National Pet Month: These are the dog breeds you are (probably) mispronouncing

11/04/2023

It’s National Pet Month, so naturally we owe it to our fellow dogs to brush up on how we pronounce the names of certain breeds! 

Luckily, the team at Preply have shed some light on this and provided a roundup of dog breeds that typically tend to get mispronounced, and how to correctly say the names.

Dachshund (daks-hund)

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Yes, you’ve been pronouncing the breed of your favourite sausage dogs wrong all your life.

Lots of people tend to go off the spelling with this one, saying ‘dash-und’ or ‘dash-hound’. However, we need to embrace the German roots of these dogs and refer to them as ‘daks-hunds’. 

Shih Tzu (she-dzoo)

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It turns out that you don’t need to swear when saying the name of these adorable little lions.

Contrary to popular belief, the right way of pronouncing this breed is actually ‘she-dzoo’.

Rottweiler (rot-why-ler)

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You may be shocked to find out these doggos have a spot on the list, but nonetheless justice needs to be served for Rottweilers.

A lot of people pronounce this breed like it has the letter ‘k’ in the name (rock-wahy-lers). However, there is no ‘k’ and the correct pronunciation is ‘rot-wahy-ler’.

Bichon Frise (bee-shon free-zay)

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French names can be quite difficult to pronounce, with our favourite furry Bichon Frises being an example of this.

These dogs certainly do like to have their tongues out, which is why it makes sense for their name to roll off our tongue – with the correct pronunciation being ‘bee-shon free-zay’.

Weimaraner (vahy-muh-rah-ner)

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Now, this breed is certainly a tongue-twister.

Dubbed as ‘Gray Ghosts’, Weimaraners are known for their loyalty and obedience, and the least we can do for them is say their name right!

The German accent really has to come out with this one, with the right pronunciation being ‘vahy-muh-rah-ner’.

Papillon (Pa-pee-on)

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Meaning ‘butterfly’ in French, Papillons are certainly an underrated dog breed – just look at their beady eyes and fluffy, feathery ears!

As suggested by the spelling, this breed typically gets mispronounced as ‘pap-ill-on’ but the correct way to say it is ‘pa-pee-on’.

Keeshond (Kay-shond)

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Known for their iconic silver and black fur, Keeshonds are definitely high up on the list of standout dogs.

They are also high up on the list of most mispronounced dog breeds, with many referring to them as ‘kee-shonds’, but rather they should be pronounced as ‘kay-shond’.

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