Open Wordle every day and stare at the five blank spaces? Don’t panic! This guide will teach you how to use strategies and techniques to easily solve daily puzzles, and say goodbye to the embarrassment of “six wrong answers”.
Choose the right opening word and explore the way first
Prioritize SLATE (S, L, A, T, E, high-frequency letters are fully covered) or CRANE (C, R, A, N, E). These words are like “scouts” and can quickly find out the status of letters:
- Green (right position) → Lock the position;
- Yellow (there is a word, wrong position) → change the position and try again;
- Gray (not in the word) → directly exclude.
Example: guess SLATE first, S turns yellow (there is S in the word, wrong position), A turns green (the second position is A), L, T, E turn gray (excluded). Next time, guess SPACE (put S in the 3rd-5th place, A is still in the second place, exclude E, add P and C tests).
Play with color feedback, like playing a puzzle
- Green letters: “stabilizing needle”, for example, the third place is A (_ _ A _ _), subsequent guesses must keep A in the third place.
- Yellow letters: “stray cat”, known to be in the word but in the wrong position. Example: S turns yellow in the first place, put it in the middle next time (_ _ S _ _).
- Gray letters: “blacklist”, unless the word is repeated (such as L in BALL, if you guess BALL for the first time, L turns gray → there is no L in the word, don’t try again).
Tips: Use a notepad to draw a “letter frequency table”, cross out the gray letters after each guess, mark the green/yellow position, and narrow the scope super efficiently.
Be wary of repeated letters, don’t step into the trap
There may be repeated letters in the word (such as LL in WALLS, LL, II in SILLY). If L turns yellow, try S L I L S (test for repetition within 5 letters, and ensure the length, such as ALLYS contains two Ls). After guessing BILLY, L turns yellow (the fourth position), you can try S L I L E (check whether L is repeated in the 2nd and 4th positions, if double yellow → the word contains double L; single green → fixed position).
Use hints and leverage the community
NYT built-in hints: After logging in, see “Today’s Word Related to Nature”, and try PLANT and TREES first; “Contains diphthongs” → A, E, I combination (such as BEACH, PIANO).
Community resources: WordleHints.com or Reddit’s r/Wordle, which shares clues such as “ending – ING” and “double consonants (such as LL, SS)” every day, directly lock the structure, and save 3 guesses!
For example: given the hint “food-related”, first guess FRUIT (F, R, U, I, T, high-frequency letters for food), yellow R → try BREAD (R in the second position? No, the R in BREAD is the third position, oh yes! The yellow R indicates that there is R in the word but in the wrong position, adjust it to the right position).
Advanced strategy: root + elimination method
Root game: 5-letter words often contain prefixes (RE-, UN-) or suffixes (-ER, -LY, pay attention to the length! For example, REACH, UNION, -LY requires 6 letters, exclude). Seeing the yellow N in the fifth position (the N in PLAIN turns yellow), try PLANS (ending with S, N in the fourth position? No, the N in PLANS is the third position, oh yes, flexibly adjust within 5 letters).
Elimination table: list 26 letters, cross out the gray, mark the green/yellow positions, and eliminate impossible combinations like a crossword puzzle (such as no gray E → the word contains E; green E in the third position → fixed).
Save and practice + AI coach, the more you play, the better you will be
NYT subscription benefits: 1400+ saves to play, re-do old questions to practice strategy (ADIEU vs SLATE, who is more likely to get green?).
Wordle Bot: AI analyzes every step you take and points out “this step should guess XXXX, which can eliminate 100+ words”, comparable to a personal coach, quickly improve your level.
The ultimate trick: mentality + habits
Every guess is intelligence: you can win even if all gray letters are eliminated (5 letters are eliminated), and you will definitely win within 6 times!
Difficult mode forces self-discipline: force you to use green/yellow letters, although it is difficult, the logic is more rigorous, and there is no water on the road to winning streak.
Share the review: send emoji results to see how friends guess; find the reason from “wrong again” (for example, always forget U? Next time, you must bring U in the first guess).
Conclusion
Wordle is not a matter of luck, but a mental exercise of “logic + vocabulary”. Use these tips to transform from a “blind guesser” to a “strategist”, and the daily green streak is the best proof. Now open the game and follow the steps, you will find that six attempts are enough to solve any puzzle!
