It is not always about your accent, sometimes you just pronounce foreign names the wrong way. Brand name matters and I sometimes wonder how some companies came up with their brand names, for instance, what is Innjoo? Like how do you even come up with such a name? What does it mean? And more importantly, how do you even pronounce it? Anyway, since I am not entirely sure of the answer to that question, my list will exclude Innjoo and focus on “common” brand names that you probably mispronounce everyday.
- Huawei – yeah, this isn’t an easy one. A big brand name worldwide, but very few people actually know how to pronounce it. So regardless of what you think the pronunciation of Huawei is, the correct and company-approved pronunciation of Huawei is “Wah-Way”.
- Xiaomi – I can literally hear you trying to get this one right in your head, so just stop trying. I will tell you how to correctly pronounce Xiaomi (there you go, saying the wrong thing again). According to a former employee of the company, the right way to pronounce Xiaomi is “Shio-me”.
- Asus – I also didn’t know that I was pronouncing this brand wrong, until I decided to research. The company, Asus, says the correct way to pronounce the brand is “AY-soos”.
- Gionee – A relatively new brand, you may have seen or heard of their phones (we have a review of the Gionee P5W here). One thing I am sure, is that you pronounce the name wrong. Gionee is actually pronounced as “Jo-nee” and not that Swahili word you were thinking about.
BONUS: Hyundai – Can you guess the correct pronunciation of this car manufacturer? No? Well, its “Hun-day”.
Learnt something new? You’re welcome. If you know of any other brands that people pronounce wrong, be sure to let us know in the comment section below. Also, anyone who can tell us the origin, meaning and correct pronunciation of Innjoo will be much appreciated.