# What words do you mispronounce in your head even though you know better? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 17, 2009, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-mispronounce-in-your-head-even-though-you-know-better/496765 "2009-05-17T17:53:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-mispronounce-in-your-head-even-though-you-know-better/496765/1 "2009-05-17T17:53:40Z")
I learned a lot of words by reading. I corrected most of them (e.g. _awry_: _aw-ree_ \> _uh-RYE_), but some I just like better my way. I always say _colonel_ as _connell_, even though I know it’s _kernel_, and I have to censor myself if it ever comes up in conversation. Anyone else do this? ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-mispronounce-in-your-head-even-though-you-know-better/496765/2 "2009-05-17T17:59:55Z")
I do the same with colonel, but I pronounce it KUL-nul. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-mispronounce-in-your-head-even-though-you-know-better/496765/3 "2009-05-17T18:09:44Z")
Interesting, I knew the word colonel before I saw it in print. It was such a shock to see how it was really spelled that I still think “col-uh-null” whenever I see it in print. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-mispronounce-in-your-head-even-though-you-know-better/496765/4 "2009-05-17T18:13:34Z")
Shrilly Hermione is always saying things shrilly in the Harry Potter books. I insist(wrongly) that it is pronounced "shrill ily. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dusty\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ba8739/32.png) [@Dusty\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dusty_Rose)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-mispronounce-in-your-head-even-though-you-know-better/496765/5 "2009-05-17T18:17:04Z")
Linux. In my head, I always think of it with a long i. I have to mentally correct before I say it out loud- _every single time_. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-mispronounce-in-your-head-even-though-you-know-better/496765/6 "2009-05-17T19:59:08Z")
The name Sean. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-mispronounce-in-your-head-even-though-you-know-better/496765/7 "2009-05-17T20:07:12Z")
daschund. I ALWAYS say dash-und first. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-mispronounce-in-your-head-even-though-you-know-better/496765/8 "2009-05-17T20:29:57Z")
Prolly ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-mispronounce-in-your-head-even-though-you-know-better/496765/9 "2009-05-17T20:31:20Z")
“Integral” …in my head is intagruhl (no real accent), but seems the proper pronunciation is In-tay’-gruhl. ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-mispronounce-in-your-head-even-though-you-know-better/496765/10 "2009-05-17T20:48:41Z")
Solemn. I read it before I ever heard it - to describe Sara Crewe in A Little Princess. Soe - lem (with a long o) just sounds more solemn to me! ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-mispronounce-in-your-head-even-though-you-know-better/496765/11 "2009-05-17T21:26:12Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > “Integral” …in my head is intagruhl (no real accent), but seems the proper pronunciation is In-tay’-gruhl. I don’t think you’re far off. Isn’t it “In-teh-grul” (no real stress on any syllable) for the mathematics term and “in-TEH-grul” when it’s something of importance? ---
**Author:** ![QuercusMax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/8baadc/32.png) [@QuercusMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuercusMax)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-mispronounce-in-your-head-even-though-you-know-better/496765/12 "2009-05-17T21:55:40Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > daschund. I ALWAYS say dash-und first. Perhaps this is because you’re spelling it wrong? [Dachshund.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dachshund) Dachs-hund. ---
**Author:** ![Words\_on\_the\_Interweb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b19c9b/32.png) [@Words\_on\_the\_Interweb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Words_on_the_Interweb)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-mispronounce-in-your-head-even-though-you-know-better/496765/13 "2009-05-17T23:34:37Z")
Tangential… I read (and sometimes have to correct my pronunciation from) tan-genital. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-mispronounce-in-your-head-even-though-you-know-better/496765/14 "2009-05-18T00:51:46Z")
Possibly. I always think nothing could [possiblye go wrong.](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7miw5_the-simpsons-arriving-at-itchy-and_shortfilms). ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-mispronounce-in-your-head-even-though-you-know-better/496765/15 "2009-05-18T01:11:39Z")
> [@Dusty\_Rose](#): > > Linux. In my head, I always think of it with a long i. I have to mentally correct before I say it out loud- _every single time_. I took a Linux/Dos college course where the instructor pronounced it L **I** nux. As for me, for a while I would see the word cemetery in my head as cementry (why I added an “n” to the word, I don’t know). So I’d be thinking about cement. But thankfully I’ve always pronounced it correctly. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-mispronounce-in-your-head-even-though-you-know-better/496765/16 "2009-05-18T01:43:05Z")
Restaurant. You need to mispronounce it in your mind to spell it correctly. ---
**Author:** ![ThirdOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@ThirdOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThirdOne)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-mispronounce-in-your-head-even-though-you-know-better/496765/17 "2009-05-18T02:19:19Z")
I think kull-a-nell when I see “colonel.” I think because I watched Hogan’s Heroes back in the day, and it’s sort of how the French serviceman pronounced it ;p I always hear Lie-nux, for Linux. When I was a kid, one of the Sunday comic strips used “bleah” which I read bleee, when it is really bleh. My family thought I was extremely funny. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-mispronounce-in-your-head-even-though-you-know-better/496765/18 "2009-05-18T02:54:55Z")
camouflage, but I say ‘camerflage’ ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-mispronounce-in-your-head-even-though-you-know-better/496765/19 "2009-05-18T05:19:32Z")
“Instrument” I have to pronounce it In-stru-ment in my head to spell it right. Some names are always going to throw me. Especially Gaelic ones like “Siobhan”. In what universe does that look like it should be [pronounced “sha-vaun”?](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0266441/bio) Other names I refuse to pronounce as requested out of sheer cussedness. Like the very talented actor Ralph Fiennes. His dad’s name was Mark, and his brother is named Joseph and both are pronounced normally. But his name is supposed to be pronounced “rafe”? Bite me. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-mispronounce-in-your-head-even-though-you-know-better/496765/20 "2009-05-18T06:12:35Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Restaurant. You need to mispronounce it in your mind to spell it correctly. This is why I call psycho “pssy-cho” in my head. I finaly had to train myself to do that because I got sick of having to look that word up everytime I wanted to use it in writing. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-mispronounce-in-your-head-even-though-you-know-better/496765.md?page=2)