NPR Blogs

The Bee's Knees: There's A New Spelling Champion

By NPR Staff

Published May 31, 2012 at 6:57 PM EDT

1 of 13 — With confetti falling, Snigdha Nandipati, 14, is embraced by her brother, Sujan Nandipati, after she won the National Spelling Bee with the word "guetapens" Thursday.

With confetti falling, Snigdha Nandipati, 14, is embraced by her brother, Sujan Nandipati, after she won the National Spelling Bee with the word "guetapens" Thursday.

2 of 13 — Emma Ciereszynski, 14, of Dover, N.H., shrugs after misspelling a word in the finals of the contest.

Emma Ciereszynski, 14, of Dover, N.H., shrugs after misspelling a word in the finals of the contest.

3 of 13 — Lena Greenberg, 14, of Philadelphia, is eliminated during the finals Thursday.

Lena Greenberg, 14, of Philadelphia, is eliminated during the finals Thursday.

4 of 13 — Sam Lowery, of Charlestown, Mass., spells his word in the air during Round 2 of the National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., on Wednesday.

Sam Lowery, of Charlestown, Mass., spells his word in the air during Round 2 of the National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., on Wednesday.

5 of 13 — Vanya Shivashankar, 10, of Olathe, Kansas, spells a word during the semifinals on Thursday.

Vanya Shivashankar, 10, of Olathe, Kansas, spells a word during the semifinals on Thursday.

6 of 13 — Spelling contestants walk back onto the stage for the third round of the National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., on Wednesday.

Spelling contestants walk back onto the stage for the third round of the National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., on Wednesday.

7 of 13 — Nathan Dugan, of Canton, Ohio, spells "cantankerous."

Nathan Dugan, of Canton, Ohio, spells "cantankerous."

8 of 13 — Lena Greenberg, 14, of Philadelphia, spells out a word in the air.

Lena Greenberg, 14, of Philadelphia, spells out a word in the air.

9 of 13 — Jae Canetti of Fairfax, Va., concentrates on his word "habendum" during the semifinal round on Thursday.

Jae Canetti of Fairfax, Va., concentrates on his word "habendum" during the semifinal round on Thursday.

10 of 13 — Mignon Tsai, 12, of Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, reacts as she misspells a word during Round 5 of the semifinals on Thursday.

Mignon Tsai, 12, of Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, reacts as she misspells a word during Round 5 of the semifinals on Thursday.

11 of 13 — Abigail Violet Spitzer of El Paso, Texas, reacts after spelling her word "tondino" correctly during Thursday's semifinal round.

Abigail Violet Spitzer of El Paso, Texas, reacts after spelling her word "tondino" correctly during Thursday's semifinal round.

12 of 13 — Despite looking nervous, Simola Nayak, 13, of DeKalb County, Ga., spells a word correctly in Round 5 of the semifinals on Thursday.

Despite looking nervous, Simola Nayak, 13, of DeKalb County, Ga., spells a word correctly in Round 5 of the semifinals on Thursday.

13 of 13 — Vismaya Kharkar, 13, of Bountiful, Utah, is jubilant after spelling "allothogenic" correctly.

Vismaya Kharkar, 13, of Bountiful, Utah, is jubilant after spelling "allothogenic" correctly.

Snigdha Nandipati, 14, of San Diego has been crowned the champion in the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Her winning word was "guetapens," a French-derived word for "an ambush, snare or trap."

A very calm Snigdha beat eight other finalists, including her last competitor, Stuti Mishra, 14, of West Melbourne, Fla. Stuti got tripped up on the word "schwarmerei."

The winner got $30,000 in cash, a trophy, a $2,500 savings bond, a $5,000 scholarship, $2,600 in reference works from the Encyclopedia Britannica and an online language course.

A group of us here at NPR (including our copy chief Susan Vavrick) watched and live-chatted the Bee. You can read our conversation below:

The Bee's Knees: There's A New Spelling Champion

You make NHPR possible.