Flying to Spokane, Washington, soon? Do yourself a favor when you arrive. Don’t say, “Ahh. It’s so good to be in Spo-cane.” Trust us, your words will only be met with emoji-style eye-rolls by the locals. (But, hey, it’s a common mistake!) In fact, you’d be amazed how many knowledgable travelers mispronounce the names of so many famous locales—from Boise to Helena to, of course, Reykjavik.
In the interest of making sure you pronounce them all perfectly, we’ve listed here the 30 most mangled city names in the world, ordered from are-you-kidding-me? to okay-we-see-how-you-messed-that-one-up. And to prepare for when you giddy-up and jet off to these places, be sure you know the 10 Best Tricks For Sleeping on a Plane.
1
Worcester, Massachusetts
The right way to pronounce it: Wuss-ter
2
Bangkok, Thailand
The right way to pronounce it: Bahng-gawk
3
Montreal, Canada
The right way to pronounce it: Mun-tree-all
For more great travel advice, here are 20 Secrets Your Flight Attendant Won’t Tell You.
4
Boise, Idaho
The right way to pronounce it: Boy-see
5
Spokane, Washington
The right way to pronounce it: Spo-can
6
Versailles, France
The right way to pronounce it: Ver-sy
7
Nice, France
The right way to pronounce it: Niece
8
Louisville, Kentucky
The right way to pronounce it: Loo-uh-vul
9
Helena, Montana
The right way to pronounce it: Hell-en-uh
10
Worcestershire, United Kingdom
The right way to pronounce it: Woost-a-sheer
11
Des Moines, Iowa
The right way to pronounce it: Duh-moyn
12
Budapest, Hungary
The right way to pronounce it: Boo-duh-pesht
13
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
The right way to pronounce it: Do-bay
14
Hiroshima, Japan
The right way to pronounce it: He-row-she-ma
15
Oslo, Norway
The right way to pronounce it: Aws-low
16
Munich, Germany
The right way to pronounce it: Myoon-ick
17
Åre, Sweden
The right way to pronounce it: Ore-uh
18
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The right way to pronounce it: Ree-oh d’ ja-near-oh
19
Majorca, Spain
The right way to pronounce it: Muh-york-uh
20
Lyon, France
The right way to pronounce it: Lee-on
21
Quebec City, Canada
The right way to pronounce it: Kuh-beck city
22
Kiev, Ukraine
The right way to pronounce it: Key-iv
23
Milan, Italy
The right way to pronounce it: Me-lahn
Oh, and speaking of Italy? This gorgeous town will actually pay you to move there.
24
Johannesburg, South Africa
The right way to pronounce it: Joe-han-niss-burg
25
Glasgow, Scottland
The right way to pronounce it: Glass-go
26
The Hague, Netherlands
The right way to pronounce it: The Hayg
27
Phuket, Thailand
The right way to pronounce it: Poo-get
28
Melbourne, Australia
The right way to pronounce it: Mel-bin
29
Reykjavik, Iceland
The right way to pronounce it: Ray-keeya-vick
30
Boston, Massachusetts
The right way to pronounce it (like the locals, ya heah?): Baw-stin
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