Story highlights Arvind Mahankali had twice finished in third place 
 
 Winner correctly spells "tokonoma" then "knaidel" 
 
 Prize package includes $32,500 in cash and savings bonds 
 
 Arvind Mahankali, a 13-year-old eighth-grader from Bayside Hills, New York, won the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday, correctly spelling the word "knaidel." 
 
 "It means that I am retiring on a good note," said Mahankali, who attends Nathaniel Hawthorne Middle School 74 and was in his last year of eligibility. "I shall spend the summer, maybe the entire day, studying physics." 
 
 Mahankali, who wants to become a physicist, had finished third in the two previous national bees, being eliminated after misspelling words with German roots. 
 
 "I thought that the German curse had turned into a German blessing," he said, when asked what he thought when he heard the final word, a German-derived Yiddish word for a type of dumpling. 
 
 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee – Arvind Mahankali, a 13-year-old from Bayside Hills, New York, won the Scripps National Spelling Bee, spelling "knaidel," a dumpling, on May 30. Definitions for the words spelled were taken from Merriam-Webster. Take a look back at previous winners Hide Caption 1 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee – Confetti falls on Mahankali after he won the bee. Hide Caption 2 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee – Mahankali holds his trophy while speaking to reporters after his victory. Hide Caption 3 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Scripps National Spelling Bee – The contest started with 281 contestants from eight nations, narrowed down to 11 spellers for the championship round. This year brought a new challenge for the contestants. For the first time, the bee instituted vocabulary tests during the first and fourth rounds. The competition took place at Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. Hide Caption 4 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee – The final three competitors, Pranav Sivakuma, left, Sriram J. Hathwar, center, and Arvind V. Mahankali chat as former competitors' chairs are removed from the stage. Hide Caption 5 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee – Sriram J. Hathwar, representing New York, waves goodbye after misspelling "ptyalagogue," during the championship round on May 30. Hide Caption 6 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee – Amber Born, representing Massachusetts, misspelled "hallali," a huntsman's bugle call, during the championship round on May 30. Hide Caption 7 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee – Vismaya J. Kharkar, representing Utah, was eliminated from the championship round on May 30, after mispelling "paryphodrome," which describes leaf venation that has a vein that closely follows the margin. Hide Caption 8 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee – Syamantak Payra, representing Texas, was eliminated during the champtionship round when he mispelled "cipollino," a light-colored Roman marble, on May 30. Hide Caption 9 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee – Chetan G. Reddy, representing Texas, reacts after misspelling "kaburi," a land crab common to mangrove swamps, during the championship round on May 30. Hide Caption 10 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Scripps National Spelling Bee – Finalists line up after being announced ahead of the final round on Thursday, May 30. Only 11 contestants will compete in the final. Hide Caption 11 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Scripps National Spelling Bee – Jonathan Caldwell, representing Tennessee, reacts to misspelling "pergameneous," meaning to resemble parchment, in the sixth round on May 30. Hide Caption 12 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Scripps National Spelling Bee – Lucas Michael Urbanski, from Illinois, waits to compete during the semifinals on Thursday, May 30. Urbanski spelled "parvanimity," the state of having a little or ignoble mind, in round five. Hide Caption 13 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Scripps National Spelling Bee – Amber Born of Marblehead, Massachusetts, celebrates after she spells "pediculicide," an agent for destroying lice, in round five on May 30. Hide Caption 14 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Scripps National Spelling Bee – Joseph Kirkpatrick, from Indiana, reacts after misspelling "ignimbrite," a hard rock formed from volcanic ash, in the fifth round on May 30. Hide Caption 15 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Scripps National Spelling Bee – Isabel Cholbi, right, of San Bernardina, California, celebrates after spelling "telergy," in round five on May 30. Telergy is the hypothetical action of one person's thoughts and desires on the brain of a different person via an unknown form of energy transmission. Hide