Most people who finish Wordle in five or six guesses aren't missing vocabulary. They're spending guesses badly. Here's a simple system that gets most players to a steady three or four.
A plan for every guess
| Guess | Goal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Test common letters. Use the same strong opener every day. |
| 2 | Test five new common letters unless guess one gave you two or more greens. |
| 3 | Start fitting what you know: greens in place, yellows in new spots. |
| 4 and 5 | Solve, or split the remaining options with a deliberate test word. |
| 6 | Pick the most common word left. Answers are almost always everyday words. |
Guess two: explore, don't chase
The biggest mistake is chasing a single yellow on guess two. If SLATE gives you one yellow A, a word like ANGRY looks tempting, but it only tests four new letters and you might hit grey everywhere. A word like CORNY tests five fresh, common letters and usually tells you far more.
Chase only when you have strong information, such as two greens or three yellows. Otherwise, explore.
The rhyming trap
Some patterns have too many answers to guess one at a time. _IGHT is the classic: FIGHT, LIGHT, MIGHT, NIGHT, RIGHT, SIGHT, TIGHT. Guessing them in turn can burn all six rows.
The fix: play a word that tests several of the possible first letters at once, even if it can't be the answer. If FIGHT, LIGHT, MIGHT, NIGHT, SIGHT and TIGHT all fit, a guess like FILMS tests F, L, M and S in one go and usually tells you which it is.
The same goes for _ATCH, _OUND, _ASTE and _ILL. When three or more words fit, stop guessing them and start eliminating.
Don't forget repeats
When you are down to a pattern that doesn't seem to fit any word, check for a repeated letter. Answers like CREPE, LEVEL, MAMMA and PEEVE trip up players who assume five different letters. If our Wordle solver shows a match you didn't expect, it is often one of these.
Hard mode
In hard mode, every green and yellow letter must be reused in later guesses. It removes the "explore" move above, so it is harder, but practising it trains you to place letters precisely. Try it for a week, then switch back: your normal-mode game will feel easier.
Still stuck on today's puzzle? Take a single hint on the Wordle hint today page. Each one is labelled by how much it gives away.