You Won’t Believe What Word Arizona Misspells the Most

If you have trouble with spelling in general, living in Arizona probably doesn't help. There are a lot of words we use for place names that can challenge even the most adept speller.

What are the Most Commonly Misspelled Words in Arizona?

I used to be pretty good at spelling. Lately, I'll admit that I've started to rely on autocorrect and spell-checkers, and they've made me lazy, cutting into a skill I've had since about third grade.

These days, it takes me three or four tries before I can spell a word as simple as callender calender calendar correctly. If I'm writing something out longhand with pen and paper, there's no telling what you'll see written, crossed out, and then just "whatevered" on the paper before I give up and hope for the best.

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I know I'm not alone. It turns out that my friends and neighbors in Arizona, and most of the internet, have trouble spelling quite a few words we commonly use here. Arizona's schoolchildren have to learn words like saguaro and cholla when writing about cacti (cactuses??).

Last year's Word of the Year was polarization, according to Merriam-Webster. I think that word applies to those who can spell and those who can spell not (not spell??) in our state. And honestly, I don't think it's our fault.

Even Arizona natives disagree on how to pronounce THIS city: How Do You Pronounce Casa Grande, Arizona?

Place Names in Arizona: Why are They So Difficult?

Words like Ajo and Ruthrauff are memorized for those times you have to give directions in Tucson. If you've ever tried to tackle spelling words like Huachuca, Cochise, and Pima and wrestled with them, you know what I'm talking about. So why does Arizona have so much trouble with these commonly used words? Well, everyone does, even Arizona natives!