English Words You Are Saying WRONG (Probably) | Commonly Mispronounced English Words (PART 2)

Way.  Weigh. Whey.  How do you pronounce these words? What do they mean? Let’s find out. 

 

What’s up guys?  My name is Shane and this is part 2 of the commonly mispronounced words series.  If you haven’t seen part 1, you can check it out right here. 

 

English pronunciation is very interesting.  This is because we have letters but those letters don’t always make the sounds that we think they should. 

 

But don’t worry if English pronunciation is hard for you because today we look at 10 words that are commonly mispronounced. And make sure you watch until the end of the video for a quiz to test your understanding.  Okay! Let’s get started! 

 

Bomb, Comb, Tomb

Have a look at these three words. Would you believe me if I told you that all three words have a different vowel sound?

 

Let’s have a look at the pronunciation of the first one. Bomb. Bomb. B omb. The b is silent.  Now you try: bomb.

 

The second one is pronounced comb. Comb. C omb. The b is silent again. Now you try.  Comb.

 

And the last one is pronounced tomb. Tomb. T omb.  T omb. The b is silent again.  Now you try.  Tomb.

 

Okay so what do these words mean? Bomb.  Bomb is a weapon that can be used to explode or to hurt people. Bomb can be a noun or a verb.

 

So an example sentence as a noun could be they are dropping bombs. They are dropping bombs.

 

As a verb, an example sentence could be planes bomb the city every night.

 

Okay lets look at the second word. Comb. Comb.  A comb is .. this.  It’s something that you use to brush your hair. A comb can be a noun and a comb can be a verb.

 

So if we use it as a noun, an example sentence could be:  have you seen my comb? Have you seen my comb?  

 

As a verb, an example sentence could be: How often do you comb your hair? How often do you comb your hair?

 

And the third word. Tomb. Tomb. Tomb is a place or a building (normally underground) that we use to bury someone who is dead or who has passed away. It’s a noun. 

 

An example sentence could be:  His tomb is deep underground. So just remember, these words look like they’re pronounced the same but they’re actually not. All of them have a silent b but the pronunciation of the vowel is a little bit different. Bomb.  Comb. And tomb. 

 

Way, Weigh, Whey

Look at these 3 words.  Would you believe me if I told you they are all pronounced exactly the same?  The first one is pronounced way.  Now you try. Way.

 

The second one. It’s got the w sound but with an eigh after it. So how do we pronounce this one? It’s the same. Weigh weigh. Now you try. Weigh.

 

And the last one.  W h e y.  how do we pronounce this one?  It’s the same.  Whey. Whey. Now you try. Whey. 

 

So all of these words have different spelling but are pronounced the same. Weird, right!?

 

Now let’s talk about what way, weigh and whey mean. 

 

The first way means a path, a route or a direction.  An example sentence could be: which way do I go? Left or right?

 

The second weigh means to find out how heavy something is.  To find out how heavy something is.  It’s a verb and an example sentence could be she weighs herself every day.  Or you have to weigh your luggage before you can put it onto a plane. 

 

The third whey means the liquid part of milk that is separated when making cheese. But it also has another meaning.  It’s a type of protein. Maybe you have heard of it before. Whey protein.

 

So an example sentence could be I take whey protein every day or you get whey protein when you make cheese.

 

So just remember, these 3 words, they look different but they are pronounced the same but they have different meanings. 

 

Way – a path or a route. 

 

Weigh – to find out how heavy something is.

 

And the last one: whey – a type of protein that comes from making cheese. 

 

Rendezvous

And the seventh word for today is. Wow, look at that word. How do we pronounce that? 

 

It looks like ren dez vous, right? Ren dez vous.  But it’s actually pronounced rendezvous.  Rendezvous.  Now you try. Rendezvous. 

 

And what does this word mean? It can be a noun or a verb. When it’s a noun, it means an arrangement to meet someone or a plan to meet someone.

 

The verb means to meet someone at a specific place and time. 

 

An example sentence for the noun could be we have a rendezvous next week, right?

 

An example sentence for the verb could be: the police agreed to rendezvous with their suspect at 10am. 

 

But just remember, this word is a little bit formal and we don’t really use it in daily conversation.

 

So how do we pronounce this word again? It’s rendezvous. 

 

Interesting

Let’s look at the next word, the 8^th word.  I know what you’re thinking.  Shane, I know how to pronounce this word.  It’s interesting.

 

Well in Australia, we pronounce it: interesting.  Interesting.

 

I know it looks like it should be 4 syllables but it actually has 3.  Interesting.  Interesting.  Now you try. Interesting. 

 

And what does this word mean? It means something that holds your attention. Something that makes you not want to look away. 

 

It’s an adjective and an example sentence could be she’s very interesting or learning English is very interesting. 

 

So just remember, with this word here we say interesting. Interesting. 

 

Suite

What about this word?  It looks like it should be something like s wite right? Swite?  But we actually pronounce it: suite. Suite. Like something that’s very sweet. Suite. Now you try. Suite. 

 

And what does it mean?  Well a suite is a noun and it normally means a set of connected rooms.  So it’s very common to see this word in regards to hotels.  Many hotels have suites and a suite is a set of connected rooms.

 

So just remember, when you see this room, it’s suite. 

 

Restaurant

And the last word for today is.  I know what you’re saying again. You’re saying Shane I know how to pronounce this word. 

 

Well are you sure?  This word doesn’t have 4 syllables, it doesn’t even have 3 syllables.  It has 2 syllables.  Restaurant.  Restaurant.  Now you try: restaurant. 

 

I know it looks like it should have 4. Res tau ran t, right?  But it’s actually restaurant. 

 

And this word is a noun and I think everybody knows what it means.  It means a place where you can go and order and eat food.

 

So an example sentence could be: where is the restaurant? 

 

So just remember, this word is pronounced restaurant. 

 

Quiz

Okay so we have learned the pronunciation of 10 words today.  But just to check your understanding and to see if you remember, we’re going to have a little quiz before we finish the lesson.  I will show you a word and I want you to tell me: how do you pronounce it and what does it mean.

 

Word number 1. This word is pronounced comb. Comb. It’s a noun and a verb. The noun is this and the verb means to brush your hair with a comb. 

 

Word number 2.  This word is pronounced tomb. Tomb. It’s a noun and it means a building or a place, normally underground where they bury someone who is dead, someone who has passed away.

 

Word number 3. This word is pronounced suite. Suite.  This is a set of connected rooms and it’s very common to use this word in regard to hotels.

 

Words number 4. This word is rendezvous. Rendezvous. It’s a noun and a verb.  The noun means an arrangement to meet and the verb means arrange to meet at a specific place and a specific time.

 

And the last word is: whey. Whey.  Remember, this is a type of protein that comes from making cheese.

 

Okay that is the end of the lesson today. Make sure you practice these 10 words many many times so the next time you see them you will know the pronunciation automatically without thinking. And make sure you watch part 1 if you haven’t seen it already.

 

If you haven’t subscribed already so you don’t miss any video that can help you understand English like a native speaker. if you learned something today, please hit like and share this with your friends so they know how to pronounce these 10 words correctly.

 

And for daily quizzes and weekly posts and lessons, follow my Instagram and I will see you in the next video.  The third way.  And what does this word mean?  And what does this word mean?