New Yorkers Just Can’t Spell THIS Word, And We’re Not Alone

You’d think with all the emails, texts, and autocorrect fails we deal with daily, we’d be better spellers by now. But no!

A new report shows New Yorkers are googling how to spell “different” more than any other word which, if we’re being honest, is kind of ironic.

What’s the Deal With Our Most Misspelled Word?

"Different" is the word that trips up people in the Empire State the most. Maybe it's the double “f” and “r”? Or maybe we’re just typing too fast and letting autocorrect do its thing. Either way, it’s the top-searched spelling question for New York in 2025, according to Google search data analyzed by Word Unscrambler.

Nationally, We’re All Struggling With the Basics

Turns out, New Yorkers aren’t the only ones second guessing their spelling skills. Across the country, the most commonly searched word for spelling help was “definitely” which is, let’s be honest, definitely understandable. But that’s not the only word giving people trouble.

Americans also seem to struggle with “separate,” “necessary,” “believe,” “through,” and “gorgeous.” Rounding out the top ten most misspelled words are “neighbor,” “business,” “favorite,” and “restaurant.” So if you’ve ever paused before hitting send on an email to double check any of those, just know you’re far from alone.

What Other States Can’t Spell

While we’re tripping over “different,” other states have their own struggles. For example:  Florida’s stumped by "compliment" while California fumbles "appreciation" and Tennessee is stuck on "Broccoli." And Vermont? Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. (Come on, Vermont. Overachievers.)

Blame It on Autocorrect

Experts say part of the problem is that we’ve all gotten a little too cozy with autocorrect. They call it “digital amnesia” we’re forgetting how to spell because our phones do it for us. And with words like scissors, through, and pneumonia (all full of silent letters and weird rules), it's no wonder we're double-checking online.

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So next time you catch yourself googling “how do you spell...,” just know you’re not the only one. Whether it’s different, necessary, or restaurant, we’re all relying on our good friend autocorrect a little more than we should. Maybe it’s time to dust off the dictionary app...or not. No judgment here.