Whether you’re a recent transplant or a longtime Chicagoan, there’s a good chance you’ve encountered a local street with a tongue twister of a name.
Chicago is home to dozens of wacky street names, from Devon Avenue on the North Side down to Throop Street in Bridgeport.
You may have heard varying pronunciations for these ten tricky streets, but here’s how to say them like a true local.
Throop
Named after Chicago real estate developer Amos Throop, this South Side throughway is deceptively tough to pronounce. While its spelling would seem to indicate the pronunciation “Th-roop,” the correct way to say it is “Troop.” Basically, the H is silent!
Paulina
Paulina is both a common girl’s name and a street in Chicago, but the pronunciation of the two vary. While the name Paulina is pronounced like “Paul-een-uh,” the Chicago street is pronounced like “Paul-eye-nuh.” Go figure!
Goethe
Gathe? Goath? Go-thee? Goethe is perhaps one of Chicago’s most infamously confusing street names. Here’s the craziest part—it’s pronounced Ger-tuh, according to the CTA. Yup, there’s an invisible “R” in there.
Culyer
This North Side street is named after railroad engineer Edward Culyer, according to L Stop Tours. Its correct pronunciation? “Call-yer.”
Devon
Another deceptively hard-to-pronounce North Side street, Devon Avenue is pronounced “Deh-VAHN,” as opposed to the name pronunciation of “DEV-in.”
Wabansia
This West Chicago street is a real head-scratcher. The name comes from an 1800s Potawatomi leader according to a 2015 report from ABC Chicago. So how does one say it? Not “Wah-ban-shuh,” and definitely not “Wah-ban-asia.” The correct pronunciation is “Wuh-ban-see-uh.”
Honore
This Chicago street is another tribute to a local real estate leader, Henry Hamilton Honore, according to L Stop Tours. The correct pronunciation for this street name is “Honor-ray.”
Moffat
Mo’ fat? Wrong. This silly-looking street name is correctly pronounced like “Mah-fut.”
Desplaines
The name Desplaines appears all over Chicagoland, from the nearby Des Plaines River, to the suburb of Des Plaines, and of course, the eponymous street in Chicago proper. The name has French origins and is pronounced “Dess-Planes.”
Wabash
Last but certainly not least complicated is Chicago’s downtown throughway, Wabash Avenue. The right way to say it? Not “Wah-Bosh,” nor “Wah-‘Bash.” The correct pronunciation is “WAH-bash,” with the accent on the first syllable.
Think you’re a pronunciation pro? Check out the hardest-to-pronounce town in Illinois next to test your skills!