What Is Wordle?
Wordle gives you six rows and one clear mission: find a secret five-letter English word. Type any valid five-letter guess into the grid, press Enter, and the letter tiles will flip into green, yellow, or grey.
Josh Wardle originally created the game as a personal puzzle for his partner. After going public in October 2021, Wordle surged to millions of daily players and was acquired by The New York Times. Everyone around the world receives the exact same daily puzzle, making it a beloved morning ritual.
Understanding the 3 Tile Colors
Every time you submit a guess, Wordle reveals instant color feedback for all five positions:
The letter is in the word and in the exact right position. Keep it locked there on your next attempt!
The letter is in the word, but in a different slot. Shift it to another position on your next guess.
The letter does not appear anywhere in today's answer. Eliminate it from your future guesses.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough of a Real Game
Let's trace a live example where today's secret answer is CRIMP:
All five letters turn grey. That feels rough at first glance, but you just eliminated five of the most frequent letters (S, L, A, T, E) in a single turn!
R turns green in the first position, while O, U, N, and D are ruled out. Now we know the word begins with R or contains R early.
Testing the remaining high-value letters C, I, M, and P nails the exact word in 3 guesses!
Essential Tips for Beginners
- Use balanced starting words: Always pick words with 2 common vowels and 3 high-frequency consonants (e.g., SLATE, CRANE, TRACE).
- Avoid repeated letters on guess one: Words like SPEED or APPLE waste a tile slot on guess 1 by testing the same letter twice.
- Don't panic after grey rows: An all-grey guess eliminates 20% of the alphabet immediately, narrowing down hundreds of dictionary candidates.
- Watch out for rhyming traps: If you uncover _IGHT, resist guessing right away on Hard Mode—there are over 7 words (FIGHT, LIGHT, MIGHT, NIGHT, RIGHT, SIGHT, TIGHT) that can break your streak!