You've probably been there. It’s 11:55 PM, you’re staring at that grid of empty gray boxes, and your brain just... freezes. You type in "ADIEU" because everyone on Twitter says it’s the goat. Or maybe you go with "AUDIO" because, hey, vowels are important, right? Then you hit enter and—nothing. Five gray tiles stare back at you like you just insulted their mother. Honestly, it's enough to make you want to toss your phone across the room.
The truth is, picking 5-letter words to start wordle isn't just about luck. It's math. But it's also about how your specific brain works. Some people want the cold, hard data of letter frequency, while others want a word that sets up a specific mental "trap" for the remaining letters.
Most players think they’re being smart by burning all the vowels immediately. They aren't. While vowels tell you how a word is shaped, consonants tell you what the word actually is. If you find an "E," you still have hundreds of possibilities. If you find a "P" and an "L" in the right spots, you're halfway to solving the puzzle.
Why Your Current Starter Might Be Trash
Let’s talk about "ADIEU." It’s the most popular starting word in the world. It’s also, mathematically speaking, kinda mediocre. It burns four vowels in one go. Great, now you know the word has an "I" and an "E." Big deal. You still haven't touched "R," "S," "T," or "L," which are the actual heavy hitters of the English language.
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When researchers at MIT and various data scientists started crunching the numbers using information theory, "ADIEU" rarely made the top ten. Instead, they looked for words that minimize "expected remaining possibilities." Basically, you want a word that, no matter what colors pop up, leaves you with the smallest list of potential answers.
Computer scientist Tyler Glaiel actually wrote a whole breakdown on this. He found that if you're playing by the game's internal dictionary, a word like ROATE or RAISE is significantly more powerful. Why? Because they balance the most common vowels with the most aggressive consonants.
The Math Behind the Madness
If you want to play like a bot, you have to look at frequency. In the original Wordle solution list (which has about 2,300 words), the letter "E" is the king. It appears over 1,200 times. "A" is right behind it. But the consonants are where the game is won or lost.
STARE is often cited by the "WordleBot" (The New York Times' own analytical tool) as one of the most efficient 5-letter words to start wordle. It hits the top two vowels and three of the most common consonants. If you get a yellow "S" and a green "E," you’ve already eliminated thousands of "trash" words that don't fit that structure.
Then there’s CRANE. This was the WordleBot's original favorite before it got updated. It’s a banger. You’re testing the "C" and "R" early, which helps rule out common blends like "CH" or "TR."
Think about it this way. Wordle is a game of elimination. You aren't trying to guess the word on turn one. You're trying to kill off as many wrong answers as possible. Using a word like "FUZZY" on turn one is a crime. You’ve used a "Z" twice—a letter that barely exists in the solution set—and you’ve learned almost nothing about the common skeleton of the word.
The "Vowel Trap" and How to Avoid It
I see people obsessed with AUDIO. I get it. It feels safe to know where the vowels are. But English is weird. We have words like "LYMPH," "GLYPH," and "SYLPH." Rare, sure, but they happen. More importantly, vowels are often placeholders. The consonants are the anchors.
If you use SLATE, you are testing the "S," "L," and "T." These are "positional" powerhouses. An "S" at the start of a word is incredibly common. An "E" at the end is practically a given in many five-letter structures. By testing these positions early, you aren't just finding letters; you're finding the skeleton of the word.
Different Strokes for Different Folks: The Best Starters by Style
Not everyone plays the same way. Some people play "Hard Mode," where you're forced to use the hints you've found. Others play "Normal Mode," where you can use your second guess to burn even more letters.
For the Data Nerds:
If you want the highest statistical probability of a low score, stick to SLATE, ROATE, or CHART. These words have high "information entropy." They narrow the field faster than almost anything else.
For the Vowel Hunters:
If you absolutely cannot stand not knowing the vowels, at least use OUAJA. Just kidding, that's not a word. Try ADIEU if you must, but maybe switch to ORATE. It gives you the "O," "A," and "E" but adds the "R" and "T," which are way more useful than the "D" and "I."