Caption 16 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Scripps National Spelling Bee – Dylan O'Connor of Alexandria Bay, New York, smiles after spelling "acervation," which means a heaping up, in round three on Wednesday, May 29. Hide Caption 17 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Scripps National Spelling Bee – Mollie J. Symons of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, returns to her seat after spelling "ombrology," a branch of meteorology dealing with rain, in round three on May 29. Hide Caption 18 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Scripps National Spelling Bee – Abram Mikhaeel Goda, left, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, hi-fives Himanvi Kopuri of Denver, Colorado, after he spells "nomenclative," of or relating to name or the act of naming, in round three on May 29. Hide Caption 19 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Scripps National Spelling Bee – Zander Reed of Ankeny, Iowa, reaches to adjust the microphone before spelling "blottesque" in the third round on May 29. Blottesque means to be painted with blot-like brushwork. Hide Caption 20 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Scripps National Spelling Bee – Eboseremhen Eigbe of Galloway, New Jersey, is comforted by his father after he misspelling the word "meiosis" during the third round on May 29. Meiosis is the complex nuclear process that results in the production of cells (as gametes) with half the number of chromosomes of the original cell. Hide Caption 21 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Scripps National Spelling Bee – Alexander Schembra of Lillington, North Carolina, lowers the microphone before attempting, and failing, to spell "Beethovenian" during round three on May 29. Beethovenian is an adjective used to describe things that are related to or characteristic of Ludwig van Beethoven, his works or musical style. Hide Caption 22 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Scripps National Spelling Bee – Minka Gill of Kokomo, Indiana, spells "corpuscle" during round two on May 29. A corpuscle mean a minute or elementary particle or a living cell that is isolated and not a continuous part of other tissue -- like a red or white blood cell. Hide Caption 23 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Scripps National Spelling Bee – Kennith Gonzalez of Union City, New Jersey, yawns during round two on May 29. Kennith correctly spelled "tarragon." Tarragon is a European wormwood grown for it's aromatic foliage used in making pickles and vinegar. Hide Caption 24 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Scripps National Spelling Bee – Mollie J. Symons of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, smiles as she spells "charpoy" in the second round on May 29. A charpoy is a bed made of a frame strung with light rope or tape, typically found in India. Hide Caption 25 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Scripps National Spelling Bee – Aleena Boby, in front, of Fort Myers, Florida, spelled "galjoen," an African fish, and Grace Remmer, behind, of St. Augustine, Florida, spelled "repertoire," a set of skills, devices, or knowledge possessed by a person, on May 29. Hide Caption 26 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Scripps National Spelling Bee – Parents wave to the competitors on May 29. Hide Caption 27 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Scripps National Spelling Bee – Katie Peterson of Palm Desert, California, concentrates as she spells "kirtle" on May 29. A kirtle is long tunic or coat-like garment. Hide Caption 28 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Scripps National Spelling Bee – Spellers wait for their turn on May 29. Hide Caption 29 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Scripps National Spelling Bee – Zerin Wetzel of Fort Irwin, California, reacts as she fails to spell "commissar" on May 29. A commissar is most commonly defined as a Communist Party official responsible for teaching party principles and policies and ensuring party loyalty. Hide Caption 30 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Scripps National Spelling Bee – Lucas Michael Urbanski of Crystal Lake, Illinois, waits his turn on May 29. Urbanski later spelled "hartebeest," a large African antelope that was nearly exterminated. Hide Caption 31 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Scripps National Spelling Bee – Giabao Tonthat of Escondido, California, spells "Qatari," a person living in Qatar, on May 29. Hide Caption 32 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Scripps National Spelling Bee – Vanya Shivashankar of Olathe, Kansas, younger sister of 2009 Bee champion Kavya Shivashankar , waits her turn on May 29. Shivashankar later spelled "intaglio," a figure or design created as an impression below the surface level of stone or similar material. Hide Caption 33 of 33 
 
