It’s really interesting seeing what words people have trouble with and I’ve really enjoyed reading this thread.
As for me, I’ve actually obtained a rather large vocabulary from many years of reading… so I know of a multitude of words that most average native English speakers do not. A funny one that trips most people up is know the difference between brassiere and brazier. After reading this thread in it’s entirety up to this point, the only ones that gave me any trouble were the baseball references. I’m not much into sports other than martial arts and shooting.
I’ve never seen that one, but I don’t know much in the way of french that hasn’t been introduced directly into the English language tbh. I’m going more with the whole, put it in writing and let people try to sound them out, kind of thing lol… Actually totally different pronunciations, but most people (at least in the U.S.) would pronounce them very close to the same upon seeing them for the first time.
And I just learned a new English word from a (at least partly) Japanese band. I’ve listened to the song several times before, but this was the first time I paid very close attention to all of the lyrics. Its Man With a Mission, specifically the song Hero. The word is ‘ineluctable’. I’m going to have to find an excuse to use this word now!
I just recently learned kowtow from Wanikani. I find it funny that the Japanese is so similar to the English, even though it isn’t a borrowed word or in Katakana!
