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3 Letter Word Finder
There are 1,298 valid 3 letter words, and 526 of them are common. Type the letters you have to see every three letter word you can make, or switch to Wordle clues to filter by letter position. Looking for five letter words instead? Use the 5 letter word finder.
Find 3 letter words (example loaded)
Shows every 3 letter word you can make using only these letters. Each letter can be used as many times as you type it.
Find 3 letter words using these letters
Type your letters into Use these letters and this three letter word finder lists every 3 letter word using these letters, using each letter as many times as you typed it. Add a ? for a blank tile.
That covers most of what people need: 3 letter words with these letters for a puzzle, a 3 letter word with the letters on a Scrabble rack, 3 letter words using the following letters in a word game, or a 3 letter word from the letters in a jumble. Every result is a real word, and words that are 3 letters long and in everyday use come first.
For example, the letters TRAE make 10 common 3 letter words: are, art, eat, tea, era, ear, rat and tar.
If you know where some letters go, switch to Wordle clues. Green boxes fix a letter in place, yellow boxes rule out a spot, and the grey field removes letters. To see three letter words containing a letter anywhere (3 letter words containing Q, for example), use "Must contain".
Unscramble 3 letter words
Scrambled letters often spell more than one word. The letters in ART also spell rat and tar, so an unscrambler shows you every option at once instead of the first one you think of. Common words are listed before rare ones, so the most likely answer is at the top.
3 letter words at a glance
- Valid words
- 1,298
- Common words
- 526
- Most common
- the
- Top Scrabble score (common)
- wiz 15 pts
- Top Scrabble score (all)
- zzz 30 pts
- Best first guess
- eat
- The 1st letter is P in 8% of common words.
- The 2nd letter is A in 23% of common words.
- The 3rd letter is T in 12% of common words.
About three letter words
Three letter words are the first words most children learn to read, because so many follow a simple consonant, vowel, consonant pattern: cat, dog, sun, pen, map. That same pattern makes them easy to swap around, so a single set of three letters often spells more than one word, like art, rat and tar. In Scrabble, 3 letter words matter more than their size suggests. They let you place a high-value tile next to another word, or squeeze a play into a tight corner of the board. Knowing short words with J, Q, X and Z, like jab, qat, box and zap, is one of the easiest ways to raise your score.
Q is the hardest letter to use in a three letter word, because there's no room for the usual QU. The few valid ones are borrowed words, like qat and suq. X and Z are much easier, since they fit naturally at the end of words like box, fix, wax and fez.
Tips for three letter words
If you're teaching reading, three letter words are best grouped by their vowel sound: short A (cat, map, bag), short E (pen, bed, net), short I (sit, pig, lip), short O (dog, hot, mop) and short U (sun, cup, bug). Changing just one letter, as in cat, cot, cut, is a simple way to practise sounds. In word games, two-way hooks are the trick: adding a letter to a 3 letter word to make a 4 letter one, like are to care or ace to race, lets you score in two directions at once.
3 letter words with Q, X, J and Z
These letters are worth 8 to 10 points in Scrabble.
3 letter words with Q (5)
- qin12
- qua12
- qat12
- suq12
- qis12
3 letter words with X (45)
- six10
- tax10
- box12
- fix13
- mix12
- fox13
- max12
- wax13
- rex10
- sox10
- axe10
- fax13
- lax10
- tex10
- lex10
- lux10
- hex13
- pax12
- dex11
- vox13
- sax10
- exo10
- pox12
- nix10
- nox10
- vex13
- oxy13
- tux10
- pix12
- lox10
- oxo10
- tix10
- gox11
- dux11
- hox13
- mux12
- xis10
- rax10
- wex13
- pyx15
3 letter words with J (32)
- job12
- joe10
- joy13
- jay13
- jet10
- jam12
- jaw13
- jin10
- jun10
- jar10
- jew13
- raj10
- jai10
- jab12
- jog11
- jug11
- taj10
- jus10
- jig11
- jag11
- jee10
- jot10
- jud11
- jib12
- jak14
- jor10
- jut10
- haj13
- jeu10
- jol10
- jow13
- gju11
3 letter words with Z (43)
- zoo12
- cuz14
- zip14
- biz14
- zee12
- coz14
- wiz15
- zig13
- luz12
- zed13
- fez15
- zap14
- miz14
- zag13
- moz14
- rez12
- sez12
- zit12
- zin12
- riz12
- caz14
- bez14
- fiz15
- zzz30
- azo12
- zea12
- zep14
- soz12
- zel12
- poz14
- saz12
- adz13
- zek16
- zoa12
- zos12
- ziz21
- zax19
- zol12
- zas12
- zuz21
Most common 3 letter words
The 300 most used three letter words, most common first. The small number is the Scrabble score.
