11 Foreign Foods Canadians Struggle To Pronounce The Most

It is not "kruh-SANT"...🥐

Assistant Editor, MTL Blog
A basket of fresh pains aux raisins and croissants, Right: A gourmet charcuterie and cheese board.

A basket of fresh pains aux raisins and croissants, Right: A gourmet charcuterie and cheese board.

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Food lovers, brace yourselves! A recent study has revealed the most mispronounced foreign foods that are leaving Canadians totally tongue-tied.

Holidu, a search engine for vacation rentals that allows you to find affordable accommodations, analyzed search data from Canada, the U.S. Australia, and the U.K for phrases such as "how to say," "pronunciation of" and "how to pronounce" based on 100 difficult-to-pronounce foreign foods.

From charcuterie to pho, the list features a range of international dishes that are frequently mispronounced by English-speakers, a few of which French-Canadians might have the upper hand on. So, whether you're a seasoned foodie or a curious culinary explorer, you just might be pronouncing these 11 foreign dishes incorrectly.

Charcuterie

Canadians searched how to pronounce "charcuterie" 3,510 times — the most of any other food analyzed in the study. According to Holidu, the proper pronunciation is actually "shaa-koo-tuh-re", not "char-cute-erie."

Açai

According to Holidu, how to pronounce açai yielded a total of 3,490 searches in Canada and is correctly pronounced as "ah-sah-ee."

Croissant

Canadians searched for how to pronounce this delectable pastry nearly 2,500 times. Per Holidu, the correct way to say "croissant," is "kwah-sahn."

Gnocchi

According to Holidu, "naw-kee" is the correct way to pronounce the pasta dish, not "guh-no-kee." Per the report, Canadians searched for the proper way to say gnocchi 3,310 times.

Quinoa

"Quinoa is commonly mispronounced as ‘keen-oh-ah‘ or ‘kwee-noh-ah’ but it is actually pronounced as ‘keen-wah," per Holidu. The dish produced a total of 1,160 inquiries from Canadians.

Chipotle

Whether you're trying to pronounce the restaurant or the pepper itself, you might not be saying it right. Holidu says that "Chipotle is actually pronounced ‘chi-poat-lay’." A total of 1,840 searches were made from curious Canadians.

Phở

​A total of 2,800 searches regarding the correct pronunciation of pho were made in Canada. According to Holiday, "the correct pronunciation for phở is, in fact, ‘fuh’."

Crêpe

"Typically, ‘kr-ape’ is how most people pronounce the dish, which is incorrect, but the right pronunciation is actually 'kr-ehp'," Holidu said. Canadians produced a total of 930 searches for this French food.

Bolognese

While many might be inclined to pronounce this Italian dish as "bow-log-neez" that would be incorrect. The proper pronunciation is "bow-luh-nayze," which was searched 1,140 times across Canada, according to Holidu's data.

Tzatziki

Now, this Greek dip is certainly not an easy one to say, especially if you're dabbling in Greek cuisine for the first time. The correct pronunciation is "tuh-zee-kee," which Canadians searched 880 times, per Holidu.

Bruschetta 

Holidu says that "in Italian, the letter combination ‘ch’ always produces a ‘k’ sound so the correct pronunciation of bruschetta is actually ‘broo-skett-ah’."

According to the data, Canadians produced a total of 700 searches.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.

Mike Chaar
Assistant Editor, MTL Blog
Mike Chaar is a writer by day and reality TV binge-watcher by night. When he’s not cracking down on recalls, celeb news and discovering the best of the best foodie spots across Montreal, he can be found indulging in his love for new cuisines, reading and music, with Mariah Carey being his ultimate diva.
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