The intellect of Krum

[Deborah Krupp]

No: HPFGUIDX 164846

zanooda:
I think that Krum's inability to pronounce Hermione's name correctly is partly caused by the lack of practice. You remember (or maybe not :-)) that he only pronounced "Herm-own-ninny" once, and Hermione was immediately satisfied, saying it was "close enough". She never tried to correct him again, I guess, because she didn't care much how he called her, or maybe it amused her (it sounds cute, doesn't it?). 
 
deborah:
I think a large part of this scene was just Jo being tired of answering the question of the proper way to pronounce "Hermione".  I found his mispronunciation comical, particularly as I could imagine Jo smiling as she wrote this bit of GoF and never thought it was indicative of Krum's intellect or character.

from J.K. Rowling official website: 
Section: F.A.Q.     How do you pronounce 'Hermione?' Her (as in 'her brain is bigger than everyone else's') + my (as in 'my brain isn't as big as that') + oh (as in 'oh, for a brain that size') + knee (as in 'I've bruised my knee'). 

This used to be the most frequently asked question of all, but it has become less so since I cunningly had Hermione tell Krum how to pronounce her name in 'Goblet of Fire'.