Are you pronouncing the most mispronounced words of 2025 correctly?

Following the whirlwind of this years news, many have found themselves tripping over certain pronunciations. Language education platform Babbel, together with the captioning service The Captioning Group, has compiled a list of terms that tripped up American news anchors, politicians, and public personalities in 2025.

Leading the list was the name of Zohran Mamdani, who is set to become New York Citys next mayor in January. At 34, he will be the citys first Muslim mayor, first African-born mayor, and first with South Asian roots. Babbel notes that his name should be pronounced zoh-RAHN mam-DAH-nee, but many mistakenly switched the M and N in his surname.

Another frequently mispronounced term came after the dramatic theft of Frances crown jewels from the Louvre Museum in October. Many struggled to pronounce the museum correctly; Babbel emphasized that it should be said LOOV-ruh, with a soft ending.

Additional tricky words and names included:

• Acetaminophen the main ingredient in Tylenol, correctly said as uh-SEE-tuh-MIH-nuh-fen. Former President Donald Trump mispronounced it while advising pregnant women to avoid the drug, despite no evidence linking it to autism.
• Mounjaro pronounced mown-JAHR-OH, a popular diabetes and obesity medication favored by those seeking rapid weight loss.
• Storm owyn correctly ay-OH-win, which impacted Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland in January.
• Labubu pronounced luhBOOboo, a collectible toy that caused a frenzy among enthusiasts this year.
• Alexander Skarsgrd said skarzGORD, ensuring fans avoid mispronouncing the Swedish actors name.
• Denzel Washington surprisingly, the famed actors first name is DEN-zul, a fact highlighted by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, correcting years of common mispronunciations.

So, the real question is: how many of these have you been saying correctly?

Author: Olivia Parker