The Most Commonly Mispronounced Dog Breeds

Learning how to identify popular dog breeds by sight is a useful skill, but it's less impressive when you stumble through names like Bichon Frise and Weimaraner. The names of domestic canine breeds are as diverse as their countries of origin. Whether you're looking to adopt a dog or pet one you meet in the park, you should familiarize yourself with these hard-to-say breed names and their correct pronunciations.

1. Dachshund

The name of this German breed is pronounced daks-hund. If that's too hard to say, wiener dog is also acceptable.

2. Rottweiler

According to Preply, some people sneak a k into their pronunciation of this beefy breed. The correct pronunciation is rot-why-ler, not rock-wahy-ler.

3. Papillon

This small dog breed is pronounced just like the French word for butterfly: pa-pee-on.

4. Keeshond

You may be tempted to pronounce the first syllable in the name of this fluffy breed as kee. Fans of these pups know that the right way to say it is kay-shond.

5. Shih Tzu

Though schoolyard jokes may have you thinking otherwise, there's nothing inappropriate about the name of this dog breed. To pronounce it the correct way, say she-dzoo.

6. Shiba Inu

These canines may be internet-famous, but people still have trouble pronouncing the name. Say she-ba-ee-nu the next time you see one of these adorable Japanese dogs.

7. Affenpinscher

It may be tiny, but the toy dog's name—pronounced a-fuhn-pin-cher—is a mouthful.

8. Weimaraner

Even if you know this striking dog's name is pronounced vahy-muh-rah-ner in the original German, you may have trouble saying it three times fast.

9. Samoyed

According to the Samoyed Club of America, the correct way to say the breed's name is sam-a-yed, with the emphasis on the last syllable. That's good to know if you ever need to request permission to pet one of these walking clouds.

10. Bichon Frise

This fancy white pooch has an appropriately fancy French name. Say bee-shon free-zay the next time you see one trotting around the Westminster Dog Show.

10 Commonly Mispronounced Dog Breeds