This afternoon I read an article about the 20 most commonly mispronounced food words. I remember the first time I heard someone say “quinoa” aloud. I had no idea what they were talking about! I always pronounced quinoa like “kee-no-ah.” False. It’s keen-wah. This word, along with 19 other confusing food items made the list:
- Chipotle: Proper pronunciation: chi-poht-ley.
- Espresso: This is neither spelled nor pronounced with an "X" anywhere in it. Proper pronunciation: e-spres-oh.
- Bánh mì: This popular Vietnamese sandwich is just as popularly butchered, pronunciation-wise as "ban mee" or "bang mee." Proper pronunciation: bahn mee.
- Pho: This Vietnamese soup is pronounced almost exactly like the French word for fire, feu, for which it’s named. It is not "foe." Proper pronunciation: fəʊ, or like the word "fur" without the "R" at the end.
- Gyro: Proper pronunciation: yee-raw, if you’re Greek; jeer-oh or zheer-oh if you’re American.
- Foie gras: Not "foy grass." Proper pronunciation: fwah grah.
- Gnocchi: Proper pronunciation: nyawk-kee if you want to be Italian; nok-ee or noh-kee if you’re American.
- Quinoa: Pronunciation isn’t the only thing about quinoa that people often get wrong; it’s not a grain, as is so often assumed. It’s actually a chenopod, like epazote and spinach. Proper pronunciation: keen-wah.
- Caipirinha: Popular Brazilian cocktail. Proper pronunciation: kai-pee-reen-ya.
- Açai berry: Proper pronunciation: ah-sigh-ee.
- Beignet: No one wants Ben-Gay with their chicory coffee. Proper pronunciation: ben-yey.
- Guanciale: Most definitely not pronounced "gwan-see-ale."Proper pronunciation: WAHN-chall-eh.
- Coppa: Proper pronunciation: KOH-pa (hear it yourself).
- Kibbeh: Proper pronunciation: KIB-bay or KIB-beh (hear it yourself)
- Sriracha: The red rooster sauce seems be in every refrigerator and in every peppery mayonnaise sauce these days. Proper pronunciation: shree-ra-cha.
- Bruschetta: Not pronounced "broo-shet-uh." Proper pronunciation: broo-sket-ah.
- Haricot vert: Upscale restaurants love to use this French term for thin, green string beans, even if they’re just serving regular old green beans. Proper pronunciation: ah-ree-koh VEHR.
- Bouillabaisse: Proper pronunciation: boo-ya-bes.
- Jalapeño: Proper pronunciation: hah-luh-peyn-yoh.
- Quesadilla: Kweez-a-dill-uh? No. Proper pronunciation: key-suh-dee-uh.
- Peanut Butter: Pea-nut Butt-ah
Okay, so maybe I added the last one. 
Another one that surprised me from the list was bruschetta. I totally say it “broo-shet-uh.” Giada would be ashamed!
Dinner
For dinner this evening, Ryan and I stuck to a menu of food items we know how to pronounce.
Chicken. Corn. Beer.
I used the bottle of Bud Light in a crock pot dish. I first rubbed two chicken breasts with the same seasonings I used for the sugar ‘n’ spice pork that Ryan and I loved so much before placing them in a crock pot and covering them with the beer. I let the chicken breasts cook for four hours on low and then shredded the meat with two forks before topping it with honey mustard sauce and serving it on a toasted whole wheat sandwich thin.
Served with a side of sweet white corn on the cob, this dinner was the perfect summer meal.
Immediately after dinner, Ryan and I played several rounds of Rummy.
Ryan learned how to play Rummy on his guys’ hiking trip a couple weeks ago and taught me last night. We played a few rounds yesterday and had a good time so we decided to play until one of us accrued 500 points this evening.
Guess who got there first?
I took it home in the last round. Woo!
Now I’m off to join Ryan and Sadie on the couch to catch the rest of So You Think You Can Dance!
Enjoy your evening, friends!
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I definitely pronounced quinoa wrong at first! Pho was another one that took me forever to figure out. I mean, seriously, wouldn’t you think that it’s just pronounced Foe??? 🙂
I got so many words wrong from that list you made haha! Thanks for clearing that up 😉 Although it will take me some time to forget “keen -o- ah- –> quinoa , I’m so used to it now! 🙂
Sometimes the words ar epretty hard to pronunce because they are of different origin!
Doesn’t Costa Rica rock! I was just there with family for a wedding back in May. I want to go back so bad. Not sure where you are staying but check out the little town Jaco and look for the Costa Rica Coffee store and stock up on Fruity Monkey Poop and Crunchy Monkey Poop. LOL
Haha, I replied to the wrong comment. Ooops.
I am in Costa Rica right now and my boyfriend and I went grocery shopping and they had sandwich thins!!! I was so excited and I thought of you!
