See the most mispronounced words in Wisconsin – and how to really say them

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Published October 31, 2026 3:04 PM CDT

A bakery sales donuts a day ahead of Fat Thursday in Krakow, Poland on February 16, 2023. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images) (Getty Images)

The Brief

    • Unscramblerer released a list of the most mispronounced words across the U.S. based on Google search data.
    • Ten of the top 15 mispronounced words in Wisconsin are food and drink items.
    • Zooming out to the rest of the country, apparently Americans have a harder time pronouncing Worcestershire sauce than Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Do you know the right way to say Paczki? According to a recent report from Unscramblerer, the jelly-filled Polish pastry is the most mispronounced word in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin’s most mispronounced words

The backstory:

Unscramblerer, an online tool that helps people unscramble words, released a list of the most mispronounced terms in the U.S. based on Google search data.

In Wisconsin, Fat Tuesday is widely celebrated as Paczki Day, a Mardi Gras tradition that honors the state’s strong Polish heritage. Despite the pastry’s popularity, the word Paczki itself continues to trip people up. But it’s not the only food item giving Wisconsinites a hard time.

From Italian staples like penne and gnocchi to the notoriously tricky Worcestershire sauce, folks across the state frequently turn to the internet for a quick pronunciation check.

Here’s the full list of Wisconsin’s most mispronounced words and how to say them correctly:

  1. Paczki (POONCH-kee)
  2. Nguyen (WIN)
  3. Iran (ih-RAHN)
  4. Gyro (YEE-roh)
  5. Acai (ah-sigh-EE)
  6. Yuengling (YING-ling)
  7. Dachshund (DAKS-hund)
  8. Penne (PEN-ay)
  9. Gnocchi (NYOH-kee)
  10. Bolognese (boh-luh-NAYZ)
  11. Worcestershire sauce (WOOS-ter-sher)
  12. Oregon (OR-ih-gun)
  13. Qatar (KUH-tahr)
  14. Pho (FUH)
  15. Lychee (LEE-chee)

Meanwhile, across the nation…

Big picture view: Zooming out to the rest of the country, the national list has a slightly different mix. 

Food still takes the top spot, but a lot of Americans are also struggling with traditional Irish names, the endless debate over how to say "gif" and that massive Mary Poppins tongue-twister. See the most mispronounced words in America below.

  1. Worcestershire sauce (WUUS-ter-sheer saws)
  2. Gyro (YEE-roh)
  3. Dachshund (DAKS-hund)
  4. Niche (NEESH)
  5. Porsche (POR-shuh)
  6. Qatar (kuh-TAR)
  7. Gif (JIF)
  8. Curacao (KYUR-uh-sow)
  9. Saoirse (SEER-shuh)
  10. Pho (FUH)
  11. Salmon (SAM-un)
  12. Nguyen (WIN)
  13. Aoife (EE-fuh)
  14. Acai (ah-sigh-EE)
  15. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (soo-per-kal-ih-FRAJ-ih-lis-tik-ek-spee-al-ih-DOH-shus)

The Source: Information for this article was provided by Scramblerer. This story was reported in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. 

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