Letter imperfect: What words do we mispel, uh, misspell the most?
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Chippewa Local speller Zach Yeager prepares for national bee
Zach Yeager, a student at Chippewa Junior/Senior High School in Doylestown, is busy preparing for the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Oddly, "misspell," a not-particularly easy word to spell, is not on a recently released list of words Americans most often misspell.
But as the Scripps National Spelling Bee gets underway, a study by WordUnscrambler.pro, an online tool for Scrabble players and others who play word games, finds that Americans have a hard time spelling a host of other words.
Using Google Trends search data from the start of the year through May 19 for "How do you spell ..." and "How to spell ...," analysts found that we definitely can't spell "definitely." We can't separate our impulse to misspell "separate" from search engine inquiries. And we somehow find it necessary to Google the spelling of "necessary."
Those are the top three hard-to-spell words, respectively, according to WordUnscrambler's analysis.
You won't believe what else is on the list. Or maybe you will.
What does a Google analysis reveal about spelling miscues?
At least two words with the challenging i-e combination made the list of most-misspelled words: "believe," which came in at No. 4, and "neighbor," at No. 7.
There were 33,500 searches for "definitely," 30,000 for "separate" and 29,000 for "necessary." "Through" seems to be a troublesome word, with 28,000 searches.
But maybe we can also take some solace in a polarized nation in some other words on the list: We may be complimenting one another a lot, because "gorgeous" is No. 6 on the list. And we obviously care about our "neighbors," even if that e-i-or-i-e thing gives us fits.
Google took root with a misspelling
Google's own origin story includes a misspelling: Creators Sergei Brin and Larry Page originally called their search engine Backrub. But Page had a better idea (it might have been hard to think of a worse one): googol, or a "1" followed by 100 zeroes, or, if you're into exponents, 10 to the 100th power. Page misspelled it, and Google, the search engine, was born.
The search engine's ubiquity, though, has made "google" a verb as well as a proper noun. And that popularity comes in large part because of its utility in helping us find some of our "favorite" (No. 9 on the list of most misspelled words) things.
The things we search for most may be some of the things we misspell most often: "business" is No. 8 on the list and "restaurant" is No. 10 for misspelled searches.
What do people in your state misspell the most?
Alabama, Kansas, New York and Wisconsin all want to be "different," while Arkansans just want a good "quesadilla." Colorado, home to six U.S. military bases, seems to search "sergeant" a lot, and Delaware, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming are all looking for someone or something that's "beautiful."
Californians and Washingtonians (of the state variety) are looking for "appreciation," and people in Montana and New Mexico want to "appreciate" whatever it is that they appreciate.
Contrary to their prickly reputations, New Jerseyans like to say "Congratulations," as do the folks in Illinois. Floridians like to "compliment" people. And in Arizona, Kentucky, South Carolina and Virginia, they're just looking for, well, "people."
Maine is concerned with "pneumonia," and who can blame them? In Alaska, they can't stop thinking about "tomorrow," and in Connecticut, they're apparently on a strict "schedule."
North Carolinians are keeping a "secret," while they're merely "protective" in New Hampshire (and in Texas, where the spelling of "protect" is searched most often). They're evidently practicing their "crochet" skills in Ohio, but practicing "patience" in Oklahoma.
No one should be running with "scissors" in Pennsylvania. But folks everywhere, including in Tennessee, should eat their "broccoli" to stay strong.
Some states contributed to the top words on the list, including "definitely" (Idaho and Utah), "necessary" (Georgia), "through" (Iowa and Louisiana) and "business" (Oregon). In Indiana, they're wondering what's being "taught," while Nevadans are concerned with "school." Maryland is searching for "character," and Minnesota wants to be "successful."
In Michigan, they're starting from "scratch" but feeling the heat in Missouri, where the "temperature" gets warm. Rhode Islanders are curious about what's been "cancelled" and in North Dakota, it's all about the "daughter" (because "son" is pretty easy to spell).
It's hard not to envy the people of Hawaii, though, who are thinking about the next "luau."
And what's up with you, Vermont? You just want to know how to spell "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."
Don't we all?
Do you want to share a slice of Americana with USA TODAY? Contact Phaedra Trethan by email at ptrethan@usatoday.com, on X (formerly Twitter) @wordsbyphaedra, on BlueSky @byphaedra, or on Threads @by_phaedra
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