Everyone is finally admitting all the ways they mispronounced “Hermione” (who else said HERM-ee-own?)
Raise your hand if you completely mispronounced “Hermione” when reading the Harry Potter books. We’re going to assume everyone has their hands up right now, because until the movies were released, there was no right way to pronounce our beloved Hermione’s name.
So if you used to mispronounce “Hermione,” and let’s be real — still secretly mispronounce it in your head — you’re definitely not alone.
On Friday, J.K. Rowling responded to a Harry Potter fan’s tweet that read, “Never make fun of people for mispronouncing a word. It means they learned it by reading.”
The quote is so very true. Mispronouncing names that have never been uttered out loud only means you have an active imagination, right?
Rowling expressed her love for the tweet, because she clearly understands that “Hermione” is a very difficult name to pronounce. And literally no one knew how to say it right.
"Never make fun of people for mispronouncing a word. It means they learned it by reading."
— Morgan Housel (@morganhousel) January 11, 2017
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 12, 2017
Rowling noted that her absolute favorite pronunciation was “Hermy – won.” That’s a first for us. We always thought it was pronounced HERM-ee-own. But, of course, as we all know — we were way off along with everyone else.
My favourite mispronunciation of 'Hermione' was 'Hermy – won.' It suited her! https://t.co/zNmMS9GAq6
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 13, 2017
Naturally, fans started responding with their own ideas of how the character’s name is pronounced, and they’re all nothing short of hilarity.
@Nemesis47AT We called her Hermi One Kenobi for ages. Not really sure why 😁 pic.twitter.com/oj6W1xhEVr
— Sarah 🍿🍿🍿 (@cautionspoilers) January 13, 2017
in Brazil we say "Ermy-oni"
— Arthur Weasley 🐤 (@Weasley_dad) January 13, 2017
@Nemesis47AT when I was 9 & first started reading the books I used to say "err-me-own", with a very strong spanish accent 😂
— camilín °o° (@camidelpo) January 13, 2017
@Nemesis47AT pic.twitter.com/OUbhD1wVy3
— moon 🌙 (@H4NREYES) January 13, 2017
My Dad and I always said it Hermy-own, but my brother called her Herm-oine! :O
— Elissa (@ElissaGow) January 13, 2017
@Nemesis47AT or check out this… Harmony 👌 pic.twitter.com/crKWeKQwZM
— Lisa Lovegood (@babycakees__) January 13, 2017
Hermione will always be HERM-ee-own to us, and that’s just the way it goes.
