About this puzzle
Hanukkah remembers a small band of fighters, the Maccabees, who took back the Temple in Jerusalem from the Seleucid king Antiochus and rededicated it in the second century BCE. The words here follow that story and then move into the home, with the Menorah and its Shamash, the Dreidel and its Gimel, and fried treats like Latke and Sufganiyot.
This Hanukkah word search is a nice thing to have on hand for a Hebrew school class, a public school lesson on winter holidays, or a quiet night between candle lightings. Some of the words, Sufganiyot especially, are transliterated from Hebrew, so they make good spelling practice. The notes below explain each one in a sentence or two.
The 31 words in this puzzle
Every word, with a short note. Handy for teaching the vocabulary before or after solving.
In every version (12)
- Applesauce
- Applesauce and sour cream are the two classic latke toppings, and families often have a friendly debate over which one is better.
- Blessing
- Blessings are said before lighting the candles each night. On the first night, a third blessing called the Shehecheyanu gives thanks for reaching this season.
- Candle
- Counting the shamash each night, a box of 44 candles is exactly enough for all eight nights of Hanukkah.
- Dreidel
- A dreidel is a four-sided top. Its Hebrew letters stand for "A great miracle happened there." In Israel, one letter is changed so it reads "happened here."
- Gelt
- Gelt is the Yiddish word for money. Children often receive coins or chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil during Hanukkah, and they are popular stakes in dreidel games.
- Latke
- Latkes are pancakes fried in oil. Potato latkes became popular in Eastern Europe; earlier versions were often made with cheese.
- Lights
- Hanukkah is often called the Festival of Lights. The glow of the menorah grows a little brighter each night, until all eight candles and the shamash burn together on the last night.
- Menorah
- The menorah in the ancient Temple had seven branches. The Hanukkah menorah, also called a hanukkiah, holds nine candles: one for each night plus a helper candle.
- Miracle
- The Talmud tells that only one day's worth of pure oil was found in the Temple, yet it kept the menorah lit for eight days.
- Oil
- Because of the miracle of the oil, many Hanukkah foods are fried. Oil is a three-letter word, so it can be one of the trickiest to spot.
- Shamash
- Shamash means attendant or helper in Hebrew. It is the extra candle, usually set higher or apart from the rest, that is used to light the others.
- Temple
- After winning back Jerusalem, the Maccabees cleaned and rededicated the Second Temple in 164 BCE, the event Hanukkah commemorates.
Added in Medium and Hard (8)
- Dedication
- The Hebrew word Hanukkah means dedication, a reminder of the day the Maccabees rededicated the Temple in Jerusalem.
- Eight Nights
- One more candle is added each night. New candles go in from right to left, and they are lit from left to right so the newest candle is lit first.
- Gimel
- Gimel is one of the four letters on the dreidel. In the usual game, a spinner who lands on gimel wins the whole pot.
- Jerusalem
- Jerusalem was home to the Temple, the center of Jewish worship in ancient times. It is a holy city for Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
- Judah
- Judah Maccabee, a son of the priest Mattathias, led the Jewish fighters in the revolt and is the best-known hero of the Hanukkah story.
- Maccabees
- The Maccabees led a Jewish revolt against the Seleucid Empire starting around 167 BCE. Their name is often linked to the Hebrew word for hammer.
- Sour Cream
- Sour cream is the other classic latke topping, cool and tangy against hot, crispy pancakes. Many families set out both sour cream and applesauce so everyone can choose.
- Sufganiyot
- Sufganiyot are jelly-filled doughnuts fried in oil and dusted with powdered sugar. They are the most popular Hanukkah treat in Israel. One is called a sufganiyah.
Added in Hard (11)
- Antiochus
- Antiochus IV, a Seleucid king, banned Jewish religious practice and had the Temple in Jerusalem dedicated to the Greek god Zeus, sparking the Maccabean revolt.
- Hallel
- Hallel is a group of joyful psalms of praise recited in the synagogue every morning of Hanukkah, just as it is on other major Jewish festivals.
- Hanukkiah
- Hanukkiah is the Hebrew name for the nine-branched Hanukkah menorah. It is the common name in modern Israel, while many English speakers simply call it a menorah.
- Hebrew
- Hebrew is the language of the Jewish Bible and of modern Israel. The word Hanukkah, the letters on the dreidel, and the candle blessings all come from Hebrew.
- Hei
- Hei, sometimes spelled hey or he, is one of the four letters on a dreidel. In the usual game, a player who lands on it takes half of the pot.
