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Best Wordle starting words

Best Wordle Starting Words

Q: What is the best Wordle starting word?

In our test, raise leaves the fewest possible answers on average (44.6), followed by arise and later.

We tested 1,222 first guesses against 1,787 common 5 letter words and measured how many possible answers each one leaves. RAISE came out on top: on average only 44.6 words remain after it.

The top 15 starting words

#	Word	Avg. left	Worst	Results
1	RAISE	44.6	120	126
2	ARISE	46.5	120	117
3	LATER	51.0	137	131
4	STARE	51.5	162	131
5	ALTER	51.6	137	129
6	CARTE	52.1	162	142
7	CRATE	52.3	162	144
8	SNARE	52.7	167	127
9	TRACE	53.0	162	144
10	LASER	53.4	156	115
11	ALERT	53.6	137	130
12	SLATE	53.7	159	140
13	LITRE	55.1	147	123
14	TRADE	55.8	180	126
15	CATER	56.8	162	135

"Avg. left" is how many possible answers remain on average after the guess, and "Worst" is the most that can remain. Lower is better. "Results" is how many distinct green/yellow/grey patterns the word can produce; more patterns means more information.

Why RAISE works

A good first guess does two jobs: it tests letters that are likely to be in the answer, and it splits the possible answers into many small groups. RAISE does both. Its letters appear in a large share of common 5 letter words: R in 37%, A in 41%, I in 28%, S in 27% and E in 48%. Because it has no repeated letters and mixes three vowels with two of the most common consonants, almost every answer produces a different color pattern.

The best 5 letter words for Wordle all follow the same recipe, which is why the top of the ranking is full of anagrams and near-anagrams of the same few letters: R, A, I, S, E, T, L and N. Words that also show up as everyday answers, like RAISE, ARISE, LATER and STARE, have the bonus that they can win in one guess.

What to play after RAISE

These are the six most likely results after RAISE, how many common words each leaves, and the best second guess for each.

Result	Words left	Examples	Best next guess
RAISE	120	would, could, found	BLUNT (4.9 left)
RAISE	97	money, women, level	TONED (3.9 left)
RAISE	79	might, night, until	CLOTH (3.9 left)
RAISE	78	other, never, every	VOTER (6.4 left)
RAISE	74	world, group, court	COUNT (4.1 left)
RAISE	66	board, crazy, track	FRONT (4.3 left)

The best next guess can be any common word, even one that can't be the answer. In hard mode, pick the best word that still fits your clues instead; the Wordle solver does this for you.

How the famous starters compare

Some starting words get recommended everywhere. Here's how they do on the same test.

Word	Avg. left	Worst	Results
RAISE	44.6	120	126
AROSE	48.1	132	116
STARE	51.5	162	131
CRATE	52.3	162	144
TRACE	53.0	162	144
SLATE	53.7	159	140
CRANE	57.9	184	135
ADIEU	93.2	211	79
AUDIO	140.4	337	88

Vowel-heavy words like AUDIO and ADIEU feel smart because they test four vowels at once. They score worse because knowing the vowels tells you less than knowing which common consonants (R, S, T, L, N) are in the answer.

The best second word after RAISE

If your first guess comes back mostly grey, a second word with five new letters gives you the most information. Judged by both guesses together:

Pair	Avg. left	Worst
RAISE + CLOTH	4.3	20
RAISE + CLOUT	4.4	18
RAISE + COUNT	4.5	20
RAISE + NOTCH	4.6	20
RAISE + DONUT	4.6	18

How we tested

For each candidate first word, we played it against every word in our common list and recorded the green/yellow/grey pattern Wordle would show. Words that produce many different patterns, each matching only a few answers, rank highest. We tested every common word with five different letters.

We used our own list of 1,787 common words, not the official answer list, so results can differ slightly from other rankings. Where our word lists come from.

Want help with today's puzzle? Use the Wordle solver, or search every word with the 5 letter word finder.

Questions people ask

What is the best Wordle starting word?

In our test, raise leaves the fewest possible answers on average (44.6), followed by arise and later.

Is ADIEU a good starting word?

It's below average in our test. It leaves about 93.2 possible answers on average, compared with 44.6 for raise.

Is CRANE a good starting word?

Yes, it's a solid opener. It leaves about 57.9 possible answers on average, compared with 44.6 for raise.

Should I use the same starting word every day?

If you want a consistent strategy, yes. A fixed opener lets you learn the best follow-up for each result, like the table on this page.

What should I play if my first guess is all grey?

After an all-grey RAISE, 120 common words are still possible. A second word with five new letters, like CLOTH, gives you the most information.

What are good 5 letter words for Wordle besides the top one?

ARISE, LATER, STARE, ALTER and TRACE all score well and are everyday words, so they can also be the answer.

Why do vowel-heavy starters like AUDIO do badly?

They test vowels that most words share anyway, and they skip the common consonants R, S, T, L and N. Knowing which consonants are in the answer narrows the list much faster.