I’m a lurker usually-I’m a fashion blogger and feel a bit out of my element over here, but just wanted to say love your blog and you inspire me 🙂
Doesn’t Costa Rica rock! I was just there with family for a wedding back in May. I want to go back so bad. Not sure where you are staying but check out the little town Jaco and look for the Costa Rica Coffee store and stock up on Fruity Monkey Poop and Crunchy Monkey Poop. LOL
Omg! We are right outside of Jaco in Esterillos! Totally going to get my monkey poop on. Haha! Thank you for the recommendation!
Google ‘Australian Slang’ and you have got yourself a whole new dictionary! I swear American’s think we’re nuts!!
i’ve def embarrassed myself in the grocery stor with the quinoa one!
YUM!! Chick and beer–my husband would love that! I thought about you when reading an article in Shape this morning on the treadmill. The lady’s mantra was “Don’t trade what you want most for what you want at this moment.” I think it is great for a run, but also for life. You left your job to follow what you want most! Takes a lot of courage!!
This post is so much fun! It’s like fingernails on a chalkboard to hear people pronounce it “Chi-po-teh”. Ugh, just typing it gave me chills. 🙂
Cool list of food words!! Have to admit, I totally mispronounced most of them! 😛
I’m shocked that prosciutto isn’t on there!
Wow. At least I wasn’t alone all of those times I was mispronouncing Quinoa and Pho!
giada is my home girl. LOVE HER. and you of course 🙂
THANK YOU. Thank you thank you THANK YOU. “Expresso” makes my brain hurt.
I love this list! I never knew that I was pronoucing bruschetta wrong until a waiter said something to me in a restaurant! So embarrassing! I love Giada! Haha..I always make fun of how she says “pasta” or “spaghetti.” 🙂
You dinner looks really good! Bud Light Lime is tasty! 🙂
It annoys me way more than it should when people say eXpresso!! Having said that, I always feel a little weird saying keen-wah so I usually pronounce it kin-wah. And Giada cracks me up with the way she pronounces certain words in a strong italian accent hahah but I love her show!
Can’t wait to try out that recipe. I would of never thought to use bud light lime in the crock pot- you are genius Julie, I swear 🙂
..I love bud light lime- one of my favorites- such a summery beer.
OH & quick question- did you use the same amount of seasoning for the sugar & spice seasoning rub, or did you cut it in half? Just b/c I noticed it was 4 pork chops & 2 chicken breasts. Writing down the recipe now 😀
i used the same amount! 🙂 also, make sure you have some kind of sauce (like i used honey mustard) to top the chicken with when it comes out b/c it might be a little dry otherwise. 🙂
Thanks Julie 🙂 I’m going to make it soon!
I say quinoa wrong all the time. I know how to say it correctly but I’ve been saying it INcorrectly for so long, it just automatically comes out that way! Obviously, I avoid saying this word in public 🙂
I can’t believe you just learned to play Rummy 500! That’s one of my favorite games and our go-to game! My grandma taught me when I was super young. She still beats me every single time. As does my dad.
I LOVE BL Lime!! so delish!
I was also saying quinoa wrong until someone corrected me. And I was one of those people that said broo-sket-a too. Haha. 🙂
As I was reading this post, I found myself saying each and every word aloud to see how I pronounce it! And I realized that I always pronounce Gyro and Bruschetta wrong! Oops! Thanks for the tip 🙂
Ps That chicken looks delish- I think I might need to get a crock pot!
Wow, that was interesting! And I gotta love the Giada picture, her overpronounciation of everything kills me.
hahaha. I did an entire post about how dumb I felt when I saw on Bob’s Red Mill Quinoa “pronounced KEEN-WAH.”
http://www.lifeofblyss.com/2011/04/keen-wa/
Yep.. I sure did.
and I totally always said “uh-kai” for acai berry. that was a recent hiccup I learned in my speech, too. whoops! 😉
I have to disagree with the “gyro” pronunciation.
It’s more like how you pronounce “euro” but with more emphasis on the E and a roll of the R. Almost like “yee-roh”
I read the whole list… getting down to peanut butter, then i double glanced and said, “who doesn’t know how to pronounce peanut butter?!?!” i sat here dumbfounded for a few seconds trying to figure out an incorrect way to say it… then gave up and read the next sentence. hahaha the joke’s on me 🙂 good one!
Seeing Chipolte at the top of the list made me laugh out loud. I’m pretty much incapable of pronouncing it correctly. I always have to pause and think about the word for it to come out right. I also had NO idea that I’ve been mispronouncing bruschetta. Learn something new every day!
TOOOOOTALLY made the same mistake as you with quinoa, and was embarassingly made aware of the correct pronunciation by my Pilates instructor. Glad I’m not alone!
