Commonly Mispronounced English Words in Singapore

Below are just some of the most commonly mispronounced words in Singapore, but not pertaining to Singlish. There are more interesting descriptions about common Singlish pronunciation patterns at [1].

Words	Proper Pronunciations† (in IPA notation)		Remarks
Words	BrE	AmE	Remarks
† Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, 1995 Ed., ISBN-10: 7-5600-1325-0.
abalone	ˌæbəˈləʊni	ˌæbəˈloʊni	The trailing ‘e’ is not silent.
affluent	ˈæflʊənt		The accent is on the first syllable.
almond	ˈɑːmənd	ˈɑːmənd‖ˈæmənd	The ‘l’ is silent, aff. almond.
Arabic	ˈærəbɪk		The accent is on the first syllable.
area	ˈeəriə	ˈeriə
artist	ˈɑːrtɪst		艺术家，尤指画家; cf. artiste.
artiste	ɑːrˈtiːst		（职业）艺人，尤指歌唱家或舞蹈演员; cf. artist.
awry	əˈraɪ		The accent is on the second syllable.
beige	beɪʒ		Note the pronunciation of ‘g.’
bon voyage	ˌbɒn vwaɪˈɑːʒ	ˌbɑːn vwaɪˈɑːʒ	Note the French origin.
borough	ˈbʌrə	ˈbʌroʊ
cache	kæʃ		Note the pronunciation of ‘ch’; the trailing ‘e’ is silent.
calendar	ˈkælɪndər		The accent is on the first syllable.
chalet	ˈʃæleɪ	ʃæˈleɪ	Note the pronunciations of ‘ch’ and the trailing ‘et.’
character	ˈkærɪktər		The accent is on the first syllable, cf. charisma.
charisma	kəˈrɪzmə		The accent is on the second syllable, cf. character.
chassis	ˈʃæsi		[s.] Note that pronunciation of ‘ch’; the trailing ‘s’ is silent.
chassis	ˈʃæsiːz		[pl.] The pronunciation is different from the singular form despite the spelling being identical.
cigarette	ˌsɪɡəˈret	ˌsɪɡəˈret‖ˈsɪɡəˌret	The accent is on the last syllable (BrE).
cliché	ˈkliːʃeɪ	kliːˈʃeɪ	Note the pronunciation of ‘i.’
colleague	ˈkɒliːɡ	ˈkɑːliːɡ	The accent is on the first syllable, which rhymes with ‘college.’
company	ˈkʌmpəni		Note the pronunciation of ‘o.’
comparable	ˈkɒmpərəbəl	ˈkɑːmpərəbəl	The accent is on the first syllable; the first ‘a’ is a schwa; cf. comparative.
concierge	ˌkɒnsiˈeəʒ	ˌkɑːnsiˈerʒ	Note the French origin.
connoisseur	ˌkɒnəˈsɜː	ˌkɑːnəˈsɜːr	The accent is on the last syllable.
content	ˈkɒntent	ˈkɑːntent	[n.] 内容
content	kənˈtent		[adj./n.u./v.t.] 满足
corp	kɔːrp		Abbreviation for corporal or corporation; cf. corps.
corps	kɔːr		The ‘p’ and ‘s’ are both silent; cf. corp.
courier	ˈkʊriər		The accent is on the first syllable, cf. Korea.
croissant	ˈkwɑːsɒŋ	krɒːˈsɑːŋ	Note the French origin.
cuisine	kwɪˈziːn		Note the French origin.
debris	ˈdeɪbriː	dəˈbriː‖deɪˈbriː	Note the prolonged pronunciation of ‘i’; the trailing ‘s’ is silent.
debut	ˈdeɪbjuː	deɪˈbjuː	The trailing ‘t’ is silent.
depot	ˈdepəʊ	ˈdiːpoʊ	The trailing ‘t’ is silent.
economic	ˌekəˈnɒmɪk‖ˌiːkəˈnɒmɪk	ˌekəˈnɑːmɪk‖ˌiːkəˈnɑːmɪk	The accent is on the third syllable, cf. economy.
economy	ɪˈkɒnəmi	ɪˈkɑːnəmi	The accent is on the second syllable; the leading ‘e’ is a short vowel; cf. economic.
