Wordle is deceptively simple: guess a 5-letter word, get coloured hints, and solve it in 6 tries. But playing it well — consistently finishing in 3 or 4 — takes a little strategy.
Understanding the colours
- Green — correct letter, correct position. Lock it in.
- Yellow — correct letter, wrong position. It's in the word, just elsewhere.
- Grey — letter is not in the word at all.
The best starting words
A strong opener uses common letters and covers as many distinct consonants and vowels as possible. Research and player consensus consistently point to a few great starters:
- CRANE — covers C, R, A, N, E. Five very common letters.
- SLATE — S, L, A, T, E. Hits four of the five vowels' frequencies well.
- AUDIO — covers four vowels in one word. Use this if you want to identify vowels fast.
- RAISE — R, A, I, S, E. Statistically one of the highest-information openers.
Second-guess strategy
After your opener, don't chase greens immediately. If you got two yellows, play a word that puts both letters in different positions and introduces three new common letters. This gives you more information than a guess that only moves known letters around.
Handle repeated letters carefully
Wordle answers can have repeated letters (e.g., SHEEP, LLAMA). If you're stuck and common options are exhausted, consider that the answer might reuse a letter.
Word patterns to know
- Many Wordle answers end in -TION, -NESS, -MENT, -IGHT, -OUND.
- Common 5-letter endings: -ER, -EST, -LY, -ED.
- Avoid obscure words — Wordle uses common English vocabulary, not specialist terms.
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