Whether they were settling a debate or avoiding an awkward misstep, New Yorkers searched for help with one word more than any other.

It was "Iran."

New Yorkers weren't alone, either. Residents of Kansas and California also frequently looked up how to pronounce the country's name, too.

The findings come from researchers at Unscramblerer.com, which analyzed Google Trends and pronunciation-related searches between Jan. 1 and Oct. 20, 2026, to identify the words Americans struggled to say most often.

Nationwide, the most-searched pronunciation headaches were Worcestershire sauce, gyro and dachshund.

At least New Yorkers weren't looking up how to pronounce places closer to home.

Residents of Maine, North Carolina, Vermont, Illinois and Washington most frequently searched for help saying their state capitals, while people in Nevada, Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Oregon were looking up how to pronounce the names of their own states.

Other surprising entries included "water" in Pennsylvania and Delaware, "spaghetti" in Ohio and "acai" in Oklahoma.

According to Unscramblerer.com, people are most likely to stumble over words because of irregular spelling, foreign-language origins, regional pronunciation differences, misheard pronunciations and simple unfamiliarity.

With more than 40 regional accents spoken across the United States, it's no wonder even a four-letter word can leave Americans tongue-tied.