- the6
- and4
- for6
- you6
- was6
- are3
- not3
- but5
- all3
- one3
- can5
- out3
- had7
- her6
- get4
- she6
- new6
- how9
- now6
- our3
- him8
- see3
- two6
- any6
- way9
- may8
- did5
- day7
- too3
- off9
- why12
- got4
- say6
- man5
- use3
- old4
- own6
- end4
- big6
- put5
- lot3
- few9
- let3
- set3
- god5
- top5
- yet6
- bad6
- men5
- far6
- job12
- try6
- run3
- law6
- war6
- car5
- per5
- ago4
- guy7
- pay8
- win6
- air3
- bit5
- hit6
- due4
- ask7
- saw6
- low6
- age4
- buy8
- red4
- act5
- fun6
- art3
- non3
- six10
- son3
- cut5
- won6
- boy8
- hot6
- tax10
- eat3
- hey9
- key10
- mom7
- cup7
- dog5
- oil3
- add5
- met5
- bed6
- die4
- sea3
- sir3
- ten3
- box12
- eye6
- via6
- gas4
- ice5
- kid8
- sun3
- gun4
- wow9
- dad5
- fit6
- pre5
- bar5
- pro5
- fan6
- gay7
- sit3
- pop7
- ran3
- app7
- fat6
- lie3
- sad4
- bus5
- tom5
- mid6
- bag6
- bet5
- cat5
- nor3
- van6
- map7
- net3
- aid4
- fix13
- fly9
- dry7
- mad6
- web8
- arm5
- bay8
- tea3
- ill3
- sky10
- mix12
- ben5
- ray6
- era3
- fox13
- leg4
- max12
- sub5
- lay6
- bob7
- don4
- row6
- cry8
- ban5
- joy13
- tip5
- wet6
- hat6
- raw6
- aim5
- cap7
- fee6
- tie3
- rid4
- gap6
- egg5
- hip8
- mac7
- pet5
- tag4
- ear3
- gym9
- kit7
- lab5
- odd5
- mum7
- bid6
- hop8
- pot5
- bye8
- pan5
- jay13
- pen5
- cop7
- log4
- sin3
- doc6
- rep5
- rob5
- sum5
- gen4
- sec5
- bat5
- bow8
- toy6
- jet10
- ton3
- con5
- pin5
- tap5
- pit5
- rip5
- yea6
- pat5
- spy8
- pub7
- bin5
- dig5
- arc5
- ken7
- bug6
- pic7
- lit3
- mar5
- pie5
- ram5
- lap5
- oak7
- dam6
- jam12
- rat3
- ash6
- shy9
- ion3
- par5
- cow8
- pig6
- rod4
- zoo12
- lip5
- mud6
- owe6
- ski7
- ham8
- rap5
- rev6
- ace5
- cam7
- fig7
- ore3
- bee5
- hug7
- bud6
- duo4
- hub8
- ink7
- inn3
- toe3
- beg6
- cos5
- dip6
- dot4
- nut3
- fur6
- mob7
- tin3
- ego4
- gut4
- den4
- pad6
- sen3
- tan3
- pal5
- gig5
- jaw13
- rub5
- flu6
- pee5
- spa5
- tab5
- wit6
- cab7
- chi8
- col5
- ref6
- gum6
- jar10
- boo5
- wax13
- hay9
- mod6
- fog7
- lad4
- opt5
- vet6
- cod6
- fry9
- gem6
- owl6
- wee6
- woo6
- zip14
- ant3
- dug5
- rig4
- bra5
- rim5
- tub5
- doe4
- gel4
The most common letters in 3 letter words
In common 3 letter words, the letters that appear most often are A (32%), E (24%), O (23%), T (18%), I (17%) and P (15%). 6% of these words have a double letter, like all, see and too. The table shows the most likely letters for each spot, which helps when you know the length but only a few letters.
| Spot | Most common | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | P (8%) | S (7%) | B (7%) |
| 2nd | A (23%) | O (19%) | E (14%) |
| 3rd | T (12%) | N (9%) | E (9%) |
Three letter words from A to Z
A, S and P start the most 3 letter words, while X and Q start the fewest. Here's how many valid 3 letter words start with each letter, with common examples.
| Starts with | Words | Common examples |
|---|---|---|
| A | 93 | and, are, all |
| B | 60 | but, big, bad |
| C | 46 | can, car, cut |
| D | 66 | did, day, due |
| E | 60 | end, eat, eye |
| F | 57 | for, few, far |
| G | 62 | get, got, god |
| H | 60 | had, her, how |
| I | 27 | ice, ill, ion |
| J | 28 | job, joy, jay |
| K | 39 | key, kid, kit |
| L | 57 | lot, let, law |
| M | 66 | may, man, men |
| N | 49 | not, new, now |
| O | 69 | one, out, our |
| P | 74 | put, per, pay |
| Q | 4 | – |
| R | 63 | run, red, ran |
| S | 88 | she, see, say |
| T | 71 | the, two, too |
| U | 28 | use, urn, ump |
| V | 29 | via, van, vet |
| W | 44 | was, way, why |
| X | 1 | – |
| Y | 34 | you, yet, yea |
| Z | 23 | zoo, zip, zee |
What the top 3 letter words mean
- may
- nounthe month following April and preceding June
- day
- nountime for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
- too
- adverbto a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
- off
- adverbfrom a particular thing or place or position (`forth' is obsolete)
- why
- nounthe cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase `the whys and wherefores'
- say
- verbexpress in words
- man
- nounan adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
- use
- nounthe act of using
- old
- adjective(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
- own
- verbhave ownership or possession of
- end
- nouneither extremity of something that has length
- big
- adjectiveabove average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
- put
- verbput into a certain place or abstract location
- lot
- noun(often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent
- few
- adjectivea quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by `a'
Definitions from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University.
Other word lengths
Questions people ask
How many 3 letter words are there?
Our list has 1,298 valid 3 letter words, and 526 of them are common everyday words.
What is a 3 letter word with these letters?
Switch the finder to "Use these letters" and type your letters. It shows every 3 letter word you can make from them. For example, TRAE makes are, art, eat and tea.
How do I unscramble three letter words?
Type the scrambled letters into "Use these letters". Every 3 letter word that uses those letters appears, highest Scrabble score first. Type ? for a blank tile.
What is the most common 3 letter word?
the, followed by and, for and you.
Which 3 letter word scores the most in Scrabble?
Among common words, wiz scores 15 points. Among all valid words, zzz scores 30.
Which letter do the most 3 letter words start with?
A (93 words), followed by S (88) and P (74).
What is a good first guess for a 3 letter word game?
eat splits the common 3 letter words most evenly, leaving about 112.7 possible answers on average. This works for any 3 letter Wordle-style game.