We Dare You to Say These 11 California Places Correctly on Your First Try (Spoiler: You Can’t)

Here are 11 California places that most people can’t say correctly on their first try, along with the correct pronunciations:

1. Tuolumne – Pronounced “too-aw-luh-mee” (No “n” sound)
2. Camarillo – Pronounced “kah-ma-ree-yo”
3. Lompoc – Pronounced “lom-poke” (not “lom-pock”)
4. La Jolla – Pronounced “La-hoy-a” (J sounds like English “h”, double L as “y”)
5. Vallejo – Pronounced “va-yeh-ho” or commonly “va-lay-ho”
6. Suisun City – Pronounced “suh-soon,” not “Susan”
7. Yosemite – Pronounced “yo-she-mih-tee”
8. San Luis Obispo – Pronounced “San Loo-is Oh-bis-po”
9. Paso Robles – Locals say “Paso ROH-buhlz,” Spanish pronunciation “pa-sow row-bless”
10. Ojai – Pronounced “oh-hi” (not “OJ”)
11. Lodi – Pronounced “low-dye”

These place names often confuse newcomers due to Spanish, Native American origins, and local adaptations, leading to many mispronunciations.

SOURCES

[1](https://californiacitynews.org/2022/07/most-mispronounced-places-california.html)
[2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKeFfifOQVQ)
[3](https://newstalkkit.com/mispronounced-cities-california-washington-oregon/)
[4](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-02-23/los-angeles-why-do-we-pronounce-place-names-this-way)
[5](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYvUQdQAM0s)