This Is The Word That Won 13-Year-Old Faizan Zaki The US Spelling Bee
A 13-year-old Indian-American boy won the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee by correctly spelling the word "eclaircissement". Faizan Zaki, who was last year's runner-up, sealed his victory on May 29 by confidently spelling the challenging word without hesitation, then celebrated by pumping his fists and collapsing on stage as confetti fell.
The winning word "eclaircissement" is pronounced ek-lehr-see-sma and was described by Faizan as instantly recognisable. The word, of French origin, means "clarification" or "enlightenment," commonly used to indicate the clearing up of confusion.
Faizan Zaki took home $52,500 (almost Rs 45 lakh) in prize money, adding to the $25,000 (over Rs 21.3 lakh) he won as runner-up last year. He plans to donate a large part of his winnings to charity.
This win was a remarkable comeback for Faizan.
In 2024, Faizan had an almost flawless run during the conventional rounds, never misspelling a word. He lost in the tiebreaker round, a fast-paced "spell-off" where contestants spell as many words as possible in 90 seconds. That year, Faizan Khan spelled 20 words correctly but was edged out by Bruhat Soma, who spelled 29 words correctly.
The 2025 finals featured nine talented spellers, including Faizan, 11-year-old Sarv Dharavane from Georgia, and 14-year-old Sarvadnya Kadam from California.
As the contest narrowed to the final three, Mr Kadam and Mr Dharavane missed their words consecutively, putting Faizan just two words away from victory.
Faizan stumbled briefly on the word "commelina", which he ultimately corrected.
Faizan's victory adds to the long-standing success of Indian-American spellers in the Bee, with 30 of the last 36 champions from this community. The legacy began with Nupur Lala in 1999.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee celebrated its 100th anniversary this year and introduced new rules to reduce early tiebreakers, allowing a longer, more competitive final round.
Faizan Zaki has been spelling for most of his life. He first competed in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 2019 when he was just 7 years old, getting in through a wild-card programme that no longer exists. He came back in 2023 and reached the semifinals, then finished as runner-up in 2024.
Faizan says his love for words and constant enthusiasm have driven his success. He also credits his three coaches - Scott Remer, Sam Evans, and Sohum Sukhantankar.
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