This Is Now The Most Mispronounced Word In Minnesota

You've probably heard the classic Gershwin tune "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," the one where a couple goes back and forth on tomato versus tomahto and potato versus potahto.

It's a cute argument, but at least everybody knows what's being ordered. However, there are some words nobody seems able to say with confidence, and a recent study set out to find the most mispronounced words in America, including Minnesota.

The Most Mispronounced Words in America

Researchers at Unscramblerer.com analyzed Google Trends data for searches like "how do you pronounce" and "how to pronounce" from January 1 through October 20, 2026.

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They then added up search volume across 110 variations of those searches. The top three words alone accounted for more than a quarter of the top searches.

Here's the national top 15, with a little help on how to say them:

• Worcestershire sauce – WUUS-ter-sheer saws
• Gyro – YEE-roh
• Dachshund – DAKS-hund
• Niche – NEESH
• Porsche – POR-shuh
• Qatar – kuh-TAR
• GIF – JIF
• Curaçao – KYUR-uh-sow
• Saoirse – SEER-shuh
• Pho – FUH
• Salmon – SAM-un
• Nguyen – WIN
• Aoife – EE-fuh
• Acai – ah-sigh-EE
• Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious – soo-per-kal-ih-FRAJ-ih-lis-tik-ek-spee-al-ih-DOH-shus (it's a lot easier when you sing it!)

Most Mispronounced Word in Minnesota

Minnesota's top search wasn't a food or a fancy sports car. It was a name: Nguyen, the most common Vietnamese surname.

Between 35 and 39 percent of Vietnamese people carry the surname, and Minnesota is home to more than 33,000 Vietnamese residents, so there's a good chance you've met a Nguyen or two.

Here's how to say it:

• Nguyen – WIN

"WIN" is the widely used Americanized pronunciation. However, the Vietnamese pronunciation is more nuanced, with a subtle nasal sound at the start, and families may say it a little differently. The best move? Just ask. Nobody has ever been offended by "How do you say your name?"

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Mispronouncing a word isn't anything to be embarrassed about. Every one of us learned to read before we learned all the exceptions.

What matters is staying curious enough to ask, and when it's someone's name, caring enough to get it right.