 Photos: National Spelling Bee champions Photos: National Spelling Bee champions Vanya Shivashankar, left, of Olathe, Kansas, and Gokul Venkatachalam of St. Louis hold up the trophy after being declared co-winners of the 2015 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Vanya correctly spelled the word "scherenschnitte" and Gokul correctly spelled the word "nunatak." Hide Caption 1 of 18 Photos: National Spelling Bee champions Ansun Sujoe, left, and Sriram Hathwar became co-champions of the 2014 Scripps National Spelling Bee competition Sujoe spelled the word "feuilleton" and Hathwar spelled the word "stichomythia." They both spelled their words correctly as they exhausted the words on the bee's list, becoming the first co-champions since 1962. Hide Caption 2 of 18 Photos: National Spelling Bee champions Arvind Mahankali won the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee after spelling "knaidel," which is a dumpling. Click through to see the rest of the winners from the past 15 years. The definitions of their winning words are from the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Hide Caption 3 of 18 Photos: National Spelling Bee champions Snigdha Nandipati won in 2012 with the word "guetapens," which means an ambush. Hide Caption 4 of 18 Photos: National Spelling Bee champions Sukanya Roy won in 2011 with the word "cymotrichous," an adjective that means "having the hair wavy." Hide Caption 5 of 18 Photos: National Spelling Bee champions Anamika Veeramani won in 2010 with the word "stromuhr," which is an instrument that measures the amount and speed of blood flow through an artery. Hide Caption 6 of 18 Photos: National Spelling Bee champions Kavya Shivashankar won in 2009 when she correctly spelled "laodicean," which means lukewarm or indifferent, particularly in matters of politics or religion. Hide Caption 7 of 18 Photos: National Spelling Bee champions Sameer Mishra won in 2008 with the word "guerdon," which is a reward or recompense. Hide Caption 8 of 18 Photos: National Spelling Bee champions Evan O'Dorney won in 2007 with the word "serrefine," small forceps used for clamping a blood vessel. Hide Caption 9 of 18 Photos: National Spelling Bee champions Katharine Close won in 2006 by correctly spelling "ursprache," a language that is reconstructed from evidence of later languages. Hide Caption 10 of 18 Photos: National Spelling Bee champions Anurag Kashyap won in 2005 with the word "appoggiatura," a smaller embellishing note or tone that precedes a melodic note or tone. Hide Caption 11 of 18 Photos: National Spelling Bee champions David Tidmarsh won in 2004 with the word "autochthonous," an adjective that means indigenous or native. Hide Caption 12 of 18 Photos: National Spelling Bee champions Sai R. Gunturi won in 2003 with the word "pococurante," meaning indifferent or nonchalant. Hide Caption 13 of 18 Photos: National Spelling Bee champions Pratyush Buddiga won in 2002 with the word "prospicience," which is the act of looking forward or having foresight. Hide Caption 14 of 18 Photos: National Spelling Bee champions Sean Conley won in 2001 with "succedaneum," defined as "a substitute." Hide Caption 15 of 18 Photos: National Spelling Bee champions George Abraham Thampy won in 2000 with the French word "démarche," meaning a course of action, typically in politics. Hide Caption 16 of 18 Photos: National Spelling Bee champions Nupur Lala won in 1999 with the word "logorrhea," meaning excessive and incoherent talkativeness or wordiness. Hide Caption 17 of 18 Photos: National Spelling Bee champions Jody-Anne Maxwell won in 1998 after correctly spelling "chiaroscurist," which is an artist who specializes in chiaroscuro, or contrasting the effects of light and shade in a work of art. Hide Caption 18 of 18 
 
 JUST WATCHED Changes coming to spelling bee Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Changes coming to spelling bee 01:28 
 
 Pranav Sivakumar, a 13-year-old from Tower Lakes, Illinois, finished second. He missed on "cyanophycean" before Mahankali nailed "tokonoma" and "knaidel" for the victory. 
 
 The annual contest offers the winner a healthy dose of classroom cred, $32,500 in cash and savings bonds, a trophy and a library of reference materials. 
 
 Eleven million schoolchildren participated in preliminaries leading up to the national contest this week. Of those, 281 children made the trip to Oxon Hill, Maryland, just outside Washington, for the national bee. Eleven spellers made it through to the finals. 
 
