People in Virginia just can’t pronounce this word correctly, report suggests

(NEXSTAR) – The English language can certainly be a bit confusing at times. Some words have multiple meanings, like "clear," "light" and "mine." Other words sound exactly the same but have different meanings and spellings, like "their," "there" and "they're."

And some words just don't sound anything like they're spelled, giving trouble to Americans every day, like "queue," "colonel" and "Wednesday."

But if you think you're alone in not understanding why certain words are pronounced the way that they are, think again: Apparently, many residents across the country may be having the same problem, according to a new report from Unscramblerer.com.

The word-unscrambling website analyzed Google Trends, beginning at the start of 2025 through the end of October, for searches of "How do you pronounce" and "How to pronounce" for every state in the country — and the country as a whole.

What they found was that many Americans can't seem to pronounce a lot of the same words. The most popular mispronunciation concerned the word "gyro"; the report found that roughly 312,000 people across the U.S. needed a refresher on the pronunciation — YEE-roh — during the study period.

Almost as difficult to pronounce is "Worcestershire sauce," a popular condiment found in many people's fridges. The report found that approximately 300,000 Americans were searching the pronunciation — WUSS-ter-sheer — this year.

There were also around 192,000 searches for how to say "acai," a fruit pronounced as ah-SIGH-ee, according to the report.

Here are the top 10 most mispronounced words in the country, according to Google Trends:

1. Gyro (312,000 searches) - YEE-roh
2. Worcestershire sauce (300,000 searches) - WUSS-ter-sheer
3. Acai (192,000 searches) - ah-SIGH-ee
4. Qatar (180,000  searches) - KAH-tar
5. Dachshund (156,000 searches) - DAKS-hund
6. Niche (142,000 searches) - NEESH
7. Aoife (84,000 searches) - EE-fah
8. Charcuterie (72,000 searches) - shar-KOO-tuh-ree
9. Paczki (36,000 searches) - POONCH-kee
10. Primeval (26,000 searches) - pry-MEE-vul

On a state-by-state basis, many common items found in households made the list, like "thyme" (TIME) in Minnesota; "mayonnaise" (MAY-uh-nayz) in Wyoming; and "chamomile" (KAM-uh-meel) in Kentucky.

Others were a big stranger, such as Georgia, where the most mispronounced word is the name of popular musical artist SZA (SIZ-uh). In Massachusetts, it's the name of Boston Red Sox outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia (JOS-tin-son gar-SEE-uh). And in North Carolina, the most mispronounced word is the name of the capital city of the state, Raleigh (RAW-lee or RAH-lee are among the most popular pronunciations).

See if your state's most mispronounced word is just as weird, and if you know how to pronounce it or not:

• Alabama - Worcestershire sauce (WUSS-ter-sheer)
• Alaska -  Saoirse (SUR-sha)
• Arizona - Aoife (EE-fah)
• Arkansas - Laufey (LOW-fay)
• California - Kali Uchis (KAH-lee OO-chees)
• Colorado - Qatar (KAH-tar)
• Connecticut - Sfogliatelle (sfo-LYA-tel)
• Delaware - Mauve (MOHV)
• Florida - Staphylococcal (STAFF-uh-loh-KOK-ul)
• Georgia - Sza (SIZ-uh)
• Hawaii - Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (HIP-oh-pot-oh-MON-stroh-ses-kwip-uh-dal-ee-oh-FOH-bee-uh)
• Idaho - Kefir (KEE-fer)
• Illinois - Yuengling (YING-ling)
• Indiana - Paczki (POONCH-kee)
• Iowa - Dachshund (DAKS-hund)
• Kansas - Louvre (LOOV)
• Kentucky - Chamomile (KAM-uh-meel)
• Louisiana - Oaxaca (wah-HAH-kah)
• Maine - Qatar (KAH-tar)
• Maryland - Omniscient (OM-NISH-unt)
• Massachusetts - Jhostynxon Garcia (JOS-tin-son gar-SEE-uh)
• Michigan - Paczki (POONCH-kee)
• Minnesota - Thyme (TIME)
• Mississippi - Chinoiserie (SHIN-wah-zuh-ree)
• Missouri - Aurelia (aw-REEL-yuh)
• Montana - Dachshund (DAKS-hund)
• Nebraska - Bolognese (boh-luh-NAYZ)
• Nevada - Macabre (muh-KAHB)
• New Hampshire - Gyro (YEE-roh)
• New Jersey - Primeval (pry-MEE-vul)
• New Mexico - Gif (JIF)
• New York - Tzatziki (tsat-SEE-kee)
• North Carolina - Raleigh (RAW-lee or RAH-lee)
• North Dakota - Worcestershire sauce (WUSS-ter-sheer)
• Ohio - Paczki (POONCH-kee)
• Oklahoma - Nguyen (WIN)
• Oregon - Bibimbap (BEE-bim-bap)
• Pennsylvania - Jhoan Duran (JO-an duh-RAN)
• Rhode Island - Worcestershire sauce (WUSS-ter-sheer)
• South Carolina - Chose (CHOZ)
• South Dakota - Derecho (duh-RAY-cho)
• Tennessee - Gyro (YEE-roh)
• Texas - Staphylococcal (STAFF-uh-loh-KOK-ul)
• Utah - Qatar (KAH-tar)
• Vermont - Montpelier (mont-PEEL-yer)
• Virginia - Adolescence (ad-oh-LES-ens)
• Washington - Primeval (pry-MEE-vul)
• West Virginia - Acai (ah-SIGH-ee)
• Wisconsin - Paczki (POONCH-kee)
• Wyoming - Mayonnaise (MAY-uh-nayz)