-nee-uhs
The most common way people mispronounce this word is ‘mis-CHEEVE-ee-us’. Their mistake is that they add an extra I after the V. While this was the old spelling of the word, nowadays, ‘mischievous’ has only three syllables.
How to pronounce it: MIS-chee-vus
If you thought two Rs were difficult to pronounce, how about three?
Before you hyperventilate, find that the final R in ‘murderer’ is actually silent. Therefore, no need to worry about it.
How to pronounce it: MUR-duh-ruh
Ooono — you lost me right there. What is this?
Onomatopoeia is a literary tool that describes words imitating the sound they represent, like ‘buzz’ and ‘meow’. The reason why this word is so hard to get right is its incredible number of vowels that tongue-tie us, especially at the end with no less than five vowels in a row.
How to pronounce it: on-uh-mat-uh-PEE-uh
‘Quinoa’ has become quite fancy to eat in recent years. Even so, people still struggle with its pronunciation. Is it ‘qwin-o-ah’?
Nope, but you’re getting there.
How to pronounce it: KEEN-wah
Like ‘murderer’ and ‘juror’, ‘rural’ can be a nightmare of a word (just try saying this sentence out loud). It all depends on your relationship with pronouncing the R sound.
How to pronounce it: ROO-ruhl
‘Schadenfreude’ probably looks like the most unfamiliar word in the entire list. And for a good reason! ‘Schadenfreude’ is a loanword from German and it means “pleasure or satisfaction felt at someone else’s misfortune”.
How to pronounce it: SHAH-den-froy-duh
Native English speakers should have no problem pronouncing this word. Non-natives, on the other hand, get easily confused by the SC pair and the double S.
Well, things are much simpler than you believe because the SC is pronounced simply ‘s’.
How to pronounce it: SIZ-erz
What’s worse: the X in the middle of the word or the TH at the end? We’ll tell you: all three of them together. Whether you’re a native or a non-native, the ‘xth’ sound is never easy to pronounce.
How to pronounce it: siksth
Squirrels are cute, but this word is not. ‘Squirrel’ is probably one the hardest words to pronounce in the English language for non-native speakers.
The key is to remember that this word has only two syllables.
How to pronounce it: SKWUR-uhl
Remember that time when you or someone you know mispronounced ‘successful’? Sorry to bring back that memory… Embarrassing, right? We feel you. That’s why you should pronounce ‘successful’ successfully 20 times fast right now so you chase away the evil spirits of mispronunciation!
How to pronounce it: suhk-SES-ful
Hard to spell and hard to pronounce: the perfect combination.
‘Synecdoche’ is a word of Greek origin; therefore, you’ll absolutely need to pronounce the final E. Besides, let’s not forget that the first C and the CH are pronounced as hard K sounds. Ready?
How to pronounce it: si-NEK-duh-kee
Once again, non-native English speakers get confused by the final B when pronouncing this word. Rest assured, there’s not even a shadow of a B in the pronunciation of this word. Just forget about it.
How to pronounce it: woom
It looks like it’s pronounced ‘wor-cest-er-shi-er’, but it’s not. British English does that quite often. Take Leicester, for example — where’s the CE in its pronunciation?
British English is out to get us with these pronunciations, but we know better!
How to pronounce it: WOOS-ter-sheer
One honorable mention is ‘otorhinolaryngologist’. At 21 letters long, this word is hard to pronounce mainly because of its length. It refers to an ear, nose and throat doctor and is pronounced ‘oh-toh-rye-no-lar-ing-GOL-uh-jist’. Lucky for you, instead of saying this incredibly long and hard-to-pronounce word, you can simply say ENT (Ears Nose Throat). Phew, that was close!
What other hard words to pronounce do you struggle with? Let’s discuss this in the comments. 👇 We might as well make a “Hard Words to Pronounce” support group.
Not always. For example, most of us have no trouble pronouncing ‘embarrassed’ or ‘awkward’. Still, we often get confused in writing and spell them ‘embarassed’ and ‘akward’. Well, that’s embarrassing…
On the other hand, there are words in the English language that pose problems in both pronunciation and spelling. ‘Entrepreneur’ and ‘successful’ are only two such examples. Fortunately, if we find ourselves in trouble with no access to the internet, we can always use synonyms.