For the "Vibe" Players:
Some people like to start with a word that just feels "right" for the day. Honestly? That's a valid way to keep the game from feeling like a math homework assignment. But even then, try to pick something with at least three different consonants. LEAST, PAINT, and STORE are all great "vibey" words that actually do work.
The Second Guess Strategy
Choosing your 5-letter words to start wordle is only half the battle. What you do on guess number two is what actually separates the winners from the "X/6" losers.
If your first word was STARE and you got absolutely nothing—five gray boxes—don't panic. This is actually great information. You’ve just eliminated five of the most common letters. Your second word should be something like CLOUDY or MOUND. You’re now testing the "O" and "U" and a whole new set of consonants.
The biggest mistake? Trying to "force" a word that uses a yellow letter you just found when you still have 15 common letters untested. If you’re not on Hard Mode, use your second guess to scout. If SLATE gave you a yellow "A," don't feel obligated to use that "A" in guess two. Try BRICK or PUNCH. Clean the board.
Real Talk: The "S" Problem
A lot of people think putting an "S" at the end of their starter is a genius move. "It makes it plural!" they say. Here’s a pro tip: Wordle solutions are almost never simple plurals. Josh Wardle, the guy who created the game, specifically curated the list to exclude most "-S" and "-ED" endings that are just plural or past tense versions of four-letter words.
So, while STARE is a great word, TARES is slightly worse because that final "S" is less likely to be a green square than an "E" or a "T." Focus on words that are unique in their own right, not just "word + S."
Beyond the Basics: Semantic Variations and Edge Cases
Let’s look at some weird ones. SNARE vs. STARE. They look similar, but the "N" in SNARE is actually quite a tactical choice. If the word ends in "-ION" or starts with "N-", you catch it early.
What about WHIRL? It’s a risky starter. But if you’re tired of the same old meta, it’s a fun way to test the "W" and "H" which appear in common clusters. It’s not "optimal," but it’s satisfying.
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Then there is the philosophy of "Starting Word Loyalty." Some people have used the same word every day for three years. There’s a psychological benefit to this. You become an expert in that word’s failures. If you start with LEAST every day, you eventually learn exactly what to do when you get a yellow "L" and nothing else. You develop a "branching path" in your head.
- If LEAST is all gray, go to PROUD.
- If LEAST gives a green "T," go to NORTH.
- If LEAST gives a yellow "L" and "E," go to FIELD.
This kind of "if-then" logic is how the top players consistently hit 3-guess wins.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Game
Ready to actually get better at this? Stop guessing blindly and follow a system.
- Ditch the weak vowels. Swap ADIEU for ORATE or ARISE. You'll thank me when the "R" and "S" actually help you find the word.
- Ignore the "S" at the end. Don't waste your fifth letter on a pluralizing "S." Use it on a "T," "N," or "R."
- Track your results. If you find yourself stuck on turn five every day, your starting word is likely leaving too many possibilities open. Switch to SLATE or CRANE for a week and see if your average score drops.
- Memorize a "Safety Word." Have a second word ready for when your first guess is a total wash. CLOUDY, NYMPH, or BRICK are great for clearing the remaining common letters.
- Check the "unpopular" consonants. Don't forget that "Y" is basically a vowel in Wordle. Words like READY or CANDY can be surprisingly effective starters because they lock down that final "Y" position early.
Stop treating Wordle like a vocabulary test and start treating it like a game of Minesweeper. You aren't looking for "pretty" words; you're looking for information. Now go out there and get that 2/6.
Next Steps for Wordle Mastery:
Log into your game today and try SLATE or CRANE instead of your usual go-to. If you get zero hits, follow up immediately with MOUND or CHOIR. Watch how quickly the remaining possibilities shrink when you stop chasing vowels and start hunting the consonants that actually build the word's structure.