New Report: These Are the Words Most People in Your State Don’t Know How to Pronounce—Are You One of Them?

As a writer and editor, words are my jam, but since I’m at a keyboard all day long, I don’t actually have to say the words that trip me up out loud. Like gyro, which is kind of embarrassing, since this tasty Greek sandwich is sold at food carts all around New York City, where I live. Thank goodness for Google, which feeds me the correct pronunciation in a flash. (It’s YEE-roh, not JAI-roh, by the way.)

Fortunately, I’m not alone with my mispronunciations, according to a recent report from Google. In fact, lots of my neighbors are also struggling with how to say the same words and are likely panicking a bit as they search for the right articulation before they have to say them in front of actual humans.

Curious about the top words that stymie others in your area? Read on to find out which word pronunciations are most frequently searched for in every state and Washington, D.C.

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How was each state’s trickiest-to-pronounce word determined?

Google Trends analyzed state searches over the course of a year, between Aug. 14, 2024, and Aug. 14, 2025. Specifically, the tech giant’s experts zeroed in on searches that started with the phrase “how to pronounce …” and then compiled this rather surprising picture of the toughest words to say according to each state’s residents.

What were the overall hardest words to pronounce?

Some of the overall hardest words to pronounce are a few of the longer, more regional-specific ones, like Damariscotta, a coastal town in Maine that even the folks who live there have a hard time with. Similar tricky location pronunciations include Monongahela, a river that West Virginians search for the most, and Chequamegon, a bay (and region) in northern Wisconsin.

But at least those make sense in terms of why people would be searching for them. Then there are the other searches, which are just plain strange. We’re talking bisglycinate, a form of magnesium that stumps people in Wyoming, and acetabulum, the hipbone’s socket and the most-searched word pronunciation in New Mexico. OK, then!

Several words also overlapped in a couple of states, including Charybdis, a term inspired by Greek mythology that’s tricky for people in both Arizona and Nebraska, and Massachusetts, which stumps those who live in Oregon and, shockingly enough, also in Massachusetts!

What are the hardest-to-pronounce words in each state?

So what are the hardest-to-pronounce words in each state? Read on—and get schooled in the correct pronunciations while you’re at it. (C’mon, you know you have no clue about a few of these!)

Were there any surprises on this list?

Indeed, there were some surprises on the list, particularly the words look in Kansas and trailer in Georgia. As in, how many other pronunciations are there of these common words? (Google says it didn’t gather data about the phonetics of each search.) And certainly the citizens of two states searching over and over for how to say Massachusetts was another odd piece of intel that left us scratching our heads.

Place names are definite tongue-trippers. Others in the category: Cannes, the French city (Californians are confused by it); Boerne, a Texas town; and Boise, which is mispronounced with some regularity in Utah. Food and beverages are also problematic, like latkes (fried potato pancakes—swoon!), the red wine grape pinot noir and those cooked and cured meats known as charcuterie.

Also, dare we ask why so many Idahoans are searching for the word ouija? You guys OK? Should we send an exorcist?

RELATED:

• This State’s Residents Curse the Most (Hint: It’s Not New York!)
• New Study: This State Has the Worst Drivers—See Where Your State Ranks
• New Study: This Polite Phrase May Soon Be a Thing of the Past

Why trust us

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Sources:

• Google Press Office: “Uniquely searched ‘how to pronounce’ by state”
• Jas Peterson, senior communications associate at Google; email interview, Sept. 22, 2025

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