For Jen Rasay, a eighth-grader at Kalakaua Middle School, spelling is a family event.

Rasay, who practices spelling at least two hours a day with her brother and sister, won the Honolulu District Spelling Bee yesterday, beating out other contestants and advancing to the state finals for the second year in a row.

Rasay quickly and confidently spelled "cilantro" (the leaves of coriander) and "hedonism" (a belief that happiness is the chief good in life) in the final rounds to claim the title over runner-up Angelina Yick, an eighth-grader from 'Iolani School, who bowed out by misspelling "dressage," (horse maneuvers involving changes of gait, pace and airs).

"I felt like I knew almost all the words because many of them were on the list from last year," said Rasay, who was the Honolulu District runner-up last year and finished fifth in the state Spelling Bee.

Rasay, the daughter of Josefina and Sonny Rasay of Royal Kunia, said she practiced daily with her brother, Joshua, a sixth-grader who also participated in yesterday's contest, and her older sister, Shane, who was in the spelling bee last year.

"We like to test each other for fun," Rasay said.

Yick and Rasay will advance to The Advertiser's 23nd annual Hawai'i State Spelling Bee on March 16. The state bee will be televised on OC16.

The state winner will receive an all-expenses-paid trip in May to Washington, D.C., to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.