Primark sets the record straight on pronunciation

Primark store on Oxford StGetty Images

Pry-mark or Pree-mark?

How to pronounce the budget retailer's name has caused a basket-load of debate.

Some claim "Pry-mark" is an upmarket affectation. Others say "Pree-mark" is a northern thing.

But Primark have tried to settle the matter once and for all, writing on their website: "We like to use Pr-Eye-Mark."

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But Primark isn't the only brand that people mispronounce...

Adidas/EPA/Nike/Reuters

  • IKEA: if you follow the Swedes, it's "ee-kay-uh" not "eye-kee-ah". The word is made up of the initials of the founder's name and the village he grew up in

  • Does Nike rhyme with like? Apparently not. Chairman Philip Knight confirmed the pronunciation in 2014 was in fact Ni-key, after the Greek goddess of victory

  • Another sports brand getting our tongues in a twist is Adidas. Named after its founder Adi Dassler (Adolf Dassler), it's A-di-das not a-DEE-das.

  • Luxury car brand Porsche also takes it name from its founder, Ferdinand Porsche. His family name has two syllables: 'Por-shuh'

  • And if you're after a pint of Hoegaarden - hailing from the Flemish region of Belgium - make sure to ask for a 'Who-gar-den'. Anything else would sound daft.

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