A new NYT Wordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here.
Skip the hints and jump straight to today's column.
It's time for your guide to today's Wordle answer, featuring my commentary on the latest puzzle, plus a selection of hints designed to help you keep your streak going.
Want more word-based fun? TechRadar's Quordle today page contains hints and answers for that game, and you can also take a look at our NYT Strands today and NYT Connections today pages for our verdict on two of the New York Times' other brainteasers.
SPOILER WARNING: Today's Wordle answer and hints are below, so don't read on if you don't want to see them.
Marc is TechRadar’s Global Editor in Chief and has been obsessed with Wordle for more than four years. He's authored dozens of articles on the game for TechRadar and its sister site Tom's Guide, including a detailed analysis of the most common letters in Wordle in every position and a guide to the best Wordle start words. He's also played every Wordle ever and only lost once and yