The 10 Most Commonly Mispronounced Places in Europe

This article is adapted from Travel and Leisure

 

1. If you’re looking for Kantstraße in Berlin (a long street in Charlottenburg known for its Asian restaurants), you’ll have to ask for “kahnt-stra-sa.”

2. Rome’s picturesque Trastevere neighborhood is pronounced “tra-stay-vay-ray.”

3. Stockholm’s Djurgården island, where the royal park is, is pronounced either “you-gore-den” or “you-gorn.”

4. If you want to go to Venice’s nearby Giudecca, a quiet island with several churches and historical sites, you’ll have to hitch a boat ride to “joodekka.”

5. A German umlaut and a string of consonants can really throw people off. If you’re looking for the the main shopping street Mönckebergstrasse in Hamburg, ask for “moen-ke-bairk-stra-sa.” Or, to truly blend in with the locals, you can just call it “Mö.”

6. People may think they’re safe in an Anglophone city like London, but if you ask for Holborn, locals will laugh at you. Here, it’s pronounced more like “hoe-bun.” (Yes, everybody knows there’s an L and an R in there. No use mentioning it.)

7. Dubliners may be friendly but they also love a good laugh at a Gaelic mispronunciation. If you’re trying to find the coastal suburb of Dún Laoghaire, impress them all by asking for “dunn leary.”

8. Anybody would be forgiven for getting tripped up over Dutch spellings. If you’re in Amsterdam looking for the “Eastern Islands” of Oostelijke Eilanden, say it “ohsta-likka eye-lahnden.”

9. Barcelona’s Montjuïc — the large hill overlooking the city — is pronounced as ‘mon-jweek.”

10. In Paris, tourists who are looking for the Rue de Rochechouart should ask for the “roo deh rosha-shwah.” Bonus points if you can master that (in)famous French “r” sound.