Here are 11 New Mexico place names that people almost always mispronounce on their first try, along with their correct pronunciations—getting them right is genuinely a challenge:
11 New Mexico Places You Can’t Say Correctly at First
Abiquiu — Pronounced “AB-ick-you,” not “Ab-ick-we”.
Arroyo Seco — Pronounced “Ahr-oi’-ya-say’-ko”.
Caballo — Pronounced “Ka-vhah’-yoh,” not “Cab-allo”.
Chimayo — Pronounced “Shee-my-yoh,” not “Chim-Mayo”.
Lamy — Pronounced “Lay’-mee,” not “lam-ee”.
Mogollon — Pronounced “Moh-GOY-yon’,” definitely not “Mog-O-lon”.
Taos — Pronounced “Ta-os,” not “TAY-os” or “tacos”.
Tucumcari — Pronounced “TOO-come-care-ee”.
Tesuque — Pronounced “Teh-sue-keh,” not “tess-uke”.
Bernalillo — Pronounced close to “Ber-na-LEE-yo,” not “burn-uh-lil-oh”.
Ruidoso — Correctly pronounced “Ru-ee-dos-oh,” often mispronounced as “Ree-ah-dos-oh”.
These pronunciations often confuse outsiders and sometimes even newcomers to New Mexico, making them a true test of local knowledge.
SOURCES
(https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/state-pride/new-mexico/hard-words-nm)(https://www.reddit.com/r/NewMexico/comments/1hkwpu9/what_nm_townsnatural_sitesetc_are_frequently/)(https://klaq.com/most-mispronounced-cities-nm/)(https://ans-names.pitt.edu/ans/article/download/253/252)(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbOB352uggQ)
