Despite being some of Australia’s most well-known and loved cities, these places still have people stumped on pronunciation.

The findings come after language learning app Preply analysed Google search data for more than 300 well-known “hard to pronounce” places in Australia.

After analysing Google search data for “how to say …” and “how to pronounce …” with an Australian place name added, Preply found Cairns was the most commonly mispronounced city Down Under.

On average, some 30,000 people Googled how to pronounce “Cairns”.

In terms of Australia’s capital cities, Melbourne was among the hardest to pronounce for some, followed by Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide, Sydney and Perth, according to Preply’s research.

Top 20 most mispronounced places in Australia

1. Cairns: Correct: “CANS.” Incorrect: KERNS or KENS
2. Prahran: Correct: “PRAN” or “Pr–AAN.” Incorrect: Pr-AHN or PRA-RAN
3. Melbourne: Correct: “MEL-burn” or “MEL-ben.” Incorrect: “MEL-BORN”
4. Launceston: Correct: “LONN-ses-tun.” Incorrect: “LAWN-ses-tun” or “LAWN-ston”
5. Gloucester: Correct: “GLOSS-ter.” Incorrect: “GLOW-kester” or “GLOUW-sester”
6. Canberra: Correct: “CAN-bra.” Incorrect: “CAN-berra”
7. Balmain: Correct: “BAL-mane.” Incorrect: “bal-MAH-n
8. Ngunnawal: Correct: “NUN-nah-wol.” Incorrect: “NGUN-uh-wawl”
9. Warwick: Correct: “WAWR-ik.” Incorrect: “WA-rick”
10. Derby: Correct: “DER-be.” Incorrect: “DAR-be”
11. Orange: Correct: “ORR-inj.” Incorrect: “Ornj”
12. Brisbane: Correct “BRIZ-bn” Incorrect “brIHz-bAIn”
13. Uluru: Correct: “OO-luh-roo.” Incorrect: “oo-loo-roo”
14. Coogee: Correct: “COULD-jee.” Incorrect: “KOO-jee” (NSW, not WA)
15. Cygnet: Correct: “SIG-net.” Incorrect” “SIG-nuht”
16. Bondi Beach: Correct: “BON-die Beach.” Incorrect: “Bond-dee Beach”
17. Adelaide: Correct: “AA-duh-laid.” Incorrect: “AA-duh-lied”
18. Kata Tjuta: Correct: “KAH-tah-choor-tar.” Incorrect: “ka-tuh-joo-tuh”
19. Manuka: Correct: “MAH-nah-kah.” Incorrect: “maa-nuh-kuh”
20. Geelong: Correct: “JH-long.” Incorrect: “JEE-long.”

Interestingly, there is a Coogee in Western Australia, which is pronounced “KOO-jee”, unlike the New South Wales equivalent.

Western Australia’s Coogee is in the city of Cockburn, which is pronounced “co-burn”, and not how it looks.

People also have a hard time pronouncing Melbourne, it seems. Photo: Getty

Why are Australian places so hard to pronounce?

Australians might giggle at tourists who pronounce the “R’ in Melbourne, but in reality it usually comes down to differences in languages that result in mispronunciation.

Amy Pritchett, culture director at Preply, said pronunciation also differs in regions and cultures.

Pronunciation is a complex part of language that is influenced by a variety of factors. These include geography, social context, and linguistic patterns.

For example, a person who speaks English as their first language may struggle to pronounce certain words in other languages, she said.

“A person unfamiliar with the native language of a particular region may find it difficult to accurately pronounce place names based on written spellings alone, as some languages use different alphabets or spelling conventions than others.”

Tourists should probably get a pass, as Pritchett acknowledged pronouncing the name wrong in front of a local can be quite embarrassing.

“Especially if you butcher the regional accent,” she said.

“When you learn to say these place names correctly, I encourage you to sound like a native – or at least a savvy tourist.”