Love the list! Hahah, reminds me of the conversation my friends and I were having at the club the other night! We talked about “lacing it with basil,” “its pronounced brew-SKET-TA!” And when to “mix in some parm to the bechamel.” Definitely not your ordinary nightclub/bar conversation, but it was a definite blast! : )
Everyone is wrong about quinoa. There isn’t really one way to say it! Quinoa is indeed a Spanish word so it really should be pronounced as keenoah…however the word was derived from the native Quechua language which had 3 different words to pronounce it!: “kinwa” (keenwah), “kinua” (keenooah) and “kinoa”(keenoah)…yikes! So I bet the Spaniards said screw it and had to pick one way to say it. I personally will pronounce it as keenoah, since this is how all latinos pronounce it and since of course it’s a latino staple food. (Plus it keeps the latino market employees from snickering at you when ask them where the keenwah is) 😉
haha this is hilarious! turns out i’ve been saying bruschetta wrongly for a very, very long time! And actually, you don’t pronounce “pho” as “fur” but without the r…it’s actually pronounced like “f*ck” but without the “ck”…and to be ultra correct b/c of the accent over the o, you say it as if you’re asking a question!…a quote i once heard – pho is you’re friend, not your foe, so don’t pronounce it that way! haha 🙂
Totally delayed on commenting on this, but YAY for fellow Kappa Deltas! AOT!
That’s so funny that you mention Giada’s “Mootzarella.” I never understood why people took the “ah” off mozzarella and instead called it “mozzarell.” I don’t know, I guess I’m not a good Italian :(. Haha!
Thank you a lot for sharing this with all of us you actually recognize what you are talking approximately! Bookmarked. Kindly also consult with my website =). We will have a link alternate agreement between us!
Yet another way the acai berry helps the consumer is simply by delivering an energy increase. Simply because it provides soluble fiber, and fiber clears out your bowel, you are able to process meal and also consume nutrients a lot quicker. The added vitamins and minerals will certainly enhance vitality, leading you to feel great and also healthier each day.
Quinoa apparently can be pronounced either as Keen-Wa or Qui-know-ah as the original name Quechua is peruvian but was translated into Spanish, Quinoa.
Spanish pronunciation is Keen-Wa, but original grain name in the Andes is pronounces Qui-choa, which has over the years morphed into qui-no-ah.
Odd. But both are listed in the dictionary as correct. Most people say Qui-know-ah, but the standard “in the know” or foodie pronounciation is Keen-Wa.
thank you for clearing up this pronunciation!! i linked back to your awesome list in my quinoa recipe post: http://www.simplicity-interrupted.com/2013/01/mushroom-herb-quinoa.html
KEEN-WAH. Really! I guess I’ll tell my Peruvian born father he’s been pronouncing it wrong all these years. KEEN-WAH is simply an Anglicization of the word. It’s like so many other words in English that sound nothing like they do in their original language. Inca spoke the language Quechua. The Inca capital was located in modern day Peru (Cusco). Quinoa is a vital everyday food source in countless Andean recipes. The descendents of the Inca who live in this region today still pronounce it Kee-NO-ah as they have for thousands of years. If there is some logical reason why anyone should pronounce it KEEN-WAH I would really like to hear it. Otherwise I think we should respect and honor the culture and heritage that brought us this wonderful crop rather than try to assert some ignorant meaningless version of it!
Ditto with Ecuador.
This article and comments made me smile:)
I agree with you Robert, why not honor the pronunciation of a word that has been pronounced for thousands of years. Just ask a Spanish speaking person how to pronounce Kee-No-ah. Or just admit that as Americans we will change the pronunciation to such and such and just admit to it:)
Some people who commented above were actually pronouncing it correctly and now will pronounce it incorrectly because of this article.
Quesadillas is pronounced Keh-sa-dee-yah. Not “key”
Queso is cheese in Spanish. (Keh-so)
I don’t agree with the pronunciation of gyro either. I rely on the pronunciation of the Lebanese family who makes my amazing sandwich!
When I went to Paris a few years ago and asked an old gentleman who was our host, how to get to the “Eiffel (I-full) Tower”. He smiled and asked why it was so hard for us Americans to pronounce the name of their tower? I asked how I should say it in French and he said it was pronounced the “tower (E-fel)”. It was not hard at all. I smiled and told him we just didn’t know better.
Playing rummy is a talent. when ever i got time i use to watch the game. while watching i come to know these person having the high concentration and memory power. Now i got an interest to play rummy. I got a nice tips from you … thanks
There’s a typo in your lexicon: quesadilla is KAY suh dee ah, not KEY suh dee ah, at least out west, and southwest.
Thanks for a great source. Ditto on the “Boomark!”
I love SYTYCD! season 10 starts Tuesday aka tomorrow! I’m exploding I’m so excited.
and thank you. These will be helpful here and there. I originally need help to pronounce quinoa.