English Words Americans Mispronounce ❌ Difficult English Words | Common Mistakes

There are some words that are just hard to pronounce.

発音が複雑な単語があります

Forget being a non-native speaker. Americans can't even get these words right.

ネイティブの私たちでさえ 間違うこともあります

Today, we're going to go over 14 of the most commonly mispronounced words in American English.

間違った発音をされる　 14のアメリカ英語を紹介します

The other night, I was watching Netflix.

先日Netflixを 観ていたときのことです

It was a documentary, Ugly Delicious episode 2.

ドキュメンタリー番組の 『Ugly Delicious』で

And I saw a native speaker completely mispronounce a word.

ネイティブが間違って 発音をする場面がありました

Excuse me?

「え？」

I actually had to go back and turn on the subtitles to make sure he was saying the word

字幕を出して 発音を確認しました

I thought he was saying, but mispronouncing it.

彼が間違った 発音をしたと思ったからです

He was. How is that? How is it that Americans mispronounce words in their own language?

やはり誤発音でした なぜネイティブが発音を間違えるのか

It's because sometimes, we learn words from reading, not from hearing them used.

それは私たちが 読むことから音を学ぶからです

And English is not a phonetic language. The letters do not correspond one-to-one with the sounds.

英語は音声言語とちがい 文字と音が一致しない言語です

So we can see a word and guess the pronunciation, and maybe be wrong.

目で見て音を推測するので 音を間違うことも

Someone who reads a lot may learn lots of words that they've never heard pronounced.

読書家は発音の知らない単語に よく出会うことでしょう

So it's actually really easy for native speakers to mispronounce a word.

ネイティブが間違った 発音をするのはよくあることです

This word is 'echelon', not echelon. But echelon was a good guess.

この単語は「エシャロン」で エクロンではありません

Because the CH can be pronounced K or CH or SH. In this case, it's the SH sound, not the K sound.

ch の発音は k ch sh で この単語では k ではなくsh です

But there would be no way to know that just by looking at the word.

見ただけでは 正確な音は分かりません

So the first word today is going to be...

最初に学ぶのは この単語ーー

Echelon.

「echelon/’ɛ ʃ ə, lɑn/」です

Echelon. Try that with me. Echelon.

ɛ ʃ ə lɑn 一緒にどうぞ

By the way, if you're wondering what the heck these symbols are, they're the international phonetic alphabet symbols.

この意味不明な記号は何かって？

これは国際発音記号（IPA）といい 発音を示すものです

They match up to the sounds of English because the letters of English don't.

If you want to know more about them, if you want to learn them for American English,

IPAについて 詳しく学びたい方のために

I'll put a link to my playlist that goes over them below.

コメント欄に リンクを貼っておきます

Oh my gosh, you guys. I just went to Youglish just to see if I could find anyone else saying 'Echelon'.

Youglish でも echelon の 間違いを見つけてしまいました

I typed it in and I found another guy mispronouncing this word, only mispronouncing it in a different way.

ある男性が誤った言い方を している動画がありました

I did not expect to find that.

驚きました

So he said 'Echelon' with the CH sound, also a good guess, also not the way that word is pronounced.

「エチュロン」と言っていますが 正しい発音ではありません

So that word only has one pronunciation listed in the dictionary and it's Echelon. Echelon.

辞書に載っている発音は一つ 「echelon/’ɛ ʃ ə, lɑn/」で sh の音です

If you're unfamiliar with the word Echelon, it means a group or a level within an organization or a larger group.

この単語は企業や大きな団体における グループや階層を意味します

We're looking to hire the best people who are in the upper echelon of their fields.

例：弊社は経験に長けた 「幹部」レベルの人材を探しています

The other day, I was talking to David about the Metropolitan Opera.

