Beat Wordle Every Time: The Best 5-Letter Words & Tricks

Solve Wordle in the first 3 guesses every time with these expert tricks

Last Updated: October 21, 2024

Are you tired of not getting the answer to Wordle in less than 5 or 6 tries? Want to win Wordle every single time you play? Whether you're a Wordle beginner or looking for ways to improve your strategy, this wikiHow article will teach you 13 expert tricks for beating Wordle, from choosing the ultimate starting word to learning the best way to get the most green letters on your second guess. We'll even give you a Wordle cheat sheet full of great 5-letter words that are sure to boost your stats!

Things You Should Know

Every 5-letter word has at least one vowel, so include as many vowels as possible in your first guess to narrow down the word.
The most common letters that appear in 5-letter words are E, A, R, O, T, L, I, S, & N.
Some of the best Wordle starting words are Irate, Saute, Arose, Alert, Trace, and Cater.

1

Start with a word that has 3, 4, or 5 vowels.

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Guessing the vowels first will help narrow down your future guesses. Every 5-letter word has at least one vowel, so vowels are a great starting point. Including at least three vowels in your first word can help you get the most yellow and green letters up front and make your next guesses easier. Even if your vowel-heavy word doesn't yield you any yellow or green letters, you'll be left with fewer vowels to try on your second guess. Some great 3, 4, and 5-vowel words to try:
- Adieu
- Audio
- Louie
- Saute
- Alien
- Irate
- Radio
- Abode
- Cause
- Cameo
- Argue
- Imbue

2

Use your second try to confirm as many letters as possible.

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Your second guess is just as important as the first, so make it count. Use your second guess to enter a word that has as many different non-gray letters as possible to eliminate or confirm as many letters as possible after two tries. The goal is to have a great set of letters to work with (even if they are yellow/in the wrong spots) so you can easily nail your third guess. Which words have your yellow and green letters, as well as several other letters that you haven't tried yet?
- For example, if your first word was Adieu and you didn't guess any of the vowels right, there must be an O in the word, and/or possibly a Y. A word like Brown, Spork, or Glyph would be a great second guess.
- You can also plan your second word in advance just in case your first word doesn't give you any yellow or green letters. For example, if you used Cause as your first word and none of the letters were correct, be ready with a word like Bough or Phony that has none of the same letters. Some other helpful pairs:
  - First word: Irate
  - Second word: Clown
  - First word: Alien
  - Second word: Rough
  - First word: Radio
  - Second word: Black

3

Try our cheat sheet of the best Wordle words.

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If you're not sold on the many-vowels method, we have another great way to choose the perfect starting word. Of the 2,315 possible 5-letter words that might show up in Wordle, some letters are far more common than others. ^{[1]
X
Research source} When you analyze the total list of 5-letter words and the most common positions of each letter in those words, you wind up with a pared-down list of great Wordle words to use as your first or second guess.
- Later
- Alter
- Alert
- Arose
- Irate
- Stare
- Stale
- Arise
- Snare
- Trace
- Crate
- React
- Cater
- Steal
- Saner
- Trade
- Slate
- Learn
- Caret
- Dealt
- Shade
- Least
- Tried

4

Learn the most common letters and their positions.

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You can use the same technique we used to create our Wordle cheat sheet to guess your next letters. Once you learn the probability that a particular letter will appear in a certain place in Wordle, you're bound to make better guesses on your first, second, and third tries. Use these statistics to narrow down your next guess: ^{[2]
X
Research source}
- Vowels and their most common positions in 5-letter words:
  - A appears in 979 5-letter words, usually as the third letter (307 words) or the second letter (304 words).
  - E appears in 1233 5-letter words, usually as the last letter (424 words) or the fourth letter (318 words).
  - I appears in 671 5-letter words, usually as the third letter (266 words) or the second letter (202 words).
  - O appears in 754 5-letter words, usually as the second letter (279 words) or the third letter (244 words).
  - U appears in 467 5-letter words, usually as the second letter (186 words) or the third letter (165 words).
  - Y appears in 425 5-letter words, mostly as the last letter (364 words), but sometimes as the third letter (29 words).
- Most common consonants & their positions in 5-letter words:
  - R appears in 899 5-letter words, usually as the second letter (267 words) or the last letter (212 words).
  - T appears in 729 5-letter words, usually as the last letter (253 words) or the first letter (149 words).
  - L appears in 719 5-letter words, usually as the second letter (201 words) or the fourth letter (162 words).
  - S appears in 669 5-letter words, usually as the first letter (366 words) or the fourth letter (171 words).
  - N appears in 575 5-letter words, usually as the fourth letter (182 words), but often as the third letter (139 words).
  - C appears in 477 5-letter words, usually as the first letter (198 words) or the fourth letter (152 words).
  - D appears in 393 5-letter words, usually as the last letter (118 words) or the first letter (111 words).
  - H appears in 389 5-letter words, usually as the second letter (144 words) or last letter (138 words).