Here are some Ohio words you might be saying wrong

Words are tough sometimes. And leave it to Ohio to have a few places with spellings that make you go, what?

Gnadenhutten. Wapakoneta. Louisville (not that Louisville). These are some Ohio words you might be saying wrong:

Chilo

SHY-lo

This teeny village with a name that rhymes with "high low" sits on the Ohio River, southeast of Cincinnati.

FUN FACT: Its population according to the 2010 census: 63.

Cheviot

SHI-vee-uht ... but also SHE-vee-uht

The "e" is pronounced as an "i," according to some. Others insist it's pronounced as it is spelled. A call to city hall revealed the same: Some pronounce it one way, others prefer the other. 

FUN FACT: This westside Cincinnati suburb is known for its annual Harvest Home Fair and parade, and the CincItalia Festival.

Lima

LEYE-mah

Yes, like the bean. And not like the city in Peru, which is pronounced LEE-mah. Lima sits about two-thirds of the way up from Cincinnati and Toledo. 

FUN FACT: Yes, "Glee" was set in this town.

Louisville

LOO-iss-vill

If you're going to visit this Ohio town, which sits northeast of Canton, and you're used to the (very) specific way you are directed to pronounce the Kentucky version (LOU-uh-vuhl) by Louisville, Kentucky, natives, you're going to have to re-learn. This town is pronounced just like it looks.

FUN FACT: There's a castle-like playground at Metzger Park that we'd have loved to explore as kids.

Related:Do you say it right? Louisville is one of the top cities Americans mispronounce

Wapakoneta

WAH-puh-KUH-NEH-tuh

Not to be mistaken with Wakatomika, Ohio, its claim to fame is being the birthplace of Neil Armstrong, the first man to take steps on the moon. It's located just southwest of Lima, Ohio.

FUN FACT: You can visit the Armstrong Air and Space Museum there. It's (of course) shaped like a moon.

And if you're wondering about Wakatomika, that's "walk-ah-TOM-ick-a," and its an unincoroprated township north of Zanesville, and northeast of Columbus. Google yielded images results of a camp, a log cabin and some lovely wooded scenery with creeks winding through.

While some may be challenging to pronounce, some Ohio towns have funny names. Some of our favorites include Knockemstiff, Coolville, Moscow, Defiance, Reminderville, Celeryville, Put-In-Bay and Helltown.

Google that last one. It seems the town's lore is as creepy as its name.

Gnadenhutten

NAYD-uhn-huh-ten

Doesn't this sound like some kind of German pastry? Is it just us? Now we're hungry.

FUN FACT: It's located in an equally-hard-to-pronounce county: Tuscarawas (tuss-kuh-RAW-wuss).

Ashtabula

ASH-tuh BEW-luh

This one's almost to Pennsylvania and rests on the shores of Lake Erie, in Ashtabula County, at the mouth of the Ashtabula River.

FUN FACT: There is, of course, a beach on Lake Erie at the 28-acre Walnut Beach Park, featuring a limestone boulder breakwater that leads to the Ashtabula Harbor Lighthouse.

Chillicothe

chill-uh-KAW-thee

Situated about halfway between Columbus and Portsmouth along the Scioto River, Chillicothe is the only city in Ross County. 

FUN FACT: The Hopewell culture was active here around 2,000 years ago. These Native American peoples left behind earthen mounds that can be explored in the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park.

Gallipolis

gal-ih-POLICE

This village is situated on the Ohio River right across from West Virginia. One might be tempted to pronounce its name without the "s," but it is indeed enunciated.

FUN FACT:  Well, this one isn't so fun, but the Silver Bridge connecting Gallipolis and Point Pleasant, West Virginia collapsed in 1967, killing 46 people.

Also, remember the movie "Mothman Prophecies" in which Richard Gere investigated sightings of a strange mothman creature? Yeah, that was based on a legend of events in Gallipolis and Point Pleasant. There's a Mothman Museum here, and a Mothman Statue and Marker.

Learn these other names

Maumee (maw-MEE)

Bucyrus (bew-SIGH-russ)

Pataskala (puh TASK uh luh)

Uhrichsville (URH icks vill)

Pronunciations were derived from http://scrippsjschool.org/pronunciation.