Often: it’s a word I’d say most people use pretty… well, often. But when we say it, are we really pronouncing it correctly?

It’s such a common and simple word that most any native speaker would answer that question with „DUH!“

But it’s actually a very commonly mispronounced word, not just among German-speaking learners of English, but native speakers of English as well.

So it’s quiz time! Does the word sound like:

of-T-en     or    o-FF-en? 

… are you sure you’ve got the right answer?

Now let’s see if you’ll change your answer once I give you a hint: how would you pronounce the following words:

listen

hasten

soften

fasten

That’s right… the T in „often“ is silent! And if you don’t believe me, check out this bad boy at Merriam Webster, which lays it all out for you to enjoy: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/correct-pronunciation-of-often.

Until next time!