The “Hardest Town to Pronounce” In New York Has Been Named — And It’s Also Known As “The Electric City”

Have you ever been looking at a map of Upstate New York and stumbled over some town called Schenectady wondering how to say it? Well you’re not alone.

A new study and map highlighted by Mental Floss has officially named this quirky Upstate spot the “hardest town to pronounce” in New York State .

And despite its tongue-twisting reputation, Schenectady also holds another nickname you might not expect: “The Electric City.”

The ranking comes from a national analysis by Preply , a language-learning website, which looked at tricky town names across all 50 states .

From Massachusetts’s “Worcester” ( WOO-ster ) to California’s baffling ghost town “Zzyzx” ( ZY-ziks ), the study highlights just how creative—and confusing—American place names can be.

For New York, the winner was cl