I know we just talked about words yesterday. They are wonderful and necessary. They make up so much of our lives. But sometimes those words can be complicated.
I’ve been trying to spell ever since I started to talk.
But the thing is, the English language can be difficult. It looks simple enough until it suddenly throws a silent letter at you. Or how about those double consonants for no real reason? Knock. Knock.
Or how about when someone asks you to spell “pneumonia” before you’ve even had your first cup of coffee? Even literary legends like Agatha Christie and F. Scott Fitzgerald wrestled with spelling. So what about the rest of us? Well, at least we’re in good company.
Recently, WordUnscrambler dug into Google Trends to uncover the most commonly misspelled word in each state. They analyzed searches like “how to spell…” and compared more than 120 variations. The results are a mix of predictable, surprising, and funny words.
The clear national troublemaker? Beautiful. People can’t get it. Seven states struggled with it the most. This seems ironic to me, since the word itself is one of the prettiest in the language.
People messed up their spelling skills all across the country. Regular words. But then there’s Vermont. They weren’t wrestling with everyday vocabulary at all. Nope. Intead they were trying to spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. This tells me Vermonters either adore Mary Poppins or fear spelling bees.
There are the usual suspects. Yes, some trends make perfect sense. Words with silent letters (like pneumonia), wonky spellings (like quesadilla, crochet), or inconsistent rules (like definitely, schedule) all show up again and again.
Others are just funny surprises. Tennessee’s top struggle was broccoli. People in Hawaii can’t spell luau. Seriously. This feels like the island equivalent of misspelling your own name.
But the real takeaway? If you’ve ever stared at a word until it stopped looking real, you’re not alone. Entire states are doing the exact same thing.
We’re all spelling our way through the chaos together. Like I said. I’m still trying to spell.
Most Commonly Misspelled Word in Each State
– Alabama – Different
– Alaska – Tomorrow
– Arizona – People
– Arkansas – Quesadilla
– California – Appreciation
– Colorado – Sergeant
– Connecticut – Schedule
– Delaware – Beautiful
– Florida – Compliment
– Georgia – Necessary
– Hawaii – Luau
– Idaho – Definitely
– Illinois – Congratulations
– Indiana – Taught
– Iowa – Through
– Kansas – Different
– Kentucky – People
– Louisiana – Through
– Maine – Pneumonia
– Maryland – Character
– Massachusetts – Beautiful
– Michigan – Scratch
– Minnesota – Successful
– Mississippi – Beautiful
– Missouri – Temperature
– Montana – Appreciate
– Nebraska – Beautiful
– Nevada – School
– New Hampshire – Protective
– New Jersey – Congratulations
– New Mexico – Appreciate
– New York – Different
– North Carolina – Secret
– North Dakota – Daughter
– Ohio – Crochet
– Oklahoma – Patience
– Oregon – Business
– Pennsylvania – Scissors
– Rhode Island – Cancelled
– South Carolina – People
– South Dakota – Beautiful
– Tennessee – Broccoli
– Texas – Protect
– Utah – Definitely
– Vermont – Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
– Virginia – People
– Washington – Appreciation
– West Virginia – Beautiful
– Wisconsin – Different
– Wyoming – Beautiful
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“Spelling is thinking with letters.” — Samuel Johnson
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“Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going.” — Rita Mae Brown
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“Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about.” — Benjamin Lee Whorf
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“A synonym is a word we use when we can’t spell the first one.” — Baltasar Gracián
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