10 Difficult English Words For Beginners to Pronounce — Even For Native Speakers

the last one is still driving me crazy

Turi Coppola
The Shortform
1 min readJun 12, 2024

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Photo by Waldemar on Unsplash

When it comes to learning a foreign language, what aspect do you love to master the most?

Sheer grammar rules? Phrasal verbs? Expanding your vocabulary? Being self-confident while speaking? Becoming a professional writer?

I consider all of them paramount, but the last one is my biggest dream.

I’ve always been fascinated by learning new words, even in my first language, Italian.

So, here are 10 English words I consider rather problematic to pronounce, even for a native speaker:

  • Conscientious
  • Mischievous
  • Cantankerous
  • Disadvantageous
  • Bespectacled
  • Ebullient
  • Worcestershire:
  • Surreptitious
  • Unfathomable
  • Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

My dear readers, apart from the last one, which is a made-up word, are the others challenging for you?

If not, could you share the trickiest English words you know? I’d appreciate it.

I hope it is helpful. Thanks for reading.

Hi! I’m an Italian mother tongue who strives to become a professional writer in English. Any suggestions? Thank you!

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Turi Coppola
The Shortform

Hi everyone! I'm Turi, an Italian who dreams of becoming a professional writer in English.