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Wordle is the daily five-letter word game from The New York Times, and you can learn it in a minute: guess a hidden five-letter word in six tries, using the color feedback after each guess to close in. Everyone plays the same word each day. For today's clues and the solution, see TECHi's Wordle hints and answer page — this guide covers how the game works and how to win more often.
What is Wordle?
Wordle was built by software engineer Josh Wardle in 2021 and bought by The New York Times in early 2022. A new puzzle unlocks at midnight your local time, and there's exactly one word for everyone — which is why streaks and shareable emoji grids became part of the culture. Your only goal is to find the word in as few of your six guesses as possible.
How the colors work
After every guess, each tile changes color to tell you how close you are:
- 🟩 Green — the letter is correct and in the right position.
- 🟨 Yellow — the letter is in the word, but in a different position.
- ⬛ Gray — the letter is not in the word at all.
Guesses must be real five-letter words from the game's dictionary. Hard mode (optional, in settings) makes the game stricter: once a letter turns green or yellow, you must reuse it in every later guess.
The best starting words
A strong opener tests as many common letters as possible. The most effective starters load up on frequent consonants (S, T, R, N, L) and the common vowels (A, E):
- SLATE, CRANE, TRACE, CRATE — the analytically strongest openers; each pairs three common consonants with two of the most common vowels.
- SLANT, ROAST, STARE, LEAST — strong follow-ups that cover letters your first guess missed.
- AUDIO, ADIEU, OUIJA — vowel-heavy openers if you'd rather lock the vowels down first; they're weaker on consonants, so pair them with a consonant-heavy second guess.
There's no single "correct" word — the real trick is to keep your first two guesses from overlapping, so together they test ten different letters.
Strategy that actually lowers your average
- Spend guess 1 purely on information; don't try to "win" early. Use guess 2 to test five brand-new letters.
- Never reuse a gray letter — it's wasted real estate.
- Watch for double letters (like the two E's in GEESE). Yellow and green counts can mislead you until you deliberately test a repeat.
- From guess 4 on, switch from discovery to locking positions: start arranging the letters you already know into valid words.
- Stuck? List the green and yellow letters you have and work through the missing vowel — it's usually the gap.
A few quick facts
Wordle is free to play on the NYT site and app, with one puzzle per day. For years its answer list never repeated, but the NYT began reusing past words in February 2026 — the first repeat was CIGAR, the original Wordle word, on February 2 — so a solution you've seen before can now return. Several unofficial archives also let you replay old puzzles.
Today's clues live on the Wordle hints and answer page, and you can catch up on the previous day's answer any time.
FAQ
How many guesses do you get in Wordle?
Six. You have six attempts to identify the hidden five-letter word, with color feedback after every guess to guide you.
What is the best Wordle starting word?
There's no single best word, but analytically strong openers include SLATE, CRANE, TRACE and CRATE — each combines three common consonants with two common vowels. Vowel-heavy options like AUDIO or ADIEU also work if you pair them with a consonant-heavy second guess.
Is Wordle free?
Yes. Wordle is free to play on The New York Times website and the NYT Games app; no subscription is required for the daily puzzle.
What time does Wordle reset?
A new Wordle unlocks at midnight your local time, so the puzzle changes overnight wherever you are.
What does hard mode do in Wordle?
Hard mode, an optional setting, forces you to reuse every letter you've revealed: any green or yellow letter must appear in all of your following guesses.
Does Wordle repeat words?
It didn't for years, but that changed in February 2026: the NYT began reusing previous answers, starting with CIGAR — the very first Wordle word — on February 2, 2026. New words still appear regularly, but a past answer can now come back.
Can you play past Wordle puzzles?
The official NYT game only serves today's word, but several unofficial archives let you replay older puzzles. TECHi also keeps the previous day's answer for quick reference.
What do the Wordle tile colors mean?
Green means the letter is correct and in the right position, yellow means it's in the word but in a different position, and gray means the letter isn't in the word at all.
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