One of the most amusing things about the English language is wordplay. Also known as a play on words, it involves experimenting with sounds, spellings, and meanings for the sake of wit and humor. And there are few things funnier than deliberately mispronouncing English words.
Merriam-Webster notes that English is especially ripe for wordplay because its origins are an amalgam of different languages. “It’s essentially a product of Anglo-Saxon aka Old English, Latin, Old Norse, and Anglo-French,” it explains.
With so many dialectal influences, English has plenty of opportunities for funny pronunciations. On Reddit, people shared 32 words they deliberately mispronounce because it makes them (and others) chuckle.
“I used to call my dog ‘furface’ but I pronounced it like Versace. She always smiled.” – copingcabana
“I call people casseroles instead of *ssholes.” – SentimentalTaterTot
“My wife is a pharmacist, I always say drug names incorrectly to annoy her. Omee prazolee, like it’s an Italian dish.” – Whitchit1, marsh283
“Baby because of Moira Rose [Schitt’s Creek]. RIP.” – Darius2112
“Porpoise instead of purpose. My Dad said it once and I will say it forever. It’s fun and silly. People usually ignore it ♀️” – fortheloveofgodno
“Diabeetus, RIP Wilford Brimley.” – Phoenix_Rising42069
“A-A-Ron [Key & Peele].” – TwoDrinkDave
“Quesadilla – Kay suh dil uh – mainly Napoleon Dynamite.” – anix421
“AirPods, I call them Air-buds because it triggers my grandkids.” – Pristine_Explorer265
“Canadian here, I say ‘aboot’ when I’m around Americans.” – Saucefire
“Fragile, as fra-gee-lay. Thanks to A Christmas Story.” – goldimom
“Ess-cap-ayyyyy! Funny, it’s spelled just like the word escape?” – InfinitiveIdeals
“Scissors. Pronounced skizzers.” – NarrativeScorpion
“I pronounce the K in Knife. Sharp tools deserve sharp consonants, none of this silent letter nonsense.” – captain_slackbeard
“Epitome -> epi-tome. Because I learned that word by reading and now because it annoys certain family members.” – Ace_W
“I said Hermione (as in Granger) as her-me-own for ages before I realized.” – rebekha
“Beeth-oven and So-crates. Be excellent to each other!” – NotSayingAliensBut
“I do the opposite and do testicles and molecules like they are the names of Ancient Greek heroes/philosophers.” – TheOtterDecider
“Saxamaphone and trampopoline. Because Homer [Simpson].” – mr_dbini
“I put the em-FAH-sis on the wrong syl-AH-bull [View from the Top].” – diogenes_shadow
“I like to say milestone such that it rhymes with minestrone. I also like to say ziggurat instead of cigarette. I just think it’s funny, no other reason.” – Tenocticatl
“Champagne. Cham-pag-nee. Because it’s Bugs Bunny style.” – Necessary-Eye5319
“Trés-passing. ‘There’s only two of us, it doesn’t say no dos-passing’.” – DivineUnconvention
“Microwave as me crow wawv eh because funny. Nigella Lawson is shaking in her boots right now!” – Bubbly_Skin_8069, TheDriverEarist
“Hors d’oeuvres. Whores Dee Vours.” – stedun
“Washedyoursister sauce [Worcestershire sauce].” – Mr_McGigglepants
“I used to mispronounce Persephone as Purse a phone to annoy my father. He was a fan of Greek mythology and even gave me a middle name based on one of the stories. Enough reason to want to annoy him.” – metalmick
