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20 Missouri Cities That No One Knows How To Say

Missouri.  Miz-URR-uh.  However you say it…

Just like people say the name of our great state differently, there are a handful of towns that Missourians also have trouble enunciating .  And rightfully so. Some of these towns have a rather ridiculous spelling!

The Riverfront Times magazine out of St. Louis recently came up with the Top 20 Missouri cities that no one knows how to say!  We’ve listed them below, then further down, the correct way of how to say them!  Take your best guesses, then see how you did using the answer key at the bottom!

1. Auxvasse
2. Nevada
3. Versailles
4. Hayti
5. Kimbrough
6. Bolivar
7. Spokane
8. Kearney
9. Pomme de Terre
10. Lebanon
11. Hazeltine
12. Nixa
13. Cabool
14. Bois D’Arc
15. Bona
16. New Madrid
17. Laquey
18. Clever
19. Milan
20. Canalou

 

AND NOW… THE ANSWERS!

 

1. Auxvasse
-If you live in Mid-Missouri, you should know this is as easy as the last two words in “The Wizard of Oz

2. Nevada
-We’re not in Vegas.  It’s pronounced “ne-VAY-duh” here in Miz-URR-uh.

3. Versailles
-The French pronounce this “ver-SIGH”.  But we’re not in France.  “ver-SAILS” is correct.

4. Hayti
-Not to be confused with the Caribbean nation, this is pronounced “hay-TIE

5. Kimbrough
-This is just “KIM-brew“, not “Kim-bro” or “Kim-bor-ough”

6. Bolivar
-Rhymes with the name “Oliver”, pronounced “BALL-i-ver

7. Spokane
-In Washington state, it’s “spo-CAN”.  In Missouri, it’s “spo-CANE

8. Kearney
Just like a carnival worker, it’s pronounced “CAR-knee”

9. Pomme de Terre
Despite popular belief, it’s pronounced “puhm-de-TAHR”, not “POM-de-tear”.

10. Lebanon
-They hate when you call it “leb-uh-NON”… it’s just “LEB-uh-nun

11. Hazeltine
-The “I” makes the “ee” sound.  “Hazel-TEEN

12. Nixa
This one actually is said exactly as it looks, but some of the locals will pronounce it “Nixie”

13. Cabool
-“ka-BOOL”
is correct. “CAB-ool” is not.

14. Bois D’Arc
-We’re sure you got this wrong.  So did everyone else.  It’s actually really easy to say. “bo-DARK”.

15. Bona
-Get your minds out of the gutter.  It’s pronounced, “BAH-nuh

16. New Madrid
-In Spain, it’s “muh-DRID”.  In Missouri, it’s “MAD-drid”

17. Laquey
-You thought it was “Lackey”, right?  Wrong.  “LAKE-way” is correct.

18. Clever
-Don’t outsmart yourself on this one.  It’s spoken as “clever”, like a smart person, not “Cleaver”, like what you cut meat with.

19. Milan
-It’s not pronounced the same as in Italy, or in the Disney movie.  It’s “MY-luhn”.

20. Canalou
Thought it was “CAN-a-lou”?  Nope… try “cuh-NOW-loo”.

Congratulations!  You now know how to correctly pronounce more Missouri cities than all your friends!  So go show it off, you smart, smart person you!

7 comments

  1. Headstone Hunter

    Chamois: Cha-MOIZ.

    According to local historian Mr. George Krcmar and published in his 1974 book ‘History of Chamois Missouri.’ Town named by Morgan Harbor, who found the hills and bluffs reminiscent of alpine regions of Europe, and possibly mistook local whitetail deer for European chamois.

    Historian’s name is another puzzle. It’s pronounced Kishmar.

  2. The towns of Des Peres, pronounced de-pair and Desloge, pronounced de- LOHZH.

  3. So how do you pronounce “Swedeborg”? I don’t know if it’s two syllables or three.

  4. Monett has two T’s, not one. So it is pronounced Mo-Net, not Mo-Nay.

  5. Jaudon is pronounced joo don…the a is silent.

  6. What about Monett… Folks calling Mo-net. Not Mo-nay as it should be

  7. I have lived in MO for 6 years and have only heard of 3 of these. 🙂 Kearny is the only one I heard of before moving here. I am most curious about the three different ways people pronounce Missouri. How was it pronounced originally?

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