PronunciationHub Data Study
The Most Mispronounced Brands in America (2026)
Porsche, Hyundai, Hermès, Loewe — the brand names that quietly trip people up.
Brand names travel further than the languages they came from, and the pronunciation rarely makes the trip intact. We ranked the car makers, fashion houses, and household names Americans most often search how to say — the ones where getting it wrong is its own small social tax.
| # | Word | Often said as | Actually | Monthly U.S. searchesfor help saying it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Porsche | “POR-she” | POR-shuh | 12,100 |
| 2 | Hyundai | “hy-un-DAY” | HUN-dye | 9,900 |
| 3 | Hermès | “her-MEES” | er-MEZ | 8,100 |
| 4 | Hermès | “her-MEES” | er-MEZ | 8,100 |
| 5 | Loewe | “LOW-ee” | LO-eh | 6,600 |
| 6 | Yves Saint Laurent | “yves-saint-law-rent” | eev-san-law-RAWN | 5,400 |
| 7 | Veuve Clicquot | “voov kluh-KO” | vuv klee-KOH | 5,400 |
| 8 | Givenchy | “giv-EN-chee” | zhee-VAHN-shee | 4,400 |
| 9 | Audi | “AW-dee” | OW-dee | 3,600 |
| 10 | Nutella | “NEW-tel-uh” | noo-TEL-uh | 2,900 |
| 11 | Peugeot | “pew-gee-ot” | PUR-zhoh | 2,400 |
| 12 | Louis Vuitton | “LOO-iss vih-TON” | LOO-ee vih-TAHN | 2,400 |
| 13 | Adidas | “a-DI-das” | AD-i-das | 2,400 |
| 14 | Bmw | “BIM-mer” | BEE EM DUB-ul-yoo | 2,400 |
| 15 | Cartier | “KAR-tee-er” | kar-tee-AY | 2,400 |
| 16 | Chevrolet | “shuh-VROH-let” | SHEV-ruh-LAY | 1,900 |
| 17 | Moët | “moh-AY” | moh-ET | 1,600 |
| 18 | Häagen-Dazs | “HAY-gen DAZE” | HAH-gun DAHZ | 1,300 |
| 19 | Miele | “MY-lee” | MEE-luh | 1,300 |
| 20 | Nestlé | “NESS-ul” | NESS-lay | 1,300 |
| 21 | Nestlé | “NESS-ul” | NESS-lay | 1,300 |
| 22 | Mitsubishi | “MIT-su-BISH-ee” | mih-tsoo-BISH-ee | 1,000 |
| 23 | Uniqlo | “yoo-NEE-kloh” | OO-nih-kloh | 1,000 |
| 24 | Siemens | “SIH-munts” | ZEE-munts | 1,000 |
| 25 | Xiaomi | “zee-AH-oh-mee” | SHYOW-mee | 880 |
| 26 | Balenciaga | “buh-LEN-see-AY-guh” | buh-LEN-see-AH-guh | 880 |
| 27 | Balmain | “bal-MIN” | bal-MAIN | 880 |
| 28 | Ikea | “EE-kee-uh” | eye-KEE-uh | 880 |
| 29 | Asus | “uh-SOOS” | AY-soos | 880 |
| 30 | Acura | “uh-KYOO-ruh” | AK-yuh-ruh | 880 |
| 31 | Chanel | “CHAY-nel” | shuh-NEL | 880 |
| 32 | Dior | “dee-OR” | dee-AWR | 880 |
| 33 | Huawei | “hoo-ah-way” | WAH-way | 720 |
| 34 | Lamborghini | “lam-bor-JIN-ee” | lam-ber-GEE-nee | 720 |
| 35 | Michelin | “mi-SHELL-in” | MISH-uh-lin | 720 |
| 36 | Aldi | “AL-dye” | AL-dee | 720 |
| 37 | Gucci | “GOO-see” | GOO-chee | 720 |
| 38 | Samsung | “sam-SONG” | SAM-sung | 720 |
| 39 | Renault | “ren-AWLT” | ruh-NOH | 590 |
| 40 | Citroën | “SIT-run” | SIT-roh-en | 590 |
How we ranked this
We took every entry in our brand pronunciation guide and pulled its U.S. monthly search volume for the query “how to pronounce [word]” from Google's keyword-planner data (exact-match, United States). The more people search for help saying a word, the more reliably it trips people up — so search volume is our proxy for “most mispronounced.” Each word links to a page with native audio, IPA, and the specific sounds English speakers miss.
Search volume reflects demand for help, not a judgment about any “correct” regional pronunciation. Where a word has competing accepted pronunciations, we note that on its page.
Citing this study
Free to cite with a link. Suggested credit: “The Most Mispronounced Brands in America (2026)” — PronunciationHub (2026), pronunciationhub.com/study/most-mispronounced-brands/.
Working on a related piece? We can pull custom pronunciation data for journalists on request — [email protected].