Wordle gives you six tries to guess a hidden five-letter word. After each guess, every letter changes color to tell you how close you are. There is one puzzle a day, and everyone gets the same word.
The rules
- Every guess must be a real five-letter word.
- Green: the letter is in the word and in the right spot.
- Yellow: the letter is in the word but somewhere else.
- Gray: the letter is not in the word.
- Letters can repeat, so a yellow or green does not rule out a second copy.
Pick a strong starting word
Your first guess should test the most common letters. Words built from E, A, R, T, S, L and N reveal the most on average. Our starting word rankings test popular openers against every past answer, and words like CRANE and SLATE consistently find more letters than vowel-heavy choices such as ADIEU.
Use your second guess to explore
If your first row is mostly gray, do not chase the one yellow letter yet. A second word with five fresh letters (for example, following SLATE with CORNY) usually tells you more than a guess that reuses what you already know.
Think about letter positions
- Words often end in E, Y, T, R or H, and rarely end in V, J, Q or U.
- S is common at the start but less common at the end of answers, since plural nouns are rarely the answer.
- Common pairs like CH, SH, TH, ER and ING-style endings are worth testing when you have a few letters placed.
Watch for repeated letters
When you are stuck with three or four greens and run out of obvious options, the answer often has a double letter, as in PENNY, SKILL or GEESE. Our first hint for every puzzle says whether today's word has one.
Avoid the "one letter off" trap
Patterns like _IGHT or _OUND have many answers (LIGHT, MIGHT, NIGHT, RIGHT, SIGHT, TIGHT). Instead of trying them one at a time, guess a word that tests several of the possible first letters at once.
Hard mode
Hard mode forces you to reuse every letter you have found. It is a good challenge once the basics feel easy, but it makes the trap above harder to escape.
Wordle questions
When does the new Wordle come out?
A new Wordle starts at midnight in your local time zone, every day. Our today page switches over at midnight Eastern time, and each dated hint page goes up as soon as that day's puzzle is live anywhere.
How many guesses do you get in Wordle?
Six. Each guess has to be a real five-letter word.
What do the colors mean?
Green means the letter is in the word and in the right spot. Yellow means the letter is in the word but in a different spot. Gray means the letter is not in the word at all.
Can the answer have repeated letters?
Yes. Words like PENNY or EERIE have repeats, and our first hint always tells you whether today's word does.
What is hard mode?
In hard mode, any letter you have already found must be used in every later guess. It removes the trick of using a throwaway word to test new letters.
Can an old answer come back?
It can. The full list of past answers is on our past answers page, and every daily page says whether that word has been used before.
Is it cheating to use hints?
It is your game, so you decide. Our hints are ordered so you can take the smallest nudge you need and still solve the rest yourself.