What Is the Best Starting Word for Wordle? Our Top Picks

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If you want the best chances at solving today’s Wordle puzzle, choosing a strong opening word can give you a lot of information. While it may be fun to choose a random word, some words are better than others for making your first guess. Keep reading, and we’ll walk through the best starting words and strategies for solving the puzzle!

What is the best word to start with in Wordle?

Crossword puzzle expert Juliana Pache recommends using words with lots of vowels to help narrow down the possible letters. Some of the best starting words include:

  • SALET
  • CRANE
  • SLATE
  • STARE
  • RAISE
  • TRACE
  • STALE
Section 1 of 4:

Best Starting Words for Wordle

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  1. Choose a word with lots of common letters or vowels. Crossword puzzle expert Juliana Pache starts her Wordle games with “a word that has lots of vowels” because they appear in most words and “it helps narrow things down quickly.” [1] Other players recommend using the most common consonants in your first word, such as S, N, T, R, or L, to rule out letters quickly. These starting words are the most helpful for getting a strong start, and they could potentially be the word of the day!
    • SALET
    • CRANE
    • SLATE
    • STARE
    • RAISE
    • TRACE
    • STALE
    • CRATE
    • SCALE
    • SCONE
    • DEALT
    • CRATE
    • LEAST
    • ROAST
    • SLANT
    • CARTE
    • OUIJA
    • ADIEU
    • AUDIO
    • CANOE
    • CARET
    • RATIO
    • SAUTE
    • ABOUT
    • SCALY
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Section 2 of 4:

Strategies to Solve Wordle

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  1. 1
    Pick a second word with different letters. Even if you got some green or yellow letters in your first word, pick different sets of common letters for your next guess. This helps you narrow down your options even more and can help you deduce the actual word.
    • Example : SALET > CRONY
    • Example : STARE > COULD
    • Example : RAISE > POUTY
    • Example : CRATE > SOUND
    • Example: AUDIO > STERN
  2. 2
    Remember common letter positions. Because there’s only a limited word list, some people have gone through it and calculated which letters are the most common in each position. If you’re ever stuck, try guessing words with these common letters in the position you’re missing. [2]
    • First letter: S, T, C, or B
    • Second letter: A, R, E, and O
    • Third letter: A, I, O, or E
    • Fourth letter: E, N, S, or L
    • Fifth letter: Y, E, T, or R
  3. 3
    Look out for repeated letters. A lot of common 5-letter words repeat the same letter a couple of times in a word. If you’re stuck figuring out a word and you’ve ruled out a lot of possibilities for the letters, it may be one that you already have in your word. [3]
    • Example: If you have A_PLE and you already ruled out M, then the word probably repeats the letter P to make APPLE.
  4. 4
    Use all your guesses. Making more guesses can help you get more information about the letters and their placements. Rather than trying to get the Wordle in 2 or 3 guesses, take your time to rule out different letters so you have a better chance of figuring out the word. [4]
  5. 5
    Check how many guesses it took other people. If your friends play Wordle too, look at their results for the day to see how they did and what info they got from each of their guesses. If you notice that the letters are all grey in their first guess, then you may make your first guess using less common letters than usual. [5]
  6. 6
    Try jotting words on paper when you get stuck. When you can’t figure out the word by typing it in, write the letters down on a piece of paper. Try writing in different letters and erasing the ones that don’t work. Sometimes, just the act of writing something out can help you think of a word that you’re forgetting about.
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Section 3 of 4:

Wordle FAQ

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  1. 1
    How many words are in the Wordle word list? The original list includes 2,309 5-letter words that could potentially be the answer to the puzzle. While the list of actual words you can guess is larger, Wordle only uses common 5-letter words for the solution. [6]
    • There used to be 2,315 words, but the New York Times removed a few from the list that could potentially be offensive.
  2. 2
    Does Wordle use plural words that end in S? No, none of the Wordle answers will ever be plural words that end in S or ES. If you have an S somewhere in your Wordle words, you can expect it to be a 5-letter word rather than a 4-letter word with an S at the end. [7]
    • Wordle also doesn’t have answers that are past-tense words that end in -ED, but other words that end in those letters, like NAKED or SHRED, could still be the answer.
  3. 3
    How rare is it to get Wordle on the first guess? Because there are 2,309 words in the possible answer list, your chance of getting the Wordle on your first try is 1 in 2,309, or about 0.04%. If you want the best chances of getting the Wordle in one, make sure you don’t guess a word that you’ve already seen used as an answer. Even though it’s rare, it’s a great accomplishment to share with your friends if you’re able to do it!
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Section 4 of 4:

More Games like Wordle

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  1. Already finished solving today’s Wordle? Don’t let that stop your fun because there are a ton of other daily word games out there! If you’re still itching to solve more puzzles, try one of these games to get your fix.
    • Connections : Find groups of 4 words that share a common theme or connection.
    • Spelling Bee : Make as many words as possible using the letters you’re given.
    • Strands : Find hidden words that relate to the day’s theme.
    • Quordle : Solve 4 Wordles at once using the same guesses for each puzzle.

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      Tips

      • Avoid words with the least common letters, like X, Z, J, or Q as your starting word because they’re the least likely to be in the word.
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      References

      1. ↑ Juliana Pache. Crossword Puzzle Expert. Expert Interview
      2. ↑ https://wordraiders.com/guides/best-wordle-starting-words/
      3. ↑ https://youtu.be/tQxT3PYW1Ts?t=220
      4. ↑ https://youtu.be/tQxT3PYW1Ts?t=62
      5. ↑ https://youtu.be/tQxT3PYW1Ts?t=234
      6. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/02/16/upshot/wordlebot-faq.html
      7. ↑ https://youtu.be/tQxT3PYW1Ts?t=197

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