Buzz
There's always that bit of discomfort when you realize you've been pronouncing something wrong, from everyday foods (quinoa is actually keen-wah) to Irish names (Oppenheimer and Peaky Blinders actor Cillian Murphy goes by kill-ee-in). Some of us may even avoid ordering General Tso's chicken just to sidestep the possible awkwardness. (It’s pronounced tsah-ow.)
Recently, the AI-powered platform Business Name Generator conducted an analysis of Google search data to identify which global consumer brands were the most difficult for people to pronounce correctly.
Rank | Brand | Phonetic Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
1 | Porsche | “Porsh-aa” |
2 | Nike | “Nigh-key” |
3 | Hermès | “Air-mez” |
4 | Louis Vuitton | “Loo-ee we-taahn” |
5 | Hyundai | “Hun-day” |
6 | IKEA | “Ee-keh-yah” |
7 | Audi | “Ow-dee” |
8 | Yves Saint Laurent | “Eve-sanh la-rahn” |
9 | Givenchy | “Jhee-von-shee” |
10 | Versace | “Vur-sah-chay” |
11 | Peugeot | “Poo-zhow” |
12 | Adidas | “Add-dee-dass” |
13 | Bvlgari | “Buhl-guh-ree” |
14 | Gucci | “Goo-chi” |
15 | Nutella | “New-tell-uh” |
16 | Huawei | “Wah-way” |
17 | Balenciaga | “Bah-len-see-ah-gah” |
18 | Moschino | “Mos-key-no” |
19 | Tag Heuer | “Tag-hoy-yer” |
20 | Adobe | “Uh-doe-bee” |
Luxury brands are often the trickiest to pronounce. Iconic German car brand Porsche, as well as high-end fashion houses like Hermès and Louis Vuitton, frequently appear near the top of the list. Porsche is often said as Por-ssh, and Hermès is mistakenly pronounced as Her-mezz.
Interestingly, people are often intrigued by Nike. With decades of constant advertising, you'd think it would be easy to recall that it's pronounced Nigh-key.
IKEA comes in sixth on the list, but its mispronunciation rate could be much higher. The Swedish furniture giant, known for its ready-to-assemble products, is commonly said to be pronounced eye-kee-uh, but the company has confirmed that the proper pronunciation is ee-keh-yah. However, U.S. commercials still use the former. IKEA also mentions that it's “completely fine” to say it with a local accent.
Though not in the global top 20, brands like Stella Artois and Godiva remain some of the most frequently mispronounced. Stella Artois should be said Steh-la-arr-twa, and Godiva as Go-dee-vuh. There’s also confusion around the German car brand Volkswagen, which is pronounced Foaks-vaa-gun. Given how common the incorrect pronunciation is, you may be better off asking your car dealer about a Volks-wah-gen.
