A Guide to Pronouncing Idaho Town Names Like a Local

There isn’t anything that will ‘out’ a visitor or new resident like mispronouncing a town name. This isn’t like moving to a country where there is a language barrier. Idaho is not immune to the weird pronunciation of cities and towns.

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In Idaho, one of the most often mispronounced cities (probably because it is the State Capitol) is Boise. Heaven forbid you pronounce it BOY-zee. It is BOY-see and anyone who lives here knows it. Let’s take a gander at other names that will get you tarred and feathered for mispronunciation.

Athol - a bad word with a lisp, or like bath without the b, ATH-ull.
Buhl - might be bull, nope. BEE-yew-ull, but all in one syllable.
Castleford - not castle-ferd, castle-FORED you will be vilified for getting it wrong.
Coeur d’Alene - looks scary, but is just core-duh-LANE
Dietrich - could be diet rich, but it isn’t. Go with DEE-trick
Kootenai - kinda like cootie, but KOO-ten-ee with a soft ‘t’.
Kooskia - This one is KOOS-kee. I called the Chamber of Commerce.
Kuna - try it like you were saying tuna being fancy - the letter Q+nuh.
Shoshone - town, not the tribe. show-SHOWN.
Weippe - So, WEE-ipe, is that right? Maybe they told me wrong as a joke.
Weiser - WEE-zer, Not like Brad, who pronounces his last name WIZE-er

If you really want a challenge, go for Pend Oreille. It’s a lake and a county. Epic fail unless you say pon-der-AY.

RELATED STORY: Why Does This Idaho City Have Such A Weird Name?