 Among them were 63 children who had been to at least one national bee before, and had to prepare for some changes in the rules for this year's events. 
 
 For the first time, participants had to demonstrate proficiency in vocabulary in addition to spelling. 
 
 Organizers also added an additional computer test for the semifinals, imposed time limits on computer-based spelling and vocabulary tests and added a rule that resulted in automatic elimination for any participant who misspelled a word on stage in the second or third rounds. ||||| Arvind Mahankali of Bayside Hills, N.Y., correctly spells knaidel to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee. (Photo: Jack Gruber, USA TODAY) Story Highlights Mahankali has struggled with German words at past bees 
 
 'The words are extremely hard,' he says 
 
 The 13-year-old says he will study physics 
 
 FORT WASHINGTON, Md. — Arms behind his back in his signature stance, Arvind Mahankali spells on his hand, looking up at the pronouncer as he correctly spells "tokonoma." 
 
 "Arvind, since you are the only speller left in this round, if you spell correctly this next word you will be declared the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion," head judge Mary Brooks says from the judges table. 
 
 Tracing letters on his hand with his finger, Arvind confidently looks up and spells a word meaning a small mass of leavened dough: "k-n-a-i-d-e-l." 
 
 German words have led Arvind, 13, of Bayside Hills, N.Y., to his spelling-bee demise for the past two years, when he twice placed third at the bee. 
 
 "Arvind, you are the champion," Brooks announced as confetti shot over his head, covering the stage. 
 
 It was the first time since 2008 that a boy won the Scripps National Spelling Bee. 
 
 "The words were extremely hard," Arvind said. "The German curse has turned into a German blessing." 
 
 It was a stressful three days of computerized spelling and vocabulary quizzes and round after round of spelling on stage. It didn't make it any easier that ESPN was broadcasting. 
 
 Jumpy spellers had to pause for commercial breaks, ignore cameras in their faces and listen as anchors joked about struggling through the addition of vocabulary quizzes to this year's bee. 
 
 All the pomp and circumstance did little to calm the nerves of the final spellers. The "spellebrities," as they were dubbed by spelling bee staff, started with 281 contenders Tuesday morning. By Thursday's semifinals, 42 remained. 
 
 Arvind Mahankali of Bayside Hills, N.Y., shows the trophy he won at the national spelling bee. (Photo: Jack Gruber, USA TODAY) 
 
 At 8 p.m. Thursday, in front of families, friends and the world, 11 finalists took the stage. When Arvind walked away the winner, he took with him a shiny engraved trophy and the title of "champion." He also received $30,000 in cash, a $2,500 U.S. savings bond from Merriam-Webster and $2,000 worth of reference works from Encyclopedia Britannica. 
 
 The bee, while often intense, wasn't all serious. ESPN taped fake AT&T commercials with the spellers and did short video bits on some of them. Spellers shared something about their lives and what is interesting about themselves, aside from being a world-ranked speller. 
 
 The champion isn't allowed to return to spell at the bee, but Arvind already knows how he will fill his time. "I will spend the entire day studying physics," he said, drawing a laugh from the crowd. "I am retiring on a good note." 
 
 As for the rest of the spellers? Back to studying in hopes of making it to next year's bee. 
 
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– This year's National Spelling Bee winner is a 13-year-old eighth-grader from New York. Arvind Mahankali triumphed on the word "knaidel," meaning dumpling, thus conquering his trouble with German-derived words; they've knocked him out of the running in the previous two competitions. "The German curse has turned into a German blessing," he said. Mahankali became the first boy to win the contest since 2008, USA Today notes. The Scripps national contest began Tuesday in Oxon Hill, Maryland, with 281 competitors; the number was whittled down to 11 finalists in last night's bout. Along with his trophy, Mahankali gets $30,000 in cash, a US savings bond of $2,500 courtesy of Merriam-Webster, and a $2,000 collection of reference materials from Encyclopedia Britannica. So what's next for Mahankali? Not Disney World: "I shall spend the summer, maybe the entire day, studying physics," he said, per CNN.