- Kislev
- Hanukkah begins on the 25th of Kislev in the Hebrew calendar. Because that calendar follows the moon, the holiday usually falls between late November and late December.
- Mattathias
- Mattathias was an elderly priest from the town of Modiin who sparked the revolt against Antiochus. After he died, his son Judah took over as leader of the fighters.
- Modiin
- Modiin is the town where the Maccabean revolt began, when Mattathias refused to obey the king's orders. A modern Israeli city near the ancient site carries the name today.
- Nun
- Nun is one of the four Hebrew letters on a dreidel. In the usual game, landing on nun means nothing happens, and the dreidel passes to the next player.
- Seleucid
- The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-speaking kingdom formed after the death of Alexander the Great. Under King Antiochus IV, it ruled Judea when the Maccabees rose up.
- Shin
- Shin is one of the four letters on a dreidel, and landing on it means adding a coin or candy to the pot. On dreidels made in Israel, the letter pe takes its place.
A few facts to share while you solve
- Jewish law encourages placing the lit menorah in a window or doorway so people passing by can see it and be reminded of the miracle.
- In 2013 the first full day of Hanukkah fell on Thanksgiving, a rare overlap that people nicknamed Thanksgivukkah.
- Hanukkah has many English spellings, including Chanukah and Hanukah, because the name is transliterated from Hebrew letters, and there's no single official way to do that.
Four versions of this puzzle
Pick a version with the buttons above the grid. Each one has its own grid and answer key, and your progress on each is saved separately in this browser.
| Version | Words | Grid | Directions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 12 | 11 × 11 | The 12 most familiar words, reading forward across and down. |
| Medium | 20 | 15 × 15 | Twenty words across, down and diagonally. No backwards words. |
| Hard | 31 | 17 × 17 | Every word, in all eight directions including backwards, with look-alike filler letters. |
| Large print | 12 | 11 × 11 | The 12 most familiar words on a small grid with big letters. No backwards words. |
Hard and large print versions
Hard hanukkah word search: all 31 words on a 17 × 17 grid, hidden forward, backward, up, down and along both diagonals, with filler letters borrowed from the word list. Print it without the word list for an extra challenge. Play the hard version, or see all hard word searches.
Large print hanukkah word search: the 12 most familiar words on a 11 × 11 grid, printed with big letters and a big word list, and no backwards words. Play the large print version, or see all large print word searches.
Printing this word search
Press Print / PDF above the puzzle. You get a clean one-page sheet with the title, the grid, a word list with tick boxes, and optional name and date lines. The answer key prints on a second page. Prefer a file? Download it as a PDF or an image to print later or drop into a worksheet. Whatever version is showing on screen is the one that prints, and the large print version prints with bigger letters.
How to play online
- Find a word from the list in the grid. Scanning for its first letter is the quickest way.
- Drag across the word from its first letter to its last. On a phone, you can also tap the first letter, then the last.
- Found words get highlighted and crossed off. Stuck? Hint circles the first letter of a word you haven’t found.
Read the full guide to solving word searches, with tips that make big grids much faster.
Questions and answers
How do you spell Hanukkah, and why are there so many versions?
Hanukkah and Chanukah are the two most common spellings. The word starts with a Hebrew letter that sounds like a throaty h, and English has no exact match, so writers spell it different ways. All of them refer to the same eight-day Festival of Lights.
Is this Hanukkah word search okay for a public school classroom?
Yes. It presents the holiday's history, foods, and customs in a factual way, which suits lessons about winter holidays around the world. Words like Dreidel and Latke tend to spark questions, and the notes give teachers short, accurate answers to read aloud.
What age is this Hanukkah puzzle for?
Kids around 7 and up can do the easy level, especially if they've played dreidel before. Words like Sufganiyot, Antiochus, and Maccabees are long and unfamiliar to many solvers, so the medium and hard levels challenge older kids and adults.
Is there an answer key for this hanukkah word search?
Yes. Choose Print / PDF above the puzzle and keep “Add an answer key page” ticked. The key prints on its own page, with every word highlighted. While playing online, Show answers outlines any words you haven’t found yet.
Can I print copies for my class or group?
Yes. Every puzzle on BetterWordSearch is free to print for personal, classroom, library and homeschool use. Print as many copies as you need. To change the words or make several different versions of the grid, use the word search maker.
What changes between Easy, Medium, Hard and Large print?
Easy hides the 12 most familiar words, reading left to right and top to bottom. Medium uses 20 words and adds diagonals. Hard hides all 31 words in every direction, including backwards, with look-alike filler letters. Large print uses the same words as Easy on a small grid and prints with big letters.
