The most common letters in Wordle words are E, A, R, O, and T. Charts show where they appear most in past answers. Use this data to build better guessing strategies.
What do Wordle letter frequency studies show?
Wordle answers favor E, A, R, O, and S.
Our updated daily chart reflects these trends from real past Wordle words:
This differs from general English letter frequency. For instance, E remains dominant, but T and N drop in rank compared to A, S, and R. Three studies confirm this:
- Dr. Drang: S, E, A, R, O are most frequent.
- Josh Bernoff: E, A, R, O and T dominate.
- Tom’s Guide: S is top starter, E is top vowel.
Wordle letter frequencies by position
See which letters lead first with our daily chart:
Which letters start most Wordle answers?
S, C, B, T, and A appear often at the start.
S is the most frequent starting letter in Wordle. Use it when picking your opener.
Which letters end most Wordle answers?
E, Y, T, R, and L are top ending letters.
Many correct answers end in E or Y. T, R, and L follow close. These are key for final guesses.
The following studies back these claims:
Wordle Letter occurrences by Dr. Drang
Dr. Drang (pseudonym), a Ph.D. in Engineering, tried to find Wordle’s common letters. Though he used the words all the possible answers plus the words which are possible guesses (but not the answers). He concluded that the most common letters are: S, E, A, R, and O.
Wordle Letter occurrences by Josh Bernoff
Josh Bernoff used a better approach and did the mathematical analysis of only the possible Wordle solutions. He concluded that the letters E, A, R, O, T are the most common. In addition to that, the frequency of letters on each position was also analysed. The top 2 letters for each position are listed below:
| Position | Top 2 Letters Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Position 1 | S, C |
| Position 2 | A, O |
| Position 3 | A, I |
| Position 4 | E, N |
| Position 5 | E, Y |
This gives us the insight into why SALET and CRANE are widely used first words.
Wordle Letter occurrences by Tomsguide
E is the most common letter in both English and Wordle answers according to Tomsguide. They did a similar analysis of positions of frequent letters, and it is exactly the same as in Table 1 by Josh Bernoff. But, it included the ranked total occurrence of letters, which are: E, A, R, O, T. Which again exactly coincides with the research of Josh Bernoff.
How often do vowels appear in Wordle?
Most Wordle words use 2 or 3 vowels.
E, A, and O are the most used vowels. They help form the word structure fast. Try mixing these in your starting guess. The vowel to Consonant ratio is 35% to 65% (1 : 1.857). This means that you will encounter 1.857 consonants for every vowel in Wordle words.
How do vowels compare to consonants in Wordle?
Consonants appear more, but vowels give early help.
R, T, L, and S are top consonants. They anchor the word shape. Good starting letters include a mix like STARE or CRANE.
The table below tells us that vowels are more common in each position of words:
| Position | Letter Type |
|---|---|
| Position 1 | Consonant (S) |
| Position 2 | Vowel (A) |
| Position 3 | Vowel (A) |
| Position 4 | Vowel (E) |
| Position 5 | Vowel (E) |
What are the most common letter pairs in Wordle?
ER, ST, AR, RE, and NT appear often.
These two-letter combinations are common. Use them when guessing likely Wordle patterns after the first clue.
What are the most common starting combinations?
ST, SH, CR, CH, SP, and GR are the most common 2-letter starting combinations for Wordle.
What are the most common ending combos?
CH, ER, SE, LY, AL, and CK are the most common 2-letter ending combinations for Wordle.
Which letters are rare in Wordle answers?
Q, Z, X, and J are least used.
These letters show up less than 1% of the time in past answers. For example, Q, Z, and X appear in fewer than 15 of over 2,000 known Wordle solutions. Avoid them early unless clues point that way.
Fun fact 1: There is no word so far which started with the letter X.
Fun fact 2: There is no word so far which ended with the letter J, Q or V.
What patterns exist in real Wordle answers?
The conclusion is based on the analysis of dataset of all 2390 Wordle answers:
- Plural words are rare.
- Most answers do not end in S. (e.g., “DRINK” not “DRINKS”).
- Repeated letters are common. Double letters like “LL” and “EE” occur in ~15% of past answers.
- Letter 2 is more stable than letter 5. Common 2nd letters: “A”, “O”, “R.”
| Pattern Type | Frequency in Answers |
|---|---|
| Plural ending “S” | <5% |
| Repeated letters (e.g., LL, EE) | ~10% |
| Double vowels (e.g., “OO”, “EE”) | Common |
| Uncommon starters (e.g., Q, J) | Rare |
How should we use this letter data?
Use frequent letters, smart positions, and good combos.
Top guesses include A, R, E, and S. Look at which letters are common in Wordle and choose words with a balance. Try SALET, CRANE, or STARE first.
What are the most common letters in English?
E, T, A, O, I, N, and S lead in English.
This comes from these researches:
- Department of Mathematics, Cornell University
- Samuel Morse (Morse Code Inventor)
- Cryptographical Mathematics, by Robert Edward Lewand
Letter frequencies according to Cornell University
According to this study, top letters in English words are E, T, A, O, I.
Words’ Letter frequencies by Cryptographical Mathematics
According to this study, top letters in English words are E, T, A, I, N.
It is evident that the frequencies of common Wordle letters (E, A, R, O, T) differ from common letters in English words (E, T, A, I, N).
Summary
- Wordle letter frequency shows E, A, R, and S lead.
- S is the most common Wordle starting letter.
- Most Wordle words use 2+ vowels.
- Frequent pairs include ER, ST, and RE.
- Charts help pick better Wordle starter words daily.
FAQ
E appears most frequently in Wordle answers, based on frequency analysis of past puzzles.
Nearly all Wordle answers include at least two vowels, like ‘audio’, ‘raise’, or ‘media’.
S starts more Wordle answers than any other letter, likely because many common English words begin with it.
The letter pairs ‘ER’ and ‘ST’ appear frequently in answers such as ‘stern’, ‘store’, or ‘tiger’.
Q and Z are used infrequently in actual Wordle answers, so starting with them gives fewer useful clues.