10 most commonly mispronounced brand names
How many did you get right?
Have you come across brand names that you find challenging to pronounce? Well, you’re not alone since several well-known brands have non-English speaking origins. As our language backgrounds and experiences are different, we often have different ways of saying the same word.
A research by Solopress has found the top 10 brands that people weren’t sure of the pronunciation. The research is based on 12 months of global Google search data on the top brands of several categories including travel and hospitality, media and entertainment, tech, and car. Check out the list below and see how many of them you got right!
10. Adobe
Adobe, read as uh-dow-bee, has a total average monthly search volume of 2,100, making it one of the most commonly mispronounced tech brands.
9. Nissan
Nissan, which originates from Japan, is read as ni-san. It is one of the most commonly mispronounced car brands, with a 2,600 total average monthly search volume.
8. YouTube
Despite YouTube’s popularity, there are still people who don’t know it is read as yu-tube. Its total average monthly search volume of 2,670 grants it one of the most commonly mispronounced media and entertainment brands.
7. Apple
For English speakers, “apple” (read as a-pl) is probably one of the first few words we learn when we are getting to know the English alphabet. But it still proves as a challenge for non-English speakers with a total average monthly search volume of 6,050, making it one of the most commonly mispronounced tech, media and entertainment brands.
Do you already owns some of Apple’s latest gadgets?
iPhone 15 Pro
iPad Pro
MacBook Air (M3 Chip)
6. Google
Likewise, Google’s popularity didn’t ensure everyone knew its pronunciation. Read as goo-gl—not goggle (go-gl)—Google is the most commonly mispronounced tech brand with 11,380 total average monthly search volume.
5. Louis Vuitton
Owing to its French origins, Louis Vuitton has confused most of us with its pronunciation. It is the most commonly mispronounced luxury fashion brand with a total average monthly search volume of 13,200. The correct way to say it is loo-ee vuh-ton.
Here are some of Louis Vuitton’s top products:
Louis Vuitton Lexington Pouch
Louis Vuitton Speedy Bandoulière 20
Louis Vuitton LV Pont 9 Soft PM
4. Chipotle
The American restaurant brand Chipotle that serves Mexican food, unlike what we’d expect based on English pronunciation, is actually read as chuh-powt-lay. It has a total average monthly search volume of 16,460, making it the most commonly mispronounced travel and hospitality brand.
3. Volkswagen
Volkswagen, which has German origins, is read as folks-vaa-gen. It is one of the most commonly mispronounced car brands with a total average monthly search volume of 20,110.
2. Hyundai
The South Korean automaker Hyundai is the most commonly mispronounced car brand with a total average monthly search volume of 24,230. The correct way to say it is hee-yon-day.
1. Nike
Interestingly, the debate between naik and nai-kee goes on for the pronunciation of the sportswear brand. But the founder Phil Knight confirmed the official pronunciation of Nike has the extra syllable in 2014. The name Nike was also inspired by the Greek goddess of victory.
Here are some of Nike’s new arrivals:
