How to pronounce the names of Mexican Dishes

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How to pronounce the names of Mexican Dishes

Hola Muchachos! It’s Cinco de Mayo time. To celebrate Mexican heritage and pride, I’m doing a little round up of Mexican dishes so you can double-check your pronuciation, and make sure you are getting them right. Someone emailed me querying why I don’t have ‘Mexican’ on my site. For those of you who don’t want to ask, Spanish is spoken in Mexico. It is the same language as you speak in Spain, but the pronunciation differs.  I will grant you that the two pronunciations side by side can sound very different to the untrained ear. If you want to know more, take a look at my Spanish hints pages. Today it’s all Mexican over here.

A lot of the dishes listed here are also a part of Tex-Mex cuisine, but that is no reason not to pronounce them correctly. The only good reason for mispronunciations on Cinco de Mayo is too much tequila!!!

If you want to know more about the dishes and drinks, just click on the links. You will also find details about why the words are pronounced in a particular way – hover over the colored letters to know more. Arriba, arriba:

chilaquiles tchee/lah/KEE/lehs

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burritos boo/RREE/tohs 

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frijoles refritos FREE/xoh/lehs reh/FREE/tohs

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tortillas tohr/TEE/yahs

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huevos rancheros WEH/vohs rahn/TCHEH/rohs

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tamales tah/MAH/lehs

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huitlacoche weet/lah/KOH/tcheh

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taquitos tah/KEE/tohs

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flautas FLAU/tahs

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pico de gallo PEE/koh theh GAH/yoh

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guacamole gwah/kah/MOH/leh

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fajitas fah/XEE/tohs

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quesadillas keh/sah/THEE/yahs

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cerveza sehr/BEH/sah

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Dos Equis dohs EH/kees

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Tecate teh/KAH/teh

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Ok how many of you think the image shows tequila with a worm in it? Wrong: tequila never has a worm in it – that privilege is bestowed on mescal, mainly from the Oaxaca regions of Mexico.

Oaxaca wah/XAH/kah

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If you made it this far, congratulations – go celebrate. Or, let me know what you think. Comments, questions, suggestions and polite dispute are always welcome. And if you want more, there is always my Top 5 Mispronounced Spanish Foodie Words to read :)

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About the Author

Marie-Ora is obsessed with pronunciation, languages, food, wine, cooking, 4Foots. and chocolate. When she isn't working, she enjoys snacking, sipping on wine, reading and napping, and is currently researching methods to do all 4 simultaneously. Although Marie-Ora has absolutely no vices, she is easily provoked by mis-pronunciations, bad coffee, and unwarranted hype.

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  1. http://tinyurl.com/sayyburne55303  February 1, 2013

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  2. tinyurl.com  February 28, 2013

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