If you're visiting Texas this year, or new to the state, there are some cities that don't sound the way they are spelled. We are here to help. Here is our list of the seven most commonly mispronounced cities in Texas, three of which are in East Texas.

  1. Humble - This town in the Houston area is always mispronounced if you're not familiar with it. You would think it would be just like it's spelled but the "H" is silent. The town is pronounced Um-bull.
  2. Mexia - This little town that sits between I-45 and I-35 can for sure be tricky to tourists. The pronunciation is far from it's spelling: Muh-hay-uh.
  3. Palestine - Our East Texas town in Anderson County is constantly said wrong. It's not in the desert in the Middle East. The correct way to say it is Pal-es-teen.
  4. Palacios - This little town is located on the Texas coast on Matagorda Bay. It is named for the Spanish word Palace. However, the pronunciation is not the proper Spanish word, it is said as Puh-lash-iss.
  5. Murchison - Even resident East Texans can't make up their minds of how to pronounce the small Henderson county town. There are two different ways to say it, either Merch-e-son or Merck-e-son.
  6. Refugio - This town north of Corpus Christie means refuge in Spanish. However, as in Texas, when pronouncing, leave out a letter and add another. Drop the "G" and add an "R", Ree-fury-oh.
  7. Nacogdoches - The oldest town in Texas can be a hard one to say for those out of state. Here's how to pronounce it properly, Nack-uh-doe-chiss.

wideopencountry.com has a nice list of some other mispronounced city names, streets and lakes in Texas. We want you to sound a little less like a tourist when you visit our great state.

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