Washington Town Among ‘Most Difficult to Pronounce’ in the Nation

One Washington town was recently named one of the most difficult to pronounce in the United States. 

We have several Washington towns that could easily make this national list.

Washington towns that give out-of-towners fits

There have been a few Washington town names that have given tourists and new residents some trouble. Some examples of the tough to pronounce names include Puyallup, Sequim, Wenatchee, Chelan, Okanogan, Pateros, and Ephrata.
We took the time to help you pronounce these and other seemingly hard-to-say town names.

Washington Town Among 'Most Difficult to Pronounce' in the Nation

I have lived in Washington for most of my life and never heard of the town that Reader's Digest chose for our state. The article listed 50 difficult city names from each state in America.

Scrolling down the list - I wouldn’t know how to correctly say any of them - If I didn’t grow up there. I don't even know where to begin with pronouncing them. I was born in Bremerton and have taken several trips around the Olympic Peninsula. I have heard of the Quinault Tribal land and Lake Quinault. There is a town on the Quinault Reservation that’s new to me.

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The town in question is called "Qui-nai-elt Village" located in the southwestern part of the Quinault Indian Nation. This small community is a mere five-minute drive from the Pacific Coastal town of Moclips.

How do you pronounce it?

According to Reader's Digest:

Qui-nai-elt is a variation of Quinault and is pronounced "kwi-nail." -Readers Digest

As of the 2020 Census, 320 people call Qui-Nai-elt Village home - up from just 54 in the 2010 population survey.