Looking for the best 6-letter words to start with? In our list of 3,500 common six-letter words, a handful of letters turn up again and again. Knowing which ones helps you choose a strong first guess and cut the list down quickly.
The most common letters
This table shows the share of six-letter words that contain each letter.
| Letter | Words that contain it |
|---|---|
| E | 64% |
| R | 46% |
| A | 44% |
| S | 42% |
| I | 36% |
| N | 34% |
The most common first letters are S (14%), C (9%) and B (8%). About 50% of the words repeat at least one letter, so do not rule out double letters too early.
These figures come from our own word list, which is built from public frequency data and a spell-check dictionary. A game with a different word list will give slightly different numbers.
A simple plan
- Open with different letters. Pick a word with 6 different letters that uses the common ones above. A repeated letter wastes a square.
- Use clues together. A green letter fixes a place, a yellow letter tells you where the letter cannot be, and a gray letter rules it out. Enter all three into the 6 letter word finder to see what is left.
- Switch from testing to solving. When more than about 30 words remain, use a guess that tests new letters. When only a few remain, guess one of them.
Common mistakes
- Putting a yellow letter back in the place where it was yellow.
- Forgetting that a word can contain the same letter twice.
- Marking a letter gray when it appeared green or yellow elsewhere. In that case the word has exactly as many of that letter as you found.
- Changing your opening word every day instead of learning one well.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a perfect starting word?
Not really. Several strong openers perform almost the same, so the gap between the very best and a sensible choice is small.
Are longer words easier or harder?
Longer words give more clues per guess, but there are far more possible words. Each clue is worth more, so use every one of them.
Where does the word list come from?
It is based on the FrequencyWords project by Hermit Dave (CC BY-SA 4.0) and filtered with a spell-check dictionary.
Try the 6 letter word finder now. Other word lengths: 4 letters · 5 letters · 7 letters · 8 letters
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