egg	eɡ		Not [eɪɡ]; aff. red.
en bloc	ɒn ˈblɒk	ɑːn ˈblɑːk	Note the pronunciation of ‘en,’ aff. en masse.
encore	ˈɒŋkɔː	ˈɑːŋkɔːr	Note the pronunciation of ‘en-,’ aff. entrée, entrepreneur.
en masse	ˌɒn ˈmæs	ˌɑːn ˈmæs	Of French origin, thus the pronunciation of ‘en’ and the silent trailing ‘e,’ aff. en bloc.
entrée	ˈɒntreɪ	ˈɑːntreɪ	Of French origin, thus the pronunciation of ‘en-’ and the accented vowel; aff. encore, entrepreneur.
entrepreneur	ˌɒntrəprəˈnɜː	ˌɑːntrəprəˈnɜːr	The accent is on the last syllable; not [ˌentrəprɪˈniə]; aff. encore, entrée.
esplanade	ˌespləˈneɪd	ˈesplənɑːd	The accent is on the last syllable (BrE).
etc.	et ˈsetərə		Of Latin origin, not [ek ˈsetrɑ‖ɪk ˈsetrɑ].
et cetera	et ˈsetərə		Of Latin origin, not [ek ˈsetrɑ‖ɪk ˈsetrɑ].
excellent	ˈeksələnt		Note the leading vowel, not [ˈɪksələnt].
executive	ɪɡˈzekjʊtɪv		Note the first two syllables, not [ˈeksɪkjʊtɪv].
façade	fəˈsɑːd		Note the cédilla and the pronunciation of ‘a’; not [fəˈkeɪd].
faux pas	ˌfəʊ ˈpɑː‖ˈfəʊ pɑː	ˌfoʊ ˈpɑː	Note the French origin.
fiancé	fiˈɒnseɪ	ˌfiɑːnˈseɪ	Note the French origin; male, cf. fiancée.
fiancée	fiˈɒnseɪ	ˌfiɑːnˈseɪ	Note the French origin; female, cf. fiancé.
film	fɪlm		Not [flɪm].
foliage	ˈfəʊli.ɪʤ	ˈfoʊli.ɪʤ	Three syllables in total; note the pronunciation of ‘ia.’
gauge	ɡeɪʤ		The ‘u’ is silent.
genuine	ˈʤenjuɪn		The ‘u’ and the adjacent ‘i’ are pronounced as two separate vowels.
gourmet	ˈɡʊəmeɪ	ˈɡʊrmeɪ‖ɡʊrˈmeɪ	Not [ɡɔːˈmeɪ].
grand prix	ˌɡrɒn ˈpriː	ˌɡrɑːn ˈpriː	Note the unusual pronunciation of vowels and the silent letters, not [ˈɡrænd prɪks].
granite	ˈɡrænɪt		Note the pronunciation of ‘-nite.’
infamous	ˈɪnfəməs		The accent is on the first syllable.
H	eɪʧ		Not [heɪʧ].
health	helθ		Note the trailing consonant, not [helʔ].
Korea	kəˈriə		Not [kɒˈriə]; the accent is on the second syllable, cf. courier.
liaise	liˈeɪz		Two syllables in total; the accent is on the second syllable, not [ˈlaɪəs].
lingerie	ˈlænʒəri	ˌlɑːnʒəˈreɪ‖ˈlænʒəri	Note the pronunciations of the first ‘i’ as well as “ng” (as two separate consonants).
love	lʌv		Not [lɜːv].
marijuana	ˌmærɪˈhwɑːnə		Of Spanish origin, note that ‘j’ is either silent or pronounced as [h]; the trailing ‘a’ is a schwa.
massage	ˈmæsɑːʒ	məˈsɑːʒ	Note the accent and the trailing ‘-ge,’ not [mɑˈsɑːʤ].
mischief	ˈmɪsʧɪf		The accent is on the first syllable, aff. mischievous.
mischievous	ˈmɪsʧɪvəs		The accent is on the first syllable, aff. mischief.
