This Tasty Pastry is Indiana’s Most Mispronounced Word

If you’ve ever stood in front of a bakery counter staring at those round, jelly-filled pastries, wondering what to call them, you’re not alone, Indiana. According to new research from the word experts at Unscramblerer.com, the most mispronounced word in the Hoosier State is paczki.

What Is a Paczki, and How Do You Pronounce It?

First of all, let’s clear this up right away: it’s pronounced POONCH-kee. Not “patch-key.” Not “paz-kee.” Definitely not “pack-ski.” You might need to practice it a few times – say it with confidence and a little bit of flair!

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Paczki are traditional Polish pastries that show up in bakeries across the Midwest, especially around Fat Tuesday (a.k.a. the day before Lent begins). Think of them as a rich, indulgent cousin of the doughnut – deep-fried, filled with fruit or cream, and dusted with sugar. If you’ve ever grabbed one from Donut Bank or a local Evansville bakery before Lent, you’ve probably had the pleasure of enjoying a paczki…even if you weren’t quite sure how to say it.

Why Hoosiers Keep Getting It Wrong

The data comes from Google Trends and Ahrefs, where researchers analyzed nearly a year’s worth of “How do you pronounce…” searches. Turns out, Hoosiers have been googling “How to pronounce paczki” more than any other tricky word.

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So the next time you’re enjoying one of these sweet treats, impress your friends by saying it right – POONCH-kee. And if they give you a funny look, just smile and pass them a paczki. Nothing ends a pronunciation debate faster than powdered sugar and raspberry filling.