If you’re ready to confront a ‘scary’ list of hard words to spell, read our piece on The 24 Most Commonly Misspelled Words in English.
Silent letters can make the pronunciation and spelling of certain words even trickier. Take the above-mentioned ‘scissors’ for example. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s hard to pronounce and spell it from memory the right way. Here are some of the most common words with silent letters:
• Silent B: comb, debt, doubt, lamb, subtle
• Silent C: muscle, scissors, science
• Silent D: Wednesday, sandwich
• Silent G: align, design, foreign, gnash, gnome
• Silent H: heir, honest, rhyme, vehicle, ghost
• Silent K: knife, knee, knowledge, knuckle
• Silent N: autumn, column, hymn, solemn
• Silent P: corps, pneumonia, psychology, receipt, raspberry
• Silent S: island, aisle, debris, viscount
• Silent T: ballet, beret, castle, mortgage, whistle
• Silent U: biscuit, building, catalogue, guess, guitar
• Silent W: answer, sword, two, who, write
English is full of words with tricky consonant clusters that can be difficult to pronounce. Here are some of the most challenging:
• Strengths: STRENGTHS
• Sixth: SIKSth
• Tsunami: tsoo-NAH-mee
• Twelfth: TWELFTH
• Squirrel: SKWUR-rəl
• Asthma: AZ-mə
• Clothes: KLOTHZ
• Conscientious: kon-shee-EN-shəs
• Exquisite: ək-SKWIZ-it
• Glimpse: GLIMPS
• Crisps: KRISPS
• Rhythm: RITH-əm
Did you think vowels were easier? Not a chance. Some English vowel sounds are notoriously difficult to pronounce. Here are some of the most challenging words when it comes to vowel sounds:
• Colonel: KER-nuhl
• Synecdoche: si-NEK-duh-kee
• Epitome: ih-PIT-ə-mee
• Entrepreneur: ahn-trə-pruh-NOOR
• Chaos: KAY-oss
• Heir: AIR
• Antarctic: ant-ARK-tik
• Algorithm: AL-gə-rith-əm
• Thorough: THUR-oh
• Quiche: KEESH
Yet another ‘culprit’ that makes certain English words difficult to pronounce is stress pattern.
Stress patterns refer to the emphasis placed on certain syllables within a word. English words can have tricky stress patterns, making them difficult to pronounce. Here are some examples:
• Photography: fuh-TOG-ruh-fee
• Remuneration: ri-myoo-nuh-REY-shun
• Anecdote: AN-ik-doht
• Applicable: AP-li-kə-bəl
• Inevitable: in-EV-i-tə-bəl
• Comfortable: KUMF-tər-bəl
• Vegetable: VEJ-tə-bəl
Diphthongs are vowel sounds that consist of a combination of two vowels. As you might have guessed, them too can make words hard to pronounce. Some examples include:
• Choir: KWY-ər
• Oyster: OY-stər
• Coin: KOYN
• Boycott: BOY-kot
• Mouth: MOUTH
• Soil: SOIL
• Prowl: PROWL
• Howl: HOWL
• Daughter: DAW-ter
• Auto: AW-toh
• Guarantee: GAR-ən-TEE
• Bureau: BYOOR-oh
English has many accents and dialects. As a result, certain words can have different pronunciations depending on the region. British English and American English, in particular, are quite famous for their pronunciation differences. Here are some examples:
• Schedule: SHED-yool (British English) or SKED-yool (American English)
• Tomato: tuh-MAH-toh (British English) or tuh-MAY-toh (American English)
• Herb: erb (American English) or herb (British English)
• Laboratory: LAB-rə-tor-ee (American English) or lə-BOR-ə-tree (British English)
• Advertisement: əd-VERT-iz-mənt (American English) or AD-vət-iz-mənt (British English)
• Controversy: KON-trə-vur-see (American English) or kən-TROV-ər-see (British English)
To end on a positive note, we’re gonna look at some homophones. Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. Sounding similar makes these little words easy to confuse. That’s why some people, even English native speakers, famously mix up “your” and “you’re”. Here are some more examples:
• To, too, and two
• There, their, and they’re
• Allowed and aloud
• Your and you’re
• Its and it’s
• Weather and whether
• Brake and break
• Peace and piece
• Bare and bear
• Stationary and stationery
• Here and hear
• Write and right
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Привет! We’re going on a journey through Russian greetings and beyond.
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