The three goals of every guess

  • Test common letters (E, A, R, O, T, L, I, N, S).
  • Place greens you already earned in the correct slots.
  • Avoid repeating gray letters unless you need confirmation.

Opening word philosophy

Strong openers contain at least three vowels and common consonants. CRANE, SLATE, and STARE remain popular because they cover five distinct letters. See our dedicated best Wordle starting words article for ranked options.

Turn two and three: narrow, do not guess blindly

After greens and yellows appear, change letter positions deliberately. If _A_E_ is possible, try PLANT or SLANT—not random five-letter words. Use our Wordle helper with Starts with / Ends with filters.

Hard mode

Hard mode forces you to reuse revealed hints. It reduces wasted guesses but punishes weak openers. Practise in normal mode first, then switch when your opener discipline is solid.

When you are stuck

  • List every letter still possible for each blank.
  • Check rare letters (Y endings, double letters, QU pairs).
  • Browse 5-letter words filtered by known endings.
  • Avoid obscure plurals unless your streak allows risk.