メトロポリタン歌劇場について 話していたとき

I said it's so cool to live so close to such an upper echelon Opera House.

upper echelonという言葉で 「最高峰」の歌劇場を表現しました

Hearing the wrong pronunciation of Echelon on Netflix got me thinking about the words I've mispronounced

Echelon 以外の 間違った発音にも興味がわき

in my life. So I posted to Facebook to ask my friends about words they've said incorrectly,

Facebookに投稿して 友人にこう質問してみました

or weren't sure how to say maybe because they learned them from reading.

間違った発音をしたり 発音が不明な単語はありますか

One friend said 'chaos'. He thought it was chaos, the CH letter is making a CH sound.

ある友人はchaosの発音は 「チェオス」だと思っていました

Again those letters CH, they can be tricky, just like in Echelon.

Echelon と同じように ch の音に引っかかったのです

So here, we'll study a list of words I've heard mispronounced by native speakers.

ネイティブが間違って発音した 単語を学んでいきましょう

I've mispronounced them myself or my friends have admitted to mispronouncing.

私自信あるいは友人が 過去に間違った発音をした単語です

This one is from my friend Lowell, reading out loud in class in the 6th grade, he said 'schedule'.

Lowellは中学生のとき 授業中に「schedule」をーー

「シュルードゥ」と読みました L と Dが入れ替り Kは発音されません

Ok so he mixed up the L and the D, and he also didn't make a K sound. Sk, sk. Schedule. Schedule.

So SCH is often S Plus K sound, sk, like in school. But not always,

sch は school のように sとkで発音されますが

for example, when it's followed by another consonant, then it's going to be an SH sound like: schlep.

子音を伴うときは ʃlɛp のように sh で発音します

Schlep has two meanings: to halt or carry something. I have to schlep my groceries up four flights of stairs.

schlepには２つの意味があります 物を「運ぶ」という意味と

Or it can be a tedious or long journey. It takes me an hour to get to work on the subway,

仕事先まで１時間かかるうえに ２回乗り換えで長旅だった

and I have to make two transfers so it's a schlep.

といったような 「退屈な長旅」の意味です

Now, the word schedule. That's the word that my students have requested a lot.

scheduleは生徒から 多くの質問を受けるので

So I do have a video that goes over how to pronounce that word in detail.

発音を詳しく説明している 動画を別に作成しました

I'll link to it at the end or you can see the link in the video description.

リンクを貼るので 確認してみてくださいね

Here, I found one that even the guy in the dictionary mispronounces.

辞書の音声にも 間違った発音がありました

Its acai.

「acai/æs aɪ'i/」 アクセントは後ろです

Now, I get it. When words come to us from other languages, it can be really hard, but come on.

借用語は発音が 複雑になるのも理解できますが

This one is written with stress on the last syllable. Its acai, not acai.

「æs aɪ'i」のストレスは 前ではなく後ろに置かれます

Do you know this? It's a berry supposed to be very very good for you. Often put in smoothies.

アサイーはベリーの一種で スムージーによく使われます

And yes, I've definitely heard Americans pronounce this acai.

アメリカ人がよく 「アカイ」と発音していますよね

I mean, with the letters, that pronunciation would make sense in English. But it's acai.

文字で考えれば納得できますが 正しい発音は「アサイー」です

This next one I have definitely mispronounced before. Just like Lowell did with schedule.

Lowellがscheduleを間違えたように 私も誤って発音した単語があります

I think we mispronounce it because in our minds, we switch some of the letters. We think it's spelled like this:

原因は頭のなかで 音を書き換えてしまうからです

この単語は「mischievious」と 発音されがちですがーー

so we say, mischievious. But it's not that, it's: mischievous.

正しくは「'mɪs tʃə vəs」です 誤発音の動画を見てみましょう

It's not hard to find examples of people mispronouncing this word.

Mischievous. But remember, no, that's not it, that's wrong. It's just three syllables. It's mischievous.

mischieviousではありません 「mɪs・tʃə・vəs」の３音節です

Mischievous. If you're not familiar with this word, it means playful but maybe doing something a little bad.

この単語には いたずらっぽさが含まれます

My new puppy is a little mischievous, he's always eating my shoes.

