EASTVALE – In her second try at the national title, seventh-grader Victoria Li, from Dr. Augustine Ramirez Intermediate School in Eastvale, advanced to the semifinals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington on Wednesday, before being eliminated when she misspelled “zinke.”

Zinke (pronounced zink-uh) is a historical European musical instrument, often described as the cornett in English. But you knew that. Victoria misspelled it “zinka.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Victoria was one of 54 spellers remaining in the competition out of the original field of 247 from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, Canada, Ghana, Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates and a Department of Defense school in Germany.

She began Wednesday’s quarterfinals at Constitution Hall by correctly spelling theatrocracy, a noun meaning government by the people assembled in their theater, as in the Athenian democracy, according to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary. Common knowledge, yes?

Victoria then correctly answered the multiple-choice vocabulary question, “a profusion is,” by selecting “an overpowering quantity.” A vocabulary question is asked in the second round in each of the bee’s four segments.

Parisienne, Victoria’s sixth-round word, is a noun meaning a Parisian woman or girl.

Victoria began the competition on Tuesday by correctly spelling hoi polloi, a plural noun meaning the general populace. She was then asked the vocabulary question, “Opacity means?” and correctly chose “lack of transparency or translucency.”

Victoria then joined the other spellers who advanced to the third round in taking a 30-question spelling and vocabulary test, with each correct answer worth one point. The test reduced the field from 167 to 95.

Victoria qualified for the national bee by winning the Riverside County Spelling Bee for the second consecutive year, correctly spelling “ejecta” — meaning to expel an object, as from an eruption — as her final word.

She was eliminated in the sixth round of the 2025 National Spelling Bee when she misspelled ablegate, giving the fourth letter of the noun meaning a papal envoy on a special mission as an “i” instead of an “e.” Victoria was among 16 spellers tying for 58th.

The 12-year-old’s hobbies are archery, writing and reading. She also loves playing the clarinet and doing anything that is hands-on. In her free time, she enjoys improvising songs, experimenting with different instruments and spending time in her garden, especially climbing trees, according to biographical information supplied by bee organizers.

Her favorite thing in the world is school because she loves learning new things and being around the people she enjoys. Swans are her favorite animal; croquembouche, a cone-shaped stack of cream puffs coated with caramelized sugar, is her favorite word; and “Sunrise on the Reaping” is her favorite book.