Names people get wrong
Personal names follow the rules of their origin language, not English. Irish names use bh for a v sound (Siobhan) and mh similarly (Niamh), while Spanish j is a breathy h (Joaquin). Getting a name right is basic courtesy, so it is worth the two minutes.
Accent
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The words
More lists like this
Hard consonant clusters
Strength, twelfths, sixths: dense consonant runs with no vowel to help. Hear them said cleanly.
Food words people mispronounce
Quinoa, gnocchi, bruschetta, acai: menu words that trip everyone up. Hear each one correctly.
Medical terms
Anaesthesia, ophthalmologist, angina: essential medical vocabulary said clearly and correctly.
Legal terms
Subpoena, plaintiff, voir dire, tort: courtroom vocabulary with unpredictable pronunciation.
Tech and programming words
Cache, GIF, Linux, tuple, SQL: developer vocabulary that even engineers argue about.
UK place names
Leicester, Worcester, Edinburgh: British place names that look nothing like they sound.
Keep practising
Browse every practice list, hear two accents back to back on Compare, or test your ear with the listening quiz.