例：飼い始めた子犬が「やんちゃ」で いつも靴ばかり噛んでるの

Now, this one again, for some reason, some native speakers add an extra syllable. The word is: Triathlon.

次も余計な音節をともなって 発音されがちの単語ーー

「triathlon/tɹaɪˈæθ lɑn」です 私も間違って発音していました

Yes, I myself am guilty of mispronouncing this word. I used to say Triath-uh-lon,

thのあとに音節を加えて Triath-uh-lonと発音していたんです

adding an extra syllable after TH. Triath-uh- Triath-uh-lon. I bet if you pulled 10 Americans, at least

thの後にaを加えた 表記ミスもあるかもしてません

half of them would think that that's how it's pronounced. They'd probably misspell it, too, putting in an extra A.

But it's not four syllables, it's three. Tri-ath-lon. Triathlon. A triathlon is a race, swimming, biking, and running.

Triathlonは３音節で発音される 水泳・自転車・マラソンの耐久競技です

All right, the next one is an example from my own life. I was in the tenth grade, Geography class,

次は高校の地理の授業で 私自信が経験した間違いです

I can't remember what I was talking about but I used this word: facade.

詳しくは思い出せないのですが 間違えた単語はーー

「facade/fə 'sɑd/」です 私はファケイドと言いました

But that's not how I said it I said: facade. Barricade. Cascade. Decade.

barricade cascade decade ファケイドで合っていそうですが

Facade made sense, but that's not the pronunciation. Facade.

The C is the S sound, that's not uncommon, it's S in lots of words like circle and city. Facade.

circleやcityと同様に cはsの音として発音されます

I have two friends who said they were unsure of how to pronounce these two words: vague and vogue.

２人の友人が 分かりにくいと言ったのはーー

vague と vogueです Kirk は vague がヴェイグなのか

Vague and vogue. Kirk wasn't sure if vague should be vague, or vague.

ヴァグなのか悩んでいましたが day と同じで ei の発音「veɪg」です

And he says he still gets nervous saying it, but it's AY like in day, say, way, AY. Vague is the right way.

Now. Catherine worked in fashion so I'm pretty sure she figured out how to say Vogue.

ファッション業界にいたCathorineには vogue は馴染みがありそうですが

But I can see how the U and E at the end makes this pronunciation a little confusing. Vague and vogue.

ue で終わる単語は複雑ですよね 発音は「veɪg」と「voʊg」です

Something that is vague is something that's not clear, not clearly defined, stated or explained.

vague は物事の不確かさや あいまいさを意味します

I'm trying to put together some furniture but these instructions are pretty vague.

例：家具を組み立てたいんだけど この説明書は「分かりにくいわ」

If something is vogue, then it's popular or fashionable.

vogue は流行や 人気があるものを意味します

I can't believe scrunchies are in vogue again.

例：シュシュ（髪ゴム）が 「流行ってる」なんて信じられない

Speaking of that UE at the end of a word, like vague and vogue, what about this word?

vague や vogue のほかにも ue で終わる単語にーー

「queue/kju/」があります

Queue.

That looks like too many letters, doesn't it? My aunt said she had heard different pronunciations of this word

おばはqueueが 色々な言われ方をするので

and she wasn't sure how to say it so she had to look it up. So if you're a non-native speaker, and

発音を調べたそうです 非ネイティブスピーカーの皆さんは

you're feeling bad about not knowing the pronunciation of a word when you read it,

発音が分からない単語があると 自信を失うかもしれませんが

don't worry native speakers have that same problem. This word is: Queue, just like saying the letter Q out loud.

気にする必要はありません ネイティブも同じなのですから

発音はアルファベットのQと同じで 「cue」も同じ発音です

Queue, it also has the same pronunciation as this word: cue.

Queue is a line. Queue up to try to get tickets to the show. Cue is a signal. C-U-E.

列を表す言葉で queue upで列に並ぶという意味です

cue の意味はシグナルです 友人宅で友達があくびを始めたら

For example, if you're at someone's house in the evening. And they keep yawning,

that might be your cue to go home. I have two more with QUE.

