Babbel released its annual list of the most mispronounced words of the year. They partnered on it with the closed-captioning company The Captioning Group.
It’s based on the top words politicians, news anchors, and people like YOURS TRULY struggled with in 2025. Here are the top five words Americans couldn’t pronounce this year.
1. Zohran Mamdani (zoh-RAHN mam-DAH-nee) He was elected mayor of New York City last month.
2. Mounjaro (mown-JAHR-OH) The weight-loss drug similar to Ozempic.
3. The Louvre (LOOV-ruh) There’s technically a little “RUH” at the end. It’s been in the news because of the jewelry heist in October. (I say no to that one. Without a French accent, you sound like a jerk if you say the “ruh” part.)
4. Acetaminophen (uh-SEE-tuh-MIN-uh-fen) A.k.a., Tylenol. Trump said “Don’t take Tylenol” in September after RFK Jr. linked it to autism. They walked it back a month later and said there’s not enough solid evidence.
5. Alex Murdaugh. (AL-ick MUR-dock) Most people say it like it’s spelled . . . “Alex Mur-daw”. He’s the guy in South Carolina who murdered his wife and son. Netflix and HBO both did documentaries this year. Hulu also did a miniseries with Jason Clarke and Patricia Arquette.
Just missing the top five is the flip-flop brand Havaianas. (ah-vah-YAH-nas) The “H” is silent.
(Last year’s top five included “Kamala”, “Buttigieg”, and “Shein”.)