mobile	ˈməʊbaɪl	ˈmoʊbəl	[adj.] The accent is on the first syllable.
mobile	ˈməʊbaɪl	ˈmoʊbiːl	[n.c.] The accent is on the first syllable, too.
myrrh	mɜːr		没药，又名末药（mòyào）.
opportunity	ˌɒpəˈtjuːnɪti	ˌɑːpərˈtuːnɪti	Five syllables in total; the accent is on the third syllable.
pint	paɪnt		Note the pronunciation of ‘i.’
pizza	ˈpiːʦə		Note the prolonged vowel ‘i’ and the voiceless consonant ‘zz,’ not [ˈpɪzə].
produce	prəˈdjuːs	prəˈduːs	[v.] 生产；使生产.
produce	ˈprɑdjuːs	ˈproʊduːs	[n.u.] 产品，尤指农产品.
protégé	ˈprɒtəʒeɪ	ˈproʊtəʒeɪ	Note the French origin; male, aff. fiancé; cf. protégée.
protégée	ˈprɒtəʒeɪ	ˈproʊtəʒeɪ	Note the French origin; female, aff. fiancée; cf. protégé.
purchase	ˈpɜːrʧəs		The accent is on the first syllable; the ‘a’ is a schwa.
quasi-	kwɑːzi-‖kweɪzaɪ-
red	red		Not [reɪd]; aff. egg.
regime	reɪˈʒiːm		Note the pronunciations of the first ‘e’ and the ‘g.’
rendezvous	ˈrɒndeɪvuː	ˈrɑːndeɪvuː	Both ‘z’ and ‘s’ are silent; note the pronunciations of the first and the second ‘e.’
salmon	ˈsæmən		The ‘l’ is silent, aff. almond.
seat	siːt		[n./v.t.] cf. sit.
Singapore	ˌsɪŋəˈpɔː	ˈsɪŋəpɔːr	The ‘ng’ is pronounced as [ŋ] only, no [ɡ] sound.
sit	sɪt		[v.] cf. seat.
soften	ˈsɒfən	ˈsɒːfən	The ‘t’ is silent.
statue	ˈstæʧuː		Note the pronunciation of ‘-tue’; cf. stature.
stature	ˈstæʧər		Note the pronunciation of ‘-ture’; cf. statue.
subtle	sʌtl		The ‘b’ is silent.
suit	sjuːt		Note the pronunciation of ‘ui’; cf. suite.
suite	swiːt		Note the pronunciation of ‘ui’; cf. suit.
superfluity	ˌsjuːpərˈfluɪti		The accent is on the third syllable; cf. superfluous.
superfluous	sjuːˈpɜːrfluəs		The accent is on the second syllable; cf. superfluity.
sword	sɔːrd		The ‘w’ is silent.
tarot	ˈtærəʊ	ˈtæroʊ	The trailing ‘t’ is silent.
tasks	tɑːsks	tæsks	Ends in a triple-consonant cluster, not [tɑːsː].
thank	θæŋk		Not [tænk] or [sæŋk].
then	ðen		Not [den].
Thomas	ˈtɒməs	ˈtɒːməs	The ‘h’ is silent. (This rule may be applied to several other words like Thames [temz].)
three	θriː		Not [triː], aff. through.
through	θruː		Not [truː], aff. three.
tuition	tjuˈɪʃən		The ‘ui’ is pronounced as a vowel cluster [juɪ].
used	juːst		[adj.] 习惯的.
	juːzd		[v.t.] (Past tense & past participle).
	juːzd		[adj.] 旧的，用过的.
variable	ˈveəriəbəl	ˈverriəbəl	Note the pronunciation of the first syllable.
vegetable	ˈveʤtəbəl		Only three, instead of four, syllables; the second ‘e’ is silent.
viscount	ˈaɪkaʊnt		The ‘s’ is silent.
wander	ˈwɒndə	ˈwɑːnːdər	Note the pronunciation of ‘a,’ cf. wonder.
Wednesday	ˈwenzdi		Only two syllables; both ‘d’ and the second ‘e’ are silent.
won	wʌn		Rhymes with wonder, not [wɒn].
wonder	ˈwʌndər		Rhymes with won; cf. wander.