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Hey Google, How Do You Spell...Words?

Spelling is hard, even for the most articulate. How many “S”s are in Mississippi? Is it “there,” “their,” or “they’re”? What does “I” before “E” except after “C” even mean? Even some of the most commonly used words can make us break our pencil or keyboard as we stumble over our letters. While the internet is full of answers to some of life’s most important questions, we’ve been asking Google to help us spell words that are both simple in some respects and complicated in others. Whether we’re getting our resume together for our next job opportunity or writing a letter to our best friends, proper spelling is essential when we want to be taken seriously.

We at AT&T Experts reviewed the top searched "how to spell" words by state from March 24, 2020 to March 24, 2021 using Google Trends. After diving into these numbers, we see each state has its own spelling struggles, though there is some commonality across the US. And while some of these entries may surprise you, others definitly definitely will not.

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How DO You Spell The Most Misspelled Words In America?

Google inquiryNumber of statesCorrect spellingMost common misspelling
How to spell quarantine12quarantinecorn teen
How to spell favorite7favoritefavourite
How to spell coronavirus6coronavirusCaronavirus
How to spell which5whichwich, witch
How to spell every3everyevary
How to spell believe3believebeleive
How to spell definitely3definitelydefinitly, definately, defiantly
How to spell separate2separateseperate
How to spell eighty1eightyeigty
How to spell receive1receiverecieve
How to spell government1governmentgoverment
How to spell pharaoh1pharaohparaoh, pharoh
How to spell piece1piecepeace
How to spell multiplication1multiplicationmultiplycation
How to spell watch1watchwhatch
How to spell exercise1exerciseexcersice
How to spell confident1confidentconfidant
How to spell succeed1succeedsuceed

It makes sense that at the height of a global pandemic, "quarantine" and "coronavirus" were in the top three of most searched misspelled words. But while those seem like no-brainers, common words like "every" and "which" still broke into the top 10 as well. Let's take a deeper look at some of these common spelling mistakes.

Interesting finds

  • "Quarantine" was the most searched misspelled word, with 12 states struggling to find the correct spelling. No, “corn teen” is not a new nickname for a teenager really into the yellow vegetable. "Coronavirus" also broke into the top three with six states trying to find the correct letters for the contagious disease.
  • We hope the people overseas don’t get mad at us, but “favorite” was searched multiple times by many people across 7 states. A common misspelling in the United States is actually the correct spelling in the UK. We see “U” over there.
  • The following words might hit too close to home. Common words like "which," "every," and "believe" all seem to have given us some struggles over our lifetimes. Together, they accounted for 11 states searching how to spell these words the most.
  • Residents of Washington, DC were trying to find spelling success but couldn't quite figure out how many C's were in "succeed."
  • Some other notable top searched misspelled words in states included “receive” (Arkansas), “watch” (Maine), and “piece” (Idaho).

The Most Misspelled Words By State

State"How to spell..."
AlabamaHow to spell which
AlaskaHow to spell eighty
ArizonaHow to spell which
ArkansasHow to spell receive
CaliforniaHow to spell separate
ColoradoHow to spell quarantine
ConnecticutHow to spell quarantine
DelawareHow to spell government
District of ColumbiaHow to spell succeed
FloridaHow to spell pharaoh
GeorgiaHow to spell favorite
HawaiiHow to spell every
IdahoHow to spell piece
IllinoisHow to spell coronavirus
IndianaHow to spell quarantine
IowaHow to spell favorite
KansasHow to spell multiplication
KentuckyHow to spell favorite
LouisianaHow to spell which
MaineHow to spell watch
MarylandHow to spell favorite
MassachusettsHow to spell quarantine
MichiganHow to spell coronavirus
MinnesotaHow to spell quarantine
MississippiHow to spell every
MissouriHow to spell quarantine
MontanaHow to spell every
NebraskaHow to spell believe
NevadaHow to spell quarantine
New HampshireHow to spell definitely
New JerseyHow to spell coronavirus
New MexicoHow to spell favorite
New YorkHow to spell definitely
North CarolinaHow to spell exercise
North DakotaHow to spell believe
OhioHow to spell favorite
OklahomaHow to spell which
OregonHow to spell quarantine
PennsylvaniaHow to spell coronavirus
Rhode IslandHow to spell separate
South CarolinaHow to spell which
South DakotaHow to spell believe
TennesseeHow to spell quarantine
TexasHow to spell confident
UtahHow to spell definitely
VermontHow to spell coronavirus
VirginiaHow to spell favorite
WashingtonHow to spell quarantine
West VirginiaHow to spell coronavirus
WisconsinHow to spell quarantine
WyomingHow to spell quarantine

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