それは家に帰るシグナルかも -que の単語を２つ紹介します

My sister-in-law said she used to think this word was 'antique'.

１つ目は義妹が間違って 発音した単語ーー

「antique/æn ’tɪk/」です ２つ目は友人が間違った単語ーー

But that's not it, it's antique. And a friend of mine once heard someone say this word as 'boutique',

「boutique/bu 'tɪk/」です -que の発音はすべて k でしょうか

but it's not, it's boutique. So does every word that ends in IQUE pronounced this way?

Antique, boutique, critique, physique, unique?

antique boutique critique physique uniqueーー

No, not quite. We also have applique, and communiqué, so they don't all follow that rule.

そうとは限らないのです applique や communiqueは eɪ です

An antique is something that's old, maybe a rare, high-end quality, used to describe furniture from another era.

antique は古くて希少なもの 年代物の家具を意味します

This antique desk belonged to my grandmother.

例：この「アンティーク」デスクは 祖母のものです

A boutique describes a small fashionable business.

boutique は小規模で 独創的なビジネスを意味します

A boutique hotel for example doesn't have a lot of rooms, and each room is really individual

ブティックホテルといえば 独創性に富んだ少数の個室を

and tastefully done.

備えるホテルを意味します 次の単語はーー

Our next word is artisanal. My friend said she once had to correct a smart, smart friend who had said: artisanal.

「artisanal/ɑɹ'tɪ zən əl/」で ストレスは後ろではなく前です

Stress can be tricky. There aren't many rules about it. This word does have second syllable stress.

ストレスは厄介ですが この単語では第２音節に置かれます

Artisanal. Something that is 'artisanal' is something handmade, often in a traditional way.

artisanal は伝統的な方法で 手作りされたものを意味します

Artisanal bread. Artisanal cheese. Something handmade in a small batch,

Artisanal bread や Artisanal cheese といえば自家製で

different from something made in a factory. Artisanal.

工場で作られたものでは ないことを意味します

Next is cognac.

次の単語は 「cognac/ˈkoʊn ˌjæk/」です

My friend Emily said: I said it loudly at a party, and the room got very quiet.

Emilyはパーティーの場を 静まり返らせてしまったそうです

I thought it was pronounced Cogganack.

彼女は「コグナック」と 言いました

I can see why she thought that, look at the letters. Cognac. But it's cognac, cognac.

文字を見るかぎりでは そう発音したのも納得ですが

正しくは「ˈkoʊn ˌjæk」で 高級品のブランデーを意味します

Cognac is a very high quality brandy.

Next is: draught.

次の単語は 「draught/dɹæft/」です

This word is confusing because it looks like it should be the pronunciation of this word: drought,

draught は drought と 似ていて紛らわしいですね

the one with OU is pronounced drought, the one with AU is pronounced draught.

drought の ou は aʊ で draught の au は æ です

Draught is common because beer in kegs is called draught beer, and a lot of people prefer drinking that

draught は生ビールの ドラフトで知られていますね

ビールは瓶や缶よりも やはりドラフトが人気です

to beer that's bottled or a canned.

Drought with OU is a long period with little or no rain. And then there's another word that sounds just like draft,

aʊ の drought は 雨が降らない干ばつを意味します

draught と音が同じで 綴りが違う draft は下書きを意味します

but it's spelled differently, DRAFT, which means something that's not in its final form.

I wrote a first draft of my paper. Draught. Drought. Draft.

例：最初の「下書き」を書きました draught drought draft

And what is up with this word? Colonel.

次の単語は理解不能な 「Colonel/ˈkɜ ɹ nəl/」です

Where's the R? This is the only word in English that I can think of that has an R sound, but no letter R.

綴りにはない R が発音される 私が考えつく唯一の単語です

The letters of this word make no sense for the way it's pronounced.

