# The champions and winning words from the last 20 years of spelling bees ## The Scripps National Spelling Bee, America’s foremost authority on children’s spelling abilities, wrapped up tonight, crowning Ananya Vinay for spelling the winning word “marocain.” While some competition words may stretch the limits of syllables most adults are comfortable memorizing, sometimes a silent letter, surprising vowel digraph or even its general obscurity are enough to make a simple sounding word challenging. Take for example like 2013’s deceptively difficult winning word: “knaidel,” the Yiddish word for matzo ball. You can read through the [bee’s winning words dating back to 1925](http://spellingbee.com/about-the-bee) at their website. Here are all the winners of the past two decades, and the word they had to spell to take home the championship trophy. ## 2016: Co-champions Jairam Hathwar and Nihar Janga – Feldenkrais, gesellschaft ## 2015: Co-champions Gokul Venkatachalam and Vanya Shivashankar – nunatak, scherenschnitte ## 2014: Co-champions Ansun Sujoe and Sriram Hathwar – feuilleton, stichomythia ## 2013: Arvind Mahankali – knaidel ## 2012: Snigdha Nandipati – guetapens ## 2011: Sukanya Roy – cymotrichous ## 2010: Anamika Veeramani – stromuhr ## 2009: Kavya Shivashankar – Laodicean ## 2008: Sameer Mishra – guerdon ## 2007: Evan M. O’Dorney – serrefine ## 2006: Kerry Close – Ursprache ## 2005: Anurag Kashyap – appoggiatura ## 2004: David Tidmarsh – autochthonous ## 2003: Sai R. Gunturi – pococurante ## 2002: Pratyush Buddiga – prospicience ## 2001: Sean Conley – succedaneum ## 2000: George Abraham Thampy – demarche ## 1999: Nupur Lala – logorrhea ## 1998: Jody-Anne Maxwell – chiaroscurist ## 1997: Rebecca Sealfon – euonym