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First off, it was a croissant for breakfast before stopping by the store to buy some Worcestershire sauce. Then it was a choice between a gyro or Pho for lunch. I picked up a charcuterie board before entertaining some guests, and while at the store I bought some gnocchi, quinoa, and acai.

Did you pronounce all those correctly? Odds are you didn’t, because those are the eight most commonly mispronounced foods, in order, in the United States. 

Researchers at study platform Quizgecko compiled a list of most popular foods and analyzed the number of Google searches for each, combined with terms like “how to pronounce food,” “food pronunciation,” and “how to say food.”

“Croissant” is far and away the winner. Personally, I’ve been mispronouncing the French puff pastry for years. The correct pronunciation? Kwah-sahn. Who knew? Did you know acai is pronounced “ah-sigh-ee?” Neither did I. 

Many seem obvious, but apparently aren’t for everyone. I’m happy to say I’m a master at ordering a fajita (No. 26 on the list) from Chipotle (No. 14), and feel comfortable ordering a beignet in New Orleans. Getting a salad with vinaigrette dressing is always a win, as is ordering edamame or bruschetta.

But don’t get me started on phyllo (fee-loh), and I’ve been garbling bouillabaisse forever. (It’s boo-yuh-bess, by the way).

I’ve now got to go season some paella with Siracha, and get the quiche ready for dinner. Tiramisu is for dessert, followed by a nightcap of espresso. All those appear on the list, below.

OK, I haven’t had to pronounce anything in writing this article. But thank God for spellcheck.

 

Rank	Food Name	Correct Pronunciation	Monthly Searches
1	Croissant	kwah-sahn	589,670
2	Worcestershire	wuh-ster-sheer	222,890
3	Gyro	yee-roh	170,240
4	Pho	fuh	90,440
5	Charcuterie	shahr-koo-tuh-ree	79,140
6	Gnocchi	nyawk-kee	73,080
7	Quinoa	keen-wah	69,210
8	Acai	ah-sigh-ee	59,930
9	Gruyère	groo-yair	38,760
10	Tzatziki	tsah-tsee-kee	37,400
11	Macaron	mac-uh-rohn	32,230
12	Caprese	cah-prey-zay	28,300
13	Brioche	bree-ohsh	27,440
14	Chipotle	chi-poht-lay	25,270
15	Sriracha	sir-rah-chah	24,900
16	Paella	pie-ay-uh	21,190
17	Mousse	moos	20,760
18	Quiche	keesh	20,150
19	Bruschetta	bru-sket-tuh	20,120
20	Prosciutto	pro-shoo-toh	19,350
21	Beignet	ben-yay	19,300
22	Tiramisu	tih-ruh-mee-soo	19,300
23	Espresso	es-press-oh	14,050
24	Edamame	ed-uh-mah-may	13,370
25	Bouillabaisse	boo-yuh-bess	8,040
26	Fajita	fah-hee-tuh	7,950
27	Poutine	poo-teen	6,700
28	Vinaigrette	vin-uh-gret	4,250
29	Phyllo	fee-loh	2,340
30	Feta	feh-tah	2,130