How Many Ways To Spell Hanukkah In English

But times are changing even in the way the jewish holiday of lights is celebrated and understood and the hanukkah spelling has gone mainstream.

How many ways to spell hanukkah in english. Is it hanukkah or chanukah. There are 16 ways to spell hanukkah. There are many ways to spell it the most unique one being khanaka.

In hebrew the word hanukkah is written ח נ כ ה or ח נו כ ה ḥănukkāh it is most commonly transliterated to english as hanukkah or chanukah the former spelling hanukkah which is based on using characters of the english alphabet as symbols to re create the word s correct spelling in hebrew is the most common and the preferred choice of merriam webster. The term has over 26 7 million hits on google way more than the other variations combined and it s the primary spelling used by merriam webster. Why there are so many ways to spell hanukkah english is a language notorious for its strange spellings and its speakers are more willing to tolerate aberrations than are speakers of other languages.

It is all based on the translation and how the different words sound in different languages. Chanukah was at one time the preferred spelling and remains so among traditionalists. But chanukah is more traditional.

Depending upon the religion you are you may be used to one or two different spellings of the word. In addition more than 20 other variations are recorded. Most individuals that celebrate the festival of lights prefer to spell it chanukah.

As of this writing hanukkah is the most common english spelling judging from among other things google hits. None of these choices are inherently superior and tastes and styles change over time. I saw it spelled hanoukah in one question.

How do you spell that in english. The answer is that both are considered correct though hanukkah is the most widely used spelling while chanukah is more traditional. In english there are only 2 standard.