12 Quick Ways to Unscramble Words Easily

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Simple tips and tricks to unscramble letters and find hidden words
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Word scrambles are great tests for your brain to see if you’re able to rearrange the letters into words, but they can feel a little tricky at times. While unscrambling words takes a bit of trial and error, there are some easy strategies to help find the right order for the letters. Keep reading for a list of the best tips for breaking down scrambled letters and rearranging them to find the solution!

Fast Ways to Unscramble Words

  • Keep the vowels and consonants separated.
  • Group letters into common pairs like TH, NT, CH, or ND.
  • Watch for common prefixes and suffixes to start and end words.
  • Make plural words if you have an S.
  • Write down letters or use letter tiles from a game to visualize words.
  • Use an online unscrambling tool if you’re really stuck.
1

Separate the consonants and vowels.

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  1. Looking at the letters separately helps break down the word. List out all the letters in the word you’re trying to unscramble, but group them together by consonants and vowels. When you see the letters grouped this way, it’s easier to spot the vowel combos in a word so you can fill in the other letters around it.
    • Example: If you have the letters G, P, N, O, I, U, D, and N, separate them into groups G, P, N, D, N and O, U, I.
      • If you use the OU vowel combo, you can slowly build around it to make the word POUNDING .
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2

Test out different starting letters.

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  1. Building off a first letter gives you a good starting point. When you aren’t sure where to begin, just pick one of the letters and put it at the front of the word. Look at the remaining letters and arrange them with the starting letter to test out new words. Try out different letter orders to see if you can make a word. If not, swap in a different letter for the start of the word and try again.
    • Example: If you have the letters G, A, D, N, O, and R, you may test out the D as the starting letter. As you play around with the other letters, you’ll find that you can make the word DRAGON .
    • If you’re playing Scrabble or Words with Friends , try using a letter that’s already on the board as your starting letter and using the tiles in your tray to build off of it.
3

Group common pairs of letters.

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  1. Scan the letters and look for ones that you normally see paired together in words. Jot these combinations down on a piece of scrap paper, and then try to add in some of the other letters around it to build out the rest of the final word. The most common pairs of letters you’ll see in words include: [1]
    • TH
    • HE
    • NT
    • CH
    • WH
    • AN
    • TI
    • ON
    • ND
    • ES
    • ST
    • NT
    • LL
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4

Look for prefixes and suffixes.

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  1. Crossword puzzle expert Ada Nicolle says, “Pay attention to letters that could make common suffixes and that might help you narrow down what the word might be.” She notes that if the letters “ing” are found within the word, there's a good chance that it's a word ending with “ing.” If you have the letters R and E, that could be the prefix “re” or the suffix “er.” [2] The most common prefixes and suffixes are: [3]
    • Prefixes
      • BI-
      • CO-
      • IN-
      • EN-
      • RE-
      • DE-
      • DIS-
      • PRE-
      • UN-
      • MIS-
    • Suffixes
      • -ED
      • -ER
      • -EST
      • -ING
      • -AL
      • -FUL
    • For Scrabble and Words with Friends, look for words on the board that you can add prefixes and suffixes to if you’re not able to make a word on your rack.
5

Form shorter words to build off of.

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  1. If you’re trying to unscramble a longer word, see if there are any smaller words that you can make from the letters. Once you make the shorter word, see if any of the other letter combos work before or after the word you made.
    • Example: If you have the letters M, N, N, N, N, U, O, C, T, A, E, and E, you could make the word NOUN , which falls in the middle of the word ANNOUNCEMENT .
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6

Check for plural words if there’s an S.

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  1. If you have an S in your scrambled word, don’t try to force it somewhere in the middle of the word right away. Try making a word without using the S to see if there are any viable options. If there are, you can easily tack the S onto the end to make it a plural. [4]
    • Example: With the letters V, A, E, W, and S, you can make the word WAVE if you leave the S behind. After adding the S, you have the word WAVES .
    • When you’re playing Scrabble or Words with Friends , check for spots on the board where you can add an S to a word that was already played. You can even use the S as the end of a new word so you score 2 words on the same turn.
7

Say the letter sounds out loud.

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  1. Sounding out letters may help unlock a word you didn’t notice before. Once you have a few letter combinations grouped together, try piecing the different letter sounds together. Test out the letters in different orders to see if you hear a word.
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8

Keep the puzzle’s theme in mind.

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  1. Themed puzzles can help you think of words that fit into a category. Many word jumbles or anagram puzzles have a theme that all the words fit into. Think long and hard about the category and brainstorm all the related words you can think of. The scrambled letters are more likely to register in your mind as a real word if you know how they fit into the theme.
    • Example: If you have the letters P, A, L, P, and E, and the theme is “In the Kitchen,” you know the word is probably a food and can unscramble them to make the word APPLE .
9

Write out different combinations of letters.

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  1. If you're stumped, take out some scrap paper and write down the different letter combos you’ve made. Randomly group the combos together in different orders to check if a familiar word appears that you hadn’t thought of yet.
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10

Use letter tiles to help visualize words.

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  1. If you have a game like Bananagrams or Scrabble, break out the tiles when you're trying to solve a word scramble. It's easier to visualize potential words when you can freely move the tiles around to make different combinations.
    • When you’re playing Scrabble or Words with Friends , keep rearranging the letters on your rack, but don’t forget to include at least one open letter from the board in your word.
11

Enter the letters into an online unscrambler tool.

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  1. If you absolutely can't find the solution, there are many tools online that you can use to unscramble words. When you open an unscrambler, type in all the letters and submit them to get a breakdown of all the words that you can make. Some common unscrambler tools include:
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12

Build up your vocabulary.

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  1. Having a large vocabulary can help you recognize more words. When you’re familiar with a larger pool of words, you might be able to see those more difficult words even when the letters are scrambled. Some great ways to increase your vocab include: [5]
    • Reading books
    • Doing crosswords or other word puzzles
    • Subscribing to a “word of the day” email
    • Keeping a journal of new words you learn

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      Expert Interview

      Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about word games, check out our in-depth interview with Ada Nicolle .

      References

      1. ↑ https://mathcenter.oxford.emory.edu/site/math125/englishLetterFreqs/
      2. ↑ Ada Nicolle. Crossword Puzzle Expert. Expert Interview
      3. ↑ https://www.scholastic.com/content/dam/teachers/lesson-plans/migrated-files-in-body/prefixes_suffixes.pdf
      4. ↑ http://www.hanginghyena.com/blog/tricks-to-help-you-unscramble-words/
      5. ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/vocabulary/how-to-improve-english/

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      If you’re having a hard time unscrambling a word, try pairing letters that appear together frequently, like q and u, c and h, or s and h. Jot down these combinations on a piece of scrap paper. Next, find letters that might create common prefixes or suffixes, like “un,” “non,” “-ed,” or “ing.” It might also be helpful to group all of the vowels together, then all of the consonants, to help you sort through them more easily. Keep reading to learn how to use online tools to help you unscramble words!

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