Spanish Words That Are Difficult to Pronounce

Question

We all have our own unique problems with certain words. Sometimes they are simple words and sometimes not. I tend to have trouble with words that are written the same in both languages but pronounced differently. For example: idea. There are others like this as well. My mind immediately goes to the English pronounciation. So lets post some of those problem words. Here are my top three.

1. impermeabilizante
2. inmediatamente
3. difícil

dificil I must admit is not that hard. - yodigi7, May 2, 2012

for some reason I have trouble putting the emphasis in the right place. - gringojrf, May 3, 2012

I mispronounced difîcil incorrectly a thousand times and my Spanish instructor in Madrid corrected me every single time. - JoyceM, May 3, 2012

I had trouble with "difícil" at first because I would always put the accent in the wrong place but now I think I got it. - PumpkinCalabaza, May 3, 2012

Answer 1

Anything beginning with "h" in Spanish.

He

Has

Ha

habitantes,

You know what I'm talking about....

Forget there is an h in Spanish. It's hard for me....

helado, herramienta, etc. - JoyceM, May 2, 2012

I think you mean it's "ard" for you. :-) - babs_irish, May 3, 2012

Don't I know it. You'll get it. - gringojrf, May 3, 2012

Very funny, Babs :) - sanlee, May 3, 2012

Estoy de acuerdo, Joyce - sanlee, May 3, 2012

Answer 2

arroz

perro

I've practiced these a thousand times, and I think I've got it now.

the double rr is impossible for me but i get by without it. - gringojrf, May 3, 2012

Good for you Joyce, I'm still trying! - rac1, May 3, 2012

The trick is to divide the rr's: ar-ROZ, per-RO. If you want to make a Spanish-speaking person laugh, call a lying, cheating, two timing man "un per-RO." - JoyceM, May 3, 2012

I can do the trill, so it's not the rr in arroz that gets me, but I have trouble saying this word too for some reason. - kdrinning, May 3, 2012

For practice, "El ferrocarril" is always good : - ) - 005faa61, May 4, 2012

Answer 3

I'm hoping I can make through the rest of my life without trying to say impermeabilizante. What does it mean? Nothing essential, I hope.

It is the waterproofing on the flat roofs here. Very common word anf impossible for me. - gringojrf, May 3, 2012

I guess! It's quite a mouthful. - babs_irish, May 3, 2012

Answer 4

I have a problem with words with double r's and h's; those always get me. I also have a problem with big words! A lot of times I will revert back to the english way of saying things too. (Makes it a lot harder that I don't have anyone to practice with! But oh well!) The more I practice, the better it gets though.

Yeah I hate big words as well. - gringojrf, May 3, 2012

Gringo, you, Funnyface and George Bush. - JoyceM, May 4, 2012

Answer 5

Any word with the letter r, I cannot roll my r's.. :-(

I can't do double r's correctly. - t1funnyface, May 3, 2012

I mean: I can't SAY the double r's correctly. Oh I'm such a hick! Mom is always correcting my english. - t1funnyface, May 3, 2012

Either way I knew what you meant! :-) - pmikan-pam, May 3, 2012

I can't roll them either. - gringojrf, May 3, 2012

I have heard a simple trick: use the same "tongue flap" you use when you say "butter." The thing you do with your tongue at the "tt" part can work as the "r" in many Spanish words. It´s not perfect, but it´s better than the hard R that we say in English! - missy8888, May 4, 2012

Thanks missy! - pmikan-pam, May 4, 2012

Answer 6

Once I am shown how to pronounce a word, it is usually not a problem IF I practice.

Well you are lucky. - gringojrf, May 3, 2012

Answer 7

Names. I'm used to pronouncing names such as "Perez" or "Felix"the English way. Some people get offended if it is pronounced wrong. Some people expect it and give a strange look if I pronounce it correctly. And then there are those who didn't know there was a difference. I have been making an effort to pronounce it the native way.

Well Jim is hard for somw Spanish speakers thus my apodo "gringo". - gringojrf, May 3, 2012

Answer 8

I have a hard time with "mayoritariamente" and many other multi-syllabled (6-8) words with mente added to the end. Mayoritariamente means "mainly or mostly".

These are a few I need to learn to say with more fluidity:

sanguinariamente

anticonstitucionalmente

estadísticamente

fotosintéticamente

quirúrgicamente

Wow those are all a mouthful. - gringojrf, May 4, 2012

Answer 9

We Spanish speakers sometimes have truble with "paralelepípedo" (paralellepiped) and "esmerílemelo" ("you grind this for me"), at least when we are young or drunk.

Just the other day I was in a barbacue with some friends, and none of us could read the name of the Mexican volcano "Popocatépetl" (this word must be of Amerindian origin). I only get the "Popoca" part right.

What the heck? I didn't know those ja ja - diagonx, May 4, 2012

Ya con "El Popo" es suficiente y sin brocas, ja. ja - 005faa61, May 4, 2012

Is that word from the Nahuatl Aztecan language? - Nilda-Ballardo, May 4, 2012

I agree that esmerilemelo and esmeriladora (grinder) are also very difficult. - gringojrf, May 4, 2012

Answer 10

Esternocleidomastoideo

If you're able to say that without making mistakes you may as well consider yourself a Spanish spaeker.

by the way that's the name of a muscle, usually used as a tonghue twister whre I'm from - diagonx, May 3, 2012

Haha wow that is a good trabalenguas...gracias por compartirlo. :) I just tried to say it about 100 times and now I can without completely messing up... - PumpkinCalabaza, May 3, 2012

wow! that's a tongue twister! - t1funnyface, May 3, 2012

Fantastic word! What the **** is it? - gringojrf, May 3, 2012

Felt easy for me to say - Rey_Mysterio, May 3, 2012

This is a medical term. It is a muscle in the head and neck area. Not all spanish speakers are familiar with medical terms. - Rey_Mysterio, May 3, 2012

Is this the equivalent of "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious?" - JoyceM, May 4, 2012

Answer 11

Desestacionalizad

This is from the post about electricity prices. This is what made me start this post. - gringojrf, May 3, 2012

yes, that's right! Good idea, Gringo!! - Silvia_Tcherneva, May 3, 2012

Answer 12

The hardest for me are the ones that have the consonant combination "rd" in them, like "tarde", because to flip or sort of roll the "r" and then move the tongue to the back of the front teeth for the "d" is difficult for me.

Well you'll have to never be late. - gringojrf, May 3, 2012

Answer 13

For me, "trastos" is hard. It is short and only has two syllables, but I still find myself wanting to say "tras-TROS" even though that second R isn´t in there, and it makes the word 29834723987 times more difficult!

Really 29834723987 times? Are you sure its not one more or one less? - gringojrf, May 4, 2012

Answer 14

asistente (assistant), something about the two s's and all the t's gets me tongue tied

Answer 15

These two have always been difficult for my tongue: In English "Yeast," in Spanish "Gerardo."