Best Wordle starting words
A good opener tests the letters most answers contain. Below: the shortlist, the reasoning, and a generator preset to five-letter words when you want variety.
Guide
How to use it
- Cover the big vowels first: A and E appear in more answers than any other letters, an opener should test at least two vowels.
- Add the common consonants, R, S, T, L and N do the most elimination work.
- Avoid repeated letters in guess one, "SPEED" spends a slot confirming E twice.
- Either commit to one opener (consistency helps you learn the follow-ups) or set the length filter above to 5 and draw variety.
- Whatever guess one reveals, take it to the Wordle helper to filter the remaining answers.
Examples
The shortlist, with reasons
Five distinct high-frequency letters, S, L, A, T, E, and every one in a common position. Consistently among the top openers in solver analyses.
The same six strong letters split two ways, both test E in the dominant final position and R in the middle. CRANE is famously the choice of several solver bots.
Four vowels in one guess. Great information about vowels, weak on consonants, a fine opener if your second guess is consonant-heavy like "SNORT".
Method
How it works
Across the five-letter words of a standard dictionary, E, A, R, O and T lead the frequency table, and position matters too: S opens words far more often than it closes them (Wordle answers avoid plurals), E closes them constantly. Openers like SLATE and CRANE pack five distinct high-frequency letters into their most common positions, which maximises the expected information from guess one.
There is no single mathematically perfect opener for human play, solver rankings shuffle the top ten depending on assumptions, anything on the shortlist above starts you well ahead of a random word.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is the single best Wordle starting word?
Solver analyses usually crown SLATE, CRANE, TRACE or SALET depending on their assumptions. The differences between them are tiny, pick one you will remember.
Is ADIEU actually good?
It is good at vowels and poor at consonants. Paired with a consonant-heavy second guess it forms a strong two-guess system, alone it trails SLATE-type openers slightly.
Should I use the same starter every day?
There is a real benefit: you learn the common second guesses for each colour pattern, which speeds up the whole game. Variety is more fun, consistency is more efficient.
Do plurals matter?
Wordle answers essentially never end in S as a plural, which is why S-final openers like RATES test S in the wrong place. S at the start, as in SLATE, works harder.
Two-word opening systems, worth it?
Pairs like CRANE then SPILT cover ten distinct letters and suit cautious play. In hard mode they are impossible, your second guess must obey the clues.
Where do I go after guess one?
The Wordle helper on this site: enter your greens, yellows and greys and it lists every answer still possible.
More tools