Schwyzer, zenaida, clafouti: Merriam-Webster reveals the hardest words to spell in the English language ahead of the National Spelling Bee
- Merriam-Webster have revealed which words are most commonly misspelled in the final round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee
- They partnered with language app Babbel and analyzed a decade of data to uncover the results
- Words of French origin are the most likely to be misspelled, with several students also tripping up on Germanic-based words
- The 92nd Scripps National Spelling Bee will be held in Washington, D.C. this coming weekend
The Scripps National Spelling Bee is set to kick off in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, with America's brainiest students battling it out for a $50,000 prize.
Ahead of the Bee, Merriam-Webster has revealed the words most likely to send students packing in the final round of the competition.
The company partnered with language app Babbel to analyze a decade of data from previous Spelling Bees in order to uncover the most commonly misspelled words - and the results were surprising.
In a press release, Merriam Webster's Peter Sokolowski revealed that words derived from the French language were most likely to eliminate contestants.
Partnering with Babel, Merriam-Webster has revealed the words most likely to send students packing in the final round of the competition of the Scripps National Spelling Bee
He explained: 'English has always borrowed words from other languages, and once they are found in our dictionaries they are considered to be English words'.
While some French words on the list are the names of pastries, they're much much harder to spell than both baguette or croissant.
Merriam Webster's list includes clafouti (a baked dessert consisting of a layer of fruit) and pissaladière (a pastry topped with olives, onions and anchovies).
Merriam Webster's list includes clafouti, which is a baked dessert consisting of a layer of fruit
Meanwhile, words of a Germanic origin also undo many students who make it to the final round.
Words that capture specific human emotions and that are of German origin, are often used in everyday conversation, including wanderlust and schadenfraude.
But competitors have been booted after failing to accurately spell less frequently used words, such a bewusstseinslage (a feeling devoid of the senses) and schwärmerei (a feeling of excessive enthusiasm).
Meanwhile, many of the most common dog breeds are also of German origin, and have been adopted into the English language.
These include dachshund, schnauzer and doberman.
But many contestants are unable to spell out the name of more rare breed of German dog - the drahthaar.
The wire-haired pointer has sent several students home from the competition.
Many contestants were unable to spell out drahthaar - a breed of dog originating in Germany
The 92nd Scripps National Spelling Bee will be held in Washington, D.C. this coming weekend
