The Best Wordle Starting Words, Backed by Letter Data
A good Wordle opener does one job: it tests as many likely letters as possible, so that whatever the colours tell you, you have learned a lot. The best openers are not a matter of luck or taste; they are the words built from the letters that appear most often. We worked out which ones those are from our own dictionary.
We took every common five-letter word with no repeated letters and scored it by how often each of its letters appears across common five-letter words. A higher score means the word is more likely to turn up greens and yellows. A quick note: this is based on our list of everyday English words, not Wordle's private answer list, which no one outside the game can see. The principle is the same either way.
The strongest common openers
These five words top the ranking while still being words everyone knows:
| Opener | Why it works |
|---|---|
| RAISE | R, A, I, S, E — five of the most common letters, no duplicates. |
| ARISE | The same five letters as RAISE, in a different order. |
| STARE | S, T, A, R, E — swaps I for T, another very common letter. |
| SLATE | S, L, A, T, E — strong, and starts with the common opener S. |
| CRANE | C, R, A, N, E — a popular choice that also tests N and C. |
All five score far above vowel-heavy openers like ADIEU or AUDIO. Those pack in four vowels, but they waste letters on U, which is uncommon, and test only one consonant. Consonants usually split the remaining words faster once you know a vowel or two.
The most common letters
Here is why those words win. Across common five-letter words, this is how often each letter appears at least once:
| Letter | Appears in |
|---|---|
| E | 47% |
| S | 44% |
| A | 40% |
| R | 33% |
| O | 30% |
| I | 28% |
| T | 27% |
| L | 26% |
| N | 23% |
A great opener is simply five of these packed into one real word, and RAISE, STARE and SLATE do exactly that. Notice S is second only to E; many five-letter words end in S, so an opener containing S is rarely wasted.
Pick one and keep it
The single most useful habit is to choose one opener and use it every day. When you always start the same way, you quickly learn what each result pattern tends to mean and what your best second guess is. Switching openers daily throws that away.
Your second guess matters as much
If your opener gives you only a yellow or two, resist building the answer straight away. Play a second word made of five fresh common letters. After RAISE, a word like CLOTH or MOUNT tests C, L, O, T, H or M, O, U, N, T — none of which RAISE covered. By the end of guess two you will have tested ten of the most common letters and usually narrowed the answer to a handful.
What about the "mathematically perfect" openers?
You may have seen words like SOARE or ROATE called the best possible openers. They do score highly, but they are obscure (a young hawk, and to roast). They are no better for everyday play than RAISE or STARE, and harder to remember. Stick with a common word you will not misspell under pressure.
When you are stuck mid-puzzle
Openers get you started; our Wordle helper finishes the job. Enter your green, yellow and grey letters and it lists every common word that still fits, so you can choose the next guess. For the traps that catch everyone late in a game, see Wordle traps, and for the full routine, our Wordle tips.
Wordle is a trademark of The New York Times Company. EasyUnscramble is independent and not affiliated with it. Rankings are from our own common-word list and measure letter coverage, not Wordle's answer list.
Related reading: Wordle tips · Wordle traps · 5-letter words with the most vowels · Most common letters in English
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