Wordle.Global
Strategy Guide

Best Starting Words

Two openers, ten letters, maximum information from your first guesses.

English · 2,043 daily words

Best starting words in English

The best first guess in English is RAISE. On average, RAISE leaves 2.6% of the possible answers. The next best openers are TRACE, CRATE, SLATE, IRATE, STARE, ARISE, SNARE, CRANE, and LEAST. The top 10 are within 0.12 bits of each other, so any of them is a strong start.

1
r
a
i
s
e
5.88
bits
2
t
r
a
c
e
5.87
bits
3
c
r
a
t
e
5.87
bits
4
s
l
a
t
e
5.86
bits
5
i
r
a
t
e
5.85
bits
6
s
t
a
r
e
5.84
bits
7
a
r
i
s
e
5.83
bits
8
s
n
a
r
e
5.80
bits
9
c
r
a
n
e
5.78
bits
10
l
e
a
s
t
5.76
bits

Method: our solver plays each of the 2,039 words of the English answer list against every answer and ranks openers by how much their color pattern tells you, in bits (the figure beside each word).

Best Opening Pairs

The strongest two-guess openings — words with no overlapping letters that together test the 10 most common letters in English Wordle. Play the first, then the second regardless of feedback, and the third guess is usually a solve.

  1. 1
    First
    T
    R
    A
    I
    N
    Then
    C
    L
    O
    S
    E
    307Combined coverage
    10 /10Unique letters
  2. 2
    First
    T
    H
    E
    I
    R
    Then
    S
    A
    L
    O
    N
    304Combined coverage
    10 /10Unique letters
  3. 3
    First
    A
    L
    O
    N
    E
    Then
    F
    I
    R
    S
    T
    296Combined coverage
    10 /10Unique letters
  4. 4
    First
    T
    R
    I
    A
    L
    Then
    H
    O
    U
    S
    E
    299Combined coverage
    10 /10Unique letters
  5. 5
    First
    L
    A
    T
    E
    R
    Then
    S
    O
    N
    I
    C
    307Combined coverage
    10 /10Unique letters
  6. 6
    First
    O
    T
    H
    E
    R
    Then
    S
    N
    A
    I
    L
    304Combined coverage
    10 /10Unique letters

Once you've picked a strong opener, the second guess matters even more. The best two-guess pairs share zero letters, which means your second guess can't tell you anything you already learned. With ten distinct high-frequency letters in two guesses, you'll usually have enough constraints to solve on guess three or four.

Most Common Letters in English Wordle

e
46%
a
39%
r
37%
o
30%
t
29%
i
28%
l
27%
s
27%
n
24%
c
20%
u
19%
y
17%
h
17%
d
16%
p
15%

Percentage of English Wordle words containing each letter (counting each letter once per word).

Why These Words Win

A good Wordle starting word maximizes the information you get from your first guess. The ideal word has:

  1. All unique letters — no repeats, so each tile gives you new information.
  2. High-frequency letters — letters that appear in the most words, so you're likely to get greens and yellows.
  3. Familiarity — a word you can remember and type quickly, especially in Speed Streak mode.

These rankings are computed from the actual 2,043 daily-tier words in the English word list — not generic English advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best starting word for Wordle in English?
RAISE is the best starting word in our solver's ranking of the English answer list. On average it leaves 2.6% of the possible answers.
Should I use the same starting word every day?
Sticking to one strong opener is the most consistent approach — it eliminates decision fatigue and lets you read the board faster. Many top solvers use the same first word every day, then vary their second guess based on what survived.
What makes a good second guess?
A second guess that shares zero letters with your opener. That way every tile in your second guess tests new information. The Best Opening Pairs section above lists the strongest combinations from the English word list.
How is coverage calculated?
Coverage = sum of letter-frequency percentages for each unique letter in the word. A word containing the five most common letters in English Wordle scores higher than a word containing rarer letters, even if both have five unique letters.