How To Properly Pronounce Amarillo, Texas

I think this is a serious issue! Part of my job is sifting through audio and anybody who does something similar in Amarillo, TX will tell you the same thing, "nobody out there knows how to pronounce Amarillo properly".

Now, I don't expect everybody out there to just know how to say the city name correctly, but if you live here or visiting here, you should at least take the time to know how to say it. Just my opinion.

For those of you that are taking the time out of your day to properly learn how to say Amarillo, I'd like to thank you, and now on to the meat-and-potatoes of this blog.

The proper way to say Amarillo

The best way I can relate this and really get the pronunciation across is by using rhymes.

When you say 'Amarillo', think 'ham'.

Ham-Uh-Rill-Oh

Am-Uh-Rill-Oh

Now say it all together nice and fast, just like a Texan. It just rolls off the tongue.

The most common mistake made is in the first two letters, the A and M in Amarillo. It comes off to a lot of people as OM-arillo, like 'you momma'. When you say it like that, it's clear that you're not from here, nor did you care to take the time to learn how to say it correctly.

Maybe not a big deal, but if I'm going to present something to citizens of a particular city, I'm going to learn how to say the name correctly, it's just good business, and I don't want to get my ass kicked because I didn't take a few seconds to learn how to say a city name.

In all actuality, this isn't even the proper pronunciation. Amarillo is Espanol, so it's technically supposed to be pronounced: Am-Uh-RRee-Yo.

Roll the r's, think Espanol and that's an easy and fun one to say!

But the fact is, nobody here says it like that, we all say it the same way and that's what I'm here to share with you today.

When you say Amarillo, just remember, HAM-arillo.

Originally published April 4, 2012

10 Texas Towns That Everyone Is Pronouncing Wrong

Say You're From Amarillo Without Saying You're From Amarillo

Amarillo is a pretty quirky place. We've got the Big Texan, the weird signs, and (obviously) the famed Cadillac Ranch. But more than that, there's a distinct culture of close-knit community, eccentrics, a thriving arts scene, and much more.

The point is, living in Amarillo is a unique experience. Because of that, it's really pretty easy to tell who's a native or a long-time resident. And I can prove it.

Here's a couple of ways you can say you're from Amarillo.....without saying you're from Amarillo.

5 Things People From Oklahoma Think About People From Texas

I was born in Texas, raised in Oklahoma, and came back to the Lone Star State. Here are five things I've found that pretty much everyone from Oklahoma has thought about Texas at least once.