In the dreidel phrase used outside Israel, the Hebrew letter nun stands for nes, meaning “miracle.”
The four dreidel letters traditionally form the phrase “Nes gadol hayah sham”—“A great miracle happened there.” Nun represents nes, gimel represents gadol (“great”), he represents hayah (“happened” or “was”), and shin represents sham (“there”). The phrase refers to the traditional Hanukkah miracle associated with the Temple oil.
In Israel, the final letter is usually pe rather than shin, producing “Nes gadol hayah po”—“A great miracle happened here.” Thus the geographic distinction affects the last letter, but nun still represents nes in both versions.
The dreidel is a four-sided spinning top played during Hanukkah. Its letters also determine the game’s outcomes: nun traditionally means the player takes nothing, gimel means taking the whole pot, he means taking half, and shin—or pe in Israel—means adding to the pot. The letters therefore carry both a historical message and game instructions.