You're saying these food names wrong

Have you ever avoided ordering something because you weren't sure how to say it? Photo / Getty

You're sitting in a restaurant, the wait staff approaches, you know what you want to order but you don't quite know how to say it. You anxiously utter what you think could be the correct pronounciation, only to be left feeling embarrassed when you're corrected. Sound familiar?

You're not alone. But you could be in luck, thanks to a new book You're saying it wrong.

Written by Ross and Kathryn Petras, the book aims to debunk common foodie confusions and help avoid those awkward ordering encounters.

Here are some of the most common food names that can be tricky to get your mouth around, and how to pronounce them correctly.

1. Gnocchi - pronounced "NYAW-kee"

The confusion here is that the Italian "gn" actually has a "ny" sound. Online food delivery service Eat 24 puts gnocchi in their top 10 list of mispronounced food words.

2. Pho - pronounced "fuh"

The name for these delicious Vietnamese noodles is easily mispronounced. A well-known foodie joke to remind you how to get it right goes:

Q. What do you call a line in a Vietnamese noodle shop?
A. Pho queue.

3. Croissant - pronounced "kwah-SAHNT"

You'll never stumble over this one at the bakery again. The word is French, so we should do our best not to throw our Kiwi twang on it. And besides, it sounds prettier in French and you sound smarter: Win.

4. Quinoa - pronounced "KEEN-wah"

If you've been pronouncing it "KWIN-oh-ah", you haven't got it quite right. But it's understandable: the "Qu" is deceptive.

5. Acai - pronounced "ah-SI-e"

Don't miss out on another delicious smoothie or breakfast bowl because you're avoiding pronouncing this berry's name wrong.

6. Moët and Chandon - pronounced "Moh-IT" and "SHA-doh"

The real trick to this is putting the emphasis on the final "T" in Moët.

The confusion is understandable, but Moët should sound more Dutch than French, because the founder of this champagne company had a Dutch name.

So it's "Mwett" not "Moay".

Got it? Très bien.