It's hard for Californians to spell 'beautiful,' while Hawaiians struggle with 'grateful'

Confetti falls over Arvind Mahankali of New York after the finals of the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The next time you sit down in Missouri and forget how to spell "sincerely," take comfort in knowing that someone in Alabama is grappling with "cousin."

We can't all be spelling bee champs, but in honor of the kids who actually are competing in the 2018 Scripps National Spelling Bee this week, Google has released a list of the top "how to spell _____" searches by state. The most-searched word in 11 states is "beautiful," with residents of Arizona, Arkansas, California, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin needing assistance.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.