BTW: You've Probably Been Mispronouncing These 15 Food Words (2024)

As soon as Chipotle (and their burrito bowls) hit the scene, one thing became clear: Many of us do not know how to pronounce the name of this chain restaurant. Blame it on the double consonants (the “tl” combo in this case), we won’t knock you for it.

How some people pronounce it: Chip-ot-uhl or chi-pot-uhl

How it’s actually pronounced: Chuh-powt-lay

Not to be confused with another light and delicious cookie, the coconut macaroon, macaron cookies only have one “o” and, in true French fashion, you only pronounce the “n” ever so slightly.

How some people pronounce it: Ma-kah-roon
How it’s actually pronounced: Ma-kr-aan (light on the n)

As you’ll see, some of these food words are not only mispronounced, but also the emphasis on certain syllables are also misplaced. You might want to really go for the hard “c” on açai, but you actually want to soften that “c” (this is what the cedilla diacritical mark on the “C” means) and really go for the “EE” at the end.

How some people pronounce it: a-KAI

How it’s actually pronounced: aa-saa-EE

The amount of ways I’ve heard people say “Worcestershire Sauce” is essentially equal to how many letters are in this seemingly endless word. Thankfully, it’s a lot less complicated to pronounce than it looks, promise, and key to any good steak sauce.

How some people pronounce it: Literally every which way, but most often is wursh-shtur-shire

How it’s actually pronounced: wu-stuh-shr

Personally, I still want to call it “sherbert,” even if I only imagine there’s an “R” in this word. It’s just cuter to say sherbet that way, TBH.

How some people pronounce it: Shur-burt

How it’s actually pronounced: Shur-buht

You might want an espresso martini to come at you express-o, but there is no “X” in espresso, nor does that sound belong in its pronunciation.

How some people pronounce it: ex-preh-sow

How it’s actually pronounced: eh-spreh-sow

Much like açai, you want to pay attention to the circumflexe accent mark (aka that little hat) on the “E” in crêpe. This mark changes a vowel sound, and in this case it flattens the first vowel to become a short “E” sound.

How some people pronounce it: krayp

How it’s actually pronounced: krehp (rhymes with “step”)

As fun as to eat as it is to (try to) say, lychee has many American speakers stumped. No need to get fancy here; it's actually pronounced much how it looks.

How some people pronounce it: lee-chee
How it’s actually pronounced: LAI-chee

I know I sound like your friend that just came back from study abroad in Rome, but there is no “sh” sound in the Italian word bruschetta. In Italian, the combination of “sch” is more like a “sk” sound, so be sure to say it properly when you’re ordering at a trattoria.

How some people pronounce it: broo-sheh-tuh
How it’s actually pronounced: broo-SKEH-tuh

A popular African red bush tea, Rooibos delivers a mouthful of subtle vanilla flavor as well as many vowel sounds. Some of the vowels here are actually silent, so you don’t have to stress yourself out too much with its pronunciation.

How some people pronounce it: roo-ee-bows
How it’s actually pronounced: roy-bows

Perhaps the most mispronounced food word of all time, the word “gyro” comes from the Greek word “gheereezo,” which means to turn. In this case, you’re going to want to turn away from hitting a hard “G” sound when pronouncing this delicious sandwich.

How some people pronounce it: gai-row, jai-row
How it’s actually pronounced: yee-row or zhee-row

Some believe pho was an adaptation of the French one-pot beef and vegetable stew pot-au-feu, of which the “feu” shares a phonetic similarity to "phở."

How some people pronounce it: fow
How it’s actually pronounced: fuh

Meaning “fixed prize” in French, the term “prix fixe” refers to offering a set menu of courses at a set price at a restaurant. It also has two pesky “X”s, one of which in “prix” is silent, while the second (in “fixe”) is pronounced.

How some people pronounce it: Some people say pre-fixed, pree-fee, or pre-fex
How it’s actually pronounced: pree-feex
French pronunciation: pree-feex-uh

Much like açai, the agave spirit mezcal is often pronounced with a misplaced stress in its syllables. So while it might be tempting to pronounce it like Paul Mescal, that’s not quite correct.

How some people pronounce it: mez-kull
How it’s actually pronounced: meh-SKAL

When in doubt, go as French as you can when pronouncing French food terms. That’s absolutely the case with the word “croissant,” which, as you might expect, is not as literally pronounced as it looks.

How some people pronounce it: crez-unt or cress-unt
How it’s actually pronounced: kruh-saant
French pronunciation: kwa-saa