'Illi-noise'? Not quite. Illinois lands on top mispronounced states list

Americans have a hard time pronouncing Illinois

From Arkansas to Illinois, see which U.S. states Americans struggle to pronounce the most.

CHICAGO - Illinois is one of the top five most mispronounced state names in the country, according to a new study.

What we know:

The study by language learning platform Preply shows Illinois ranks fourth on the list of U.S. state names most often mispronounced.

Each month, an estimated 2,750 people across the U.S.—not counting Illinois residents—search online for how to say the name of the state.

The most common mistake? Saying Il-in-OYS, with a hard "s" at the end. The correct pronunciation is Il-uh-NOY, with a silent "s."

Dr. Melissa Baese-Berk, a linguistics professor at the University of Chicago, worked with Preply and says part of the confusion stems from the spelling.

"State names like Illinois are cases where the spelling of the state name includes letters that are not pronounced, which creates a mismatch between spelling and pronunciation. The silent last ‘s’ at the end of the state name is likely a key source of confusion."

The backstory:

According to Preply, the name "Illinois" comes from a French version of the Native American word "iliniwek" or "irenwewa," which referred to a group of tribes known as the Illini. When French explorers first came to the area, they spelled it "Illinois," following French grammar rules that often include a silent "s" at the end.

Illinois isn’t alone. According to the study, the most mispronounced U.S. state names are:

1. Arkansas (AR-kuhn-saw)
2. Nevada (nuh-VA-duh)
3. Oregon (ORE-uh-gun)
4. Illinois (il-uh-NOY)
5. Massachusetts (mass-uh-choo-SITS)

Dig deeper:

And if you think "Illinois" is tricky, try Benld. It’s a city downstate pronounced Ben-ELD—and reportedly the hardest town name in Illinois to get right.

Preply also looked into which state names are the hardest to spell, and which state name each state struggles to say the most. To learn more about the study and its methodology, click HERE.