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

1. Anaconda
   Sounds simple, right? But locals pronounce it “An-a-con-da” with a slight emphasis on the second syllable. It’s trickier than it looks!
2. Helena
   You might think it’s just “Helen-a”, but it’s actually pronounced “Hell-in-a”—dropping the second “e” sound.
3. Missoula
   Easy to spell, but saying it right is another story. It’s “Miss-oo-la”, not “Miss-zu-la” or “Miss-oo-lah.”
4. Butte
   This one is famously confusing. Despite how it looks, it’s pronounced “Byoot” (rhymes with “cute”), not “Butt.”
5. Bozeman
   Seems pretty straightforward, but you might slip up by saying it like “Boze-man.” The correct pronunciation is “Boze-mun” with a softer second syllable.
6. Babb
   A small town in Montana that can be surprisingly difficult to pronounce. It’s simply “Babb”, but many people mistakenly add extra syllables or overcomplicate it.
7. Toston
   This one stumps even the locals! It’s pronounced “Toss-ton”, not “Toh-ston” or “Toss-tun.”
8. Lolo
   It looks easy, but there’s a catch! It’s pronounced “Low-low”, not “Lo-lo” like you might assume.
9. Pryor
   Locals swear by this one, but don’t say it like “Pry-or.” It’s actually “Pry-er”—rhymes with “prior.”
10. Choteau
    This French-inspired name throws people off every time. It’s pronounced “Show-toe”, not “Chot-o” or “Sho-tay.”
11. Philipsburg
    While it seems like a no-brainer, don’t fall for the temptation to say it like “Phil-ip-s-burg.” The correct pronunciation is “Fill-ups-burg”, with a quicker “i” sound.

Montana names are tricky, and locals will be impressed if you can nail them on the first try! But let’s be real—you’ll probably stumble at least once.

SOURCES

[1] https://missoulacurrent.com/montana-place-names/
[2] https://theriver979.com/most-misprounced-montana-town-name/
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XGene5znpE
[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YebrQiJ91i8
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX_8kCxvD0s