Lesson summary
Video transcript
Are you pronouncing words wrong in English without even knowing about it? In today’s video, I will show you 20 words that many English learners pronounce incorrectly. I will also show you how to pronounce these words correctly like a native speaker.
And make sure you watch until the end of the video because there will be a quiz to test your memory. Okay, let’s get started!
Word #1
The first word is pronounced ‘niche’. Niche. The I is actually pronounced as a long E sound and the CH is actually pronounced as an SH sound. Niche. A niche is a place or a position that is suitable for a specific type of person or thing. For example, a business niche.
Word #2
The next word is pronounced ‘colonel’. Colonel. It’s not pronounced ‘collenel’ or ‘colonial’. The L in the middle of the word is silent. We say ‘colonel’. A colonel is an officer in the air force or the army with a high rank.
Word #3
The next two words are often pronounced incorrectly. This word is pronounced ‘desert’. Desert. This word is pronounced ‘dessert’. Dessert. With this word, the stress is on the first syllable. And when we pronounce this word, the first vowel sound is more of an /e/ sound. It’s more of an E sound. Desert. With this word, the stress is on the second syllable and the first vowel sound is more of an /ə/ sound. We use more of the schwa sound.
This word here means a very large area of sand which is normally very hot. This word here means something that is sweet. For example, an ice cream or a cake. Something you normally eat after dinner.
Word #4
The next word is pronounced ‘climb’. Climb. We don’t say ‘climB’. The B sound is silent. That means we don’t pronounce it. Climb. Climb means to go up towards the top of something.
Word #5
The next word is pronounced ‘says’. Says. That final consonant sound is a voiced /z/ sound. Now it’s weird because if you take the S away we pronounce that word as ‘say’. For example, ‘I say.’ They say. But just remember, when the word has an S, we pronounce it as /sez/ He says. She says.
Word #6
This word is ‘pizza’. Pizza. We don’t say ‘peeza’ or ‘peesa’. This word has two sounds. The first sound is /piːt/ and the second sound is /sə/. Pizza. But when we say this word really quickly, that T sound is stopped. We don’t let the air come out, we just say ‘pizza’.
Word #7
Number seven. How do you think we pronounce this word? It’s pronounced ‘genre’. Genre. That first sound is a voiced SH sound. That means when you’re making this sound, your voice must vibrate. Genre. Don’t pronounce this word as ‘genre’ or ‘jenre’. It’s pronounced ‘genre’. The word ‘genre’ means a specific style of something. For example, the action genre.
Word #8
The next word is ‘sour’. Sour. Don’t say ‘sour’. I understand that it looks like it should be pronounced S OUR. Sour, right? But it’s actually pronounced ‘sour’. Sour means the opposite of sweet. For example, the taste that a lemon has.
Word #9
Number nine is pronounced ‘vehicle’. Vehicle. We don’t say ‘veheckle’ or ‘veckle’ because the first vowel sound is a long sound. Vehicle. Vehicle. A vehicle is something that is used for transporting people or goods.
Word #10
The next word is ‘debt’. Debt. We don’t say ‘deBt’ because the B sound is silent. That means we don’t have to pronounce it. Debt means when you owe something or someone money, when you have to give money to something or someone. For example, a bank.
Word #11
The next word is ‘develop’. Develop. We don’t say ‘deevelop’. The first vowel sound is a short vowel sound. Also, when saying this word, the stress is on the second syllable. Develop. Develop means to get better.
Word #12
The next word is ‘thumb’. Thumb. We don’t say ‘thumB’ because the B sound is silent. That means we don’t pronounce that sound. What is a ‘thumb’? This is your thumb right here. By the way guys, if you don’t know how to read the IPA, the letters in between the slashes, you can check out our English pronunciation course which will teach you all of these letters and how to pronounce every sound of English like a native speaker. The link is in the description below.
Word #13
Number thirteen is ‘subtle’. Subtle. We don’t say ‘sub tle’. The B sound is silent so we don’t pronounce it and the last syllable is pronounced /təl/ Subtle. Subtle means something that is not obvious.
Word #14
The next word is ‘infamous’. Infamous. It looks like it should be pronounced as ‘in famous’ but we change that A sound to more of a schwa sound, that /ə/ sound. Infamous. Infamous means famous for something which is bad.
Word #15
This word is pronounced ‘etcetera’. Etcetera. We don’t say ‘eckcetera’ with a K sound. There is no /k/ sound in this word. It’s ‘etcetera’. Etcetera means the rest, when you write something or say something and it’s not complete.
Word #16
Number sixteen is ‘jewelry’. Jewelry. This word has two different spellings but the pronunciation is exactly the same. Jewelry.
Word #17
The next word is ‘women’. Women. We don’t ‘woemen’, we say ‘women’. It’s very strange though because we have one woman and two women. Even though the spelling is the same for the first three letters, the first sound is different. We say one woman, two women.
Word #18
Number eighteen. How do you think we pronounce this word? Well it’s pronounced ‘mauve’. Mauve. Mauve means a very pale purple colour like you can see on the screen right now.
Word #19
Number nineteen is ‘mischievous’. Mischievous. Many people pronounce this word as ‘mischeevious’ but it’s pronounced ‘mischievous’, Just three sounds – /mɪs tʃɪ vəs/. Mischievous. Mischievous means behaving in a way which is a bit bad or naughty but it’s not intending to hurt anyone or cause harm to anyone.
Word #20
The last word is ‘receipt’. Receipt. Many people pronounce this word as ‘receiPt’. They put that /p/ sound in because there’s a P in the word but the P is actually silent. It’s pronounced ‘receipt’. Receipt. A receipt is something you get, normally a piece of paper, after you buy something.
Quiz
You have learned the correct pronunciation for 20 words in English. Now let’s have a little quiz to see how many you can remember. You will see some words on the screen and I want you to pronounce them correctly. Number one. Etcetera. Etcetera. Number two. Debt. Debt. Number three. Vehicle. Vehicle. Number four. Climb. Climb. Number five. Mauve. Mauve. Number six. Thumb. Thumb. Number seven. Women. Women. Number eight. Colonel. Colonel. Number nine. Says. Says. Number ten. Sour. Sour.
Conclusion
Comment down below and let us know how many words you got correct.
Make sure you check out our English pronunciation course which will teach you how to pronounce every sound of English like a native speaker. You will also learn how to reduce your accent. You can check it out in the description below.
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The next word is ‘says’. Says. That last. This word means to go upwards or to go.
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