綴りがまったく 意味をなさない単語です

A friend of mine told me she pronounce this word 'colonel', of course, it makes sense,

友人は学校のプレゼンで 「コロネル」と言ったそうです

in a presentation in school. I think many people have that same story.

彼女のほかにも 多くの人が経験してると思います

A colonel is a rank in the military. Colonel.

colonel は軍隊における 大佐を意味します

And finally...

最後の単語です

So we need it now, I can never say this. Worcestershire?

We have the word: Worcestershire.

「Worcestershire/ˈwʊs təɹ ʃəɹ/」です

This word is so weird. I actually talked about this in a previous video. Let's check it out.

過去の説明動画を 振り返ってみましょう

This is one of the few cases where we're actually retaining British English pronunciation.

ブリティッシュ英語の 発音が残る数少ない言葉です

This sauce was first made in the city of Worcester England.

この単語はイギリスの都市 Worcester で生まれました

Shire, is the British equivalent to our counties here in America, so this sauce is simply named

shire は州を意味しています

Worcestershire は New Hampshire のように州を意味する言葉です

for the region from which it comes. Worcestershire, where 'shire' sounds just like the state name

New Hampshire.

So we drop the first R, and the vowel in that syllable is the UH as in push vowel. Wuh-- wuh--

最初の R は発音しません 母音は push と同じ wʊ です

so the lips will start in a tight circle, and then they'll relax a bit out, but we still went a little bit of round

まず唇を強めにすぼめ 緩めたあとも形は丸くキープします

for that vowel. Wuh-- wuh-- this is the stressed syllable.

この音節にストレスが置かれ

Then we have two unstressed syllables. Stershire-- stershire-- stershire--

そのあとにストレスのない音節 stəɹ ʃəɹ が続きます

So they can be lower in pitch, and quicker. So we have the ST consonant cluster, worcest-- st-- st--

低い音で短い音です wʊ のあとには stの子音がきます

So your teeth need to come together for the S sound, tongue will go to the roof of the mouth for the T.

歯をせまく閉じて S の音を作ったら 口蓋に舌を触れて T の音を作ります

Worcestershire. Now the second two syllables have the schwa, so we need basically no jaw drop for those.

２つのシュワ ə で アゴは落とす必要はありません

Worcestershire. Tershire. To make the SH sound between the two UR sounds,

əɹ に挟まれた sh/ʃ/ の音では 舌が少し前に移動しますが

the tongue will come forward a little bit, but the tongue tip still doesn't need to be touching anything,

舌先はどこにも触れません

and your teeth will stay together, Shh, and your lips will flare. Worcestershire.

歯は狭めたままで息を吐き 唇はアヒル口にします

So it's just three syllables. Da-da-da. Worcestershire.

３音節の DA-da-da です ˈwʊ stəɹ ʃəɹ

Don't pronounce that first R, and also make sure you put the schwa in the last syllable.

最初の R は発音しません 最後のシュワ ə の音を忘れずに

Some people will want to say Shire, but just like the State New Hampshire,

shire をシャイアと言う人もいますが New Hanpshire と同じで

shire, shire, it's a schwa in that last syllable.

シュワ ə の音です

What words have you mispronounced or heard mispronounced?

心当たりのあった単語は コメントに書いてくださいね

Put it in the comments. Okay, earlier I promised you a link to the word 'schedule'.

schedule について リンクを貼ると言いましたが

I actually had a series going for a while called Word of the Week, where I made a video on how to pronounce

動画をまとめたシリーズ 「Word of the Week」があります

a specific word that someone out there had requested. All sorts of good words for non-native speakers.

学習者から質問のあった 単語の発音を説明しています

I'm going to link to that playlist here.

この画面に リンクを貼りました

Be sure to subscribe and come check me out every Tuesday, where you'll get a new video on the English language.

サブスクライブを忘れずに 新しい動画配信は毎週火曜日です

I love teaching you English, thank you for being here with me.

皆さんに英語を教えることは 私の情熱です

That's it, and thanks so much for using Rachel's English.

ご視聴ありがとうございました