Looking for a reason to giggle? These “ridicarus” mispronunciations will make you wet your “underwebs”.
South Africa (23 September 2025) – The Village has always been a safe corner of Facebook for South African parents to share advice, find comfort, and even spark some of our favourite good news stories. This time around, the group gave us something a little lighter, and funny!
It all started when Kathi Simon shared a post that made us smile.
Parents know that kids have a special talent for inventing colourful new names for things that already have perfectly good ones. After finding an old list of her children’s hilarious mispronunciations, Kathi invited the community to share their own.
The comments came flooding in, and they were pure gold.
We’ve gathered the funny ones together here for you to enjoy, because nothing brightens a day quite like the ways kids see (and say) the world.
The list of adorable mispronunciations:
- Pick n Pay – Prinkle Pay / Pienkie Pay
- Snuggle – Snubble
- Goggles – Gobbles
- Forehead – Forest
- Container – Batainer
- Panties – Panteesh
- Grasshopper – Arsegropper
- Human being – Human bean
- Honey badger – Handy bugger
- Underpants – Thunder pants
- Jocks – Underwebs
- Dachshund – Bonsai dog
- Hibiscus – Highbiscuits
- Windscreen wipers – Wind screamers / Screamer wipers
- Vegetables – Wenstables / Forgetables
- Spaghetti – Scabetti / Biscetti / Spasgetti / Pisgetti / Stageppi / Beghetti / Basghetti / Bisketti / Spincegetti
- Magnifying glass – Magic flying glass
- Vanilla essence – Vanessa Ellen
- Breakfast – Back wax / Bleckfist / Protest cheese
- Chickenpox – Chickenpops
- Liquorice – Tikkalish
- Aeroplane – Hoppleclopper / Happaplane
- Calculator – Concubator
- Alzheimer’s – Old sinuses
- Lunch – Luntz / Lumpsh
- Mushrooms – Marios
- Flamingo – Maflingo / Mangos / Valingo / Falingo / Flinglinglingglo / Flinkos
- Strawberries – Tawbellilies / Strawbellies / Straw Baby Blonde
- Mosquito – Smagitto / Smiquito / Moskitty
- Umbrella – Underbrella
- Olives – Orrits
- Cucumber – Cute cumber / Cumcuber / Cuki
- Blueberries – Blooblies / Bewwies
- Ladybird – Lady-poo
- Perfume – Perthune
- Peanut butter – Peter butter / Penny butter / Peena mutta / Peter Putter
- Father Christmas – Papa piss pants
- Nipples – Nimples
- Ice cube – I-shoob
- Popcorn – Pockcorn
- Granadilla – Nelson Mandela
- Naartjie – Narkem
- Penguins – Pink ones
- Ridiculous – Ridicarus
- Two minute noodles – Two little noodles / Too many noodles
- Kreepy Krawly – Tricky Trolley
- Smarties – Farties
- Cupcake – Cupstakes
- Snails – Naynors
- Noodles – Leedles
- Monte Casino – Monketesino
- Croissant – Cross Hog
- Monkey bars – Hunky bars
- Hippo – Hipinatomotamus / Hattythomas
- Rascals (sweets) – Assholes
- Dust motes – Sun crumbs
- Lettuce – Legions
- Fontanelle – Fokken hel
- Mayonnaise – Misternaise
- Dustbin – Bustin / Dupsbin / Rashdabin
- Squirrel – Spirrel
- Grapes – Gummagups
- Hospital – Hostipal / Hopstiwal / Hosbottle
What makes it even more funny is how many families in The Village admitted they still use their children’s versions years later.
Yup, the joy of parenting often lies in these small, silly little moments. The ones that sneak into everyday life and become stories you’ll remember for ages.
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