According to My Jewish Learning, "Dreidels have four Hebrew letters on them," usually nun, gimmel, hey and shin. These stand for the saying 'Nes gadol haya sham,' which means "a great miracle ...

A dreidel had four sides, each with a different Hebrew letter on it: Nun, gimel, hey and shin. The letters stand for the Hebrew phrase "Nes gadol haya sham," which means "A great miracle happened ...

The letters stand for the Hebrew phrase "Nes gadol haya sham," which means "A great miracle happened there." Here are the rules, according to Chabad: All players sit around the playing area.

On most Israeli dreidels the shin has been replaced with the letter peh, so that the Hebrew abbreviation corresponds to nes gadol haya po (a great miracle happened here).

A dreidel had four sides, each with a different Hebrew letter on it: Nun, gimel, hey and shin. The letters stand for the Hebrew phrase "Nes gadol haya sham," which means "A great miracle happened ...