Who is Faizan Zaki? All we know about the 13-year-old boy who won the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee

Faizan Zaki is a 13-year-old Indian-American boy who won the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee. He is the son of Zaki Anwar and Arshia Quadri. Zaki is currently in the seventh grade and is attending C.M. Rice Middle School. Faizan has competed in the spelling bee four times over the years, but this is his first time winning the title. Before this, he competed against his friend and came in second place.

Along with the Scripps National Spelling Bee cup, Faizan also won a $50,000 cash prize. Before the final round, the young bee almost fumbled on the word "commelina," which is a genus for over 200 species of day flowers. The word which won him the competition was "eclaircissement," which is French for enlightenment, clarification, or explanation. The moment he got the word correct, he sank to the floor with joy.

As mentioned, this is not Faizan Zaki's first time on the spelling bee stage. He started spelling bee competitions from a tender age of seven years old, when he placed 370th in 2019. Four years later, in 2023, he competed again and came in 21st with a tie. Faizan participated again the next year and almost won, securing second place in 2024.

Praise for Faizan Zaki from family, mentors, and friends

According to Arshia Quadri, Faizan's mother, he has always been impressive since he was a child. She told The New York Times that her son had learned to read at the age of two and knew all the countries and their capitals by the age of three.

She also told ABC Action News:

"He loves it. I mean he loves the learning and words, and so that has been like, you know, it's just been very easy... We just want him to be happy and, you know, experience that. You know the whole experience of going to the bee."

His father, Zaki Anwar, added:

"And if he can spell a few words there and get to a few rounds, then good for him, that would be amazing."

In another statement, his father also said:

"He’s the GOAT. I actually believe that. He’s really good, man. He’s been doing it for so long, and he knows the dictionary in and out."

Faizan Zaki is different from many other contestants in the spelling bee. He often does not take his time to ask thorough questions, or for more details about the words he is supposed to spell. He almost lost the 2025 spelling bee for this reason.

Sam Evans, one of Zaki's spelling coaches, said:

"He’s crazy. He’s having a good time, and he’s doing what he loves, which is spelling."

Corrie Loeffler, the executive director of the spelling bee, said that Zaki's performance was:

"about the most exciting ending I’ve ever seen."

Besides spelling bee, Faizan Zaki also enjoys playing games, hanging out with friends, speed-solving Rubik's cubes, linguistics, and is currently learning French. He also has a passion for science. During an interview with a local news station, he said:

"My favourite thing about astronomy is hypothetical objects like carbon stars and quasi stars."

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