We asked for your Wordle strategies. Here are the most popular starting words.
If you’re an avid Wordle player, chances are you’ve developed a strategy for the daily brainteaser puzzle.
Maybe you try to use words with lots of vowels, or keep a running list of possible five-letter words to use. Do you leave it to chance and use whichever word you happen to think of in the moment, or do you use the same word to start each day?
We know that lots of players are in the camp of using the same word every day, so we asked readers to tell us their Wordle strategies and their go-to starting word — both to help other players think of strategic words to use and, selfishly, to solicit words for our own gameplay.
We received more than 200 responses with a wide variety of words.
Below, we’re listing the responses, with some brief commentary on the most common ones. (Spoiler: Words with lots of vowels are very popular.)
See a word you like? Try it out the next time you play.
Most common Wordle starting words
▪ ADIEU — ADIEU was the most common response, with a total of 21 submissions. We think this is a smart word to use, as it contains nearly all of the vowels, except O, allowing you to quickly assess which vowels are or aren’t in the final word.
▪ AUDIO — Similar to ADIEU, AUDIO also contains lots of vowels, swapping out the “E” for an “O.” We’re not sure which letter is more likely to appear in the final word each day, but both words seem like solid options, especially since the “D” in both words seems to be a common letter in general. We received 11 responses for AUDIO.
▪ SOARE — We have to admit that we hadn’t heard of the word SOARE before this poll, but a quick Google search shows that it’s a young hawk. Just to make sure it was a valid word, we tried it out on a recent Wordle puzzle, and sure enough, it was accepted. (It’s also a valid word in Scrabble, apparently.) Like the previous words, SOARE makes great use of vowels, and we think the “S” and “R” are smart to include, too. We received six responses for SOARE.
▪ ARISE — Similar to SOARE, ARISE makes great use of vowels and the common “S” and “R.” We received six responses with this word.
▪ AROSE — With four responses for this word, it wasn’t quite as popular as its present tense cousin ARISE, but with the same amount of vowels and “S” and “R,” it has similar benefits in strategic game play.
Other starting words for Wordle
In addition to the most common responses listed above, we also received the following responses.
- SNARE
- YUPPY
- TEARS
- QUEST
- PIANO
- CREAM
- ROATE
- TRAIN
- HEART
- IRATE
- WEARY
- CANOE
- THERE
- THOSE
- TRAIL
- HASTY
- BEAUS
- ROAST
- TRASH
- HASTE
- BEACH
- LEARN
- POINT
- SWEAT
- PLACE
- STARE
- TRACE
- FENCE
- MATCH
- OUIJA
- BOATS
- ALONE
- SMILE
- READS
- CLEAN
- TRADE
- ABOUT
- DINER
- INERT
- HORSE
- COULD
- MOUNT
- STORE
- PARTY
- PEALS
- HORNS
- STALE
- OURIE
- RAISE
- THINS
- OPERA
- DATES
- UNTIL
- HOUSE
- GREAT
- UNTIL
- ALIVE
- YUKON
- AISLE
- CLEAR
- RATES
- BREAD
- RENTS
- COATS
- ORATE
- WORLD
- TEACH
- STAIN
- ALIEN
- WEIRD
- FIRST
- TASER
- ATONE
- SPICY
- HEATS
- ALIVE
- AEONS
- STEAL
- IDEAS
- WATER
- SPEAR
- START
- QUIET
- STEAD
- APPLE
- SAINT
- MARNE
- BACON
- HOUSE
- FIGHT
- AUGER
- SLATE
Have a go-to starting word not listed above? You can still share it with us in our poll below. If you’re having trouble accessing it on this page, try viewing it here.
This story was originally published February 4, 2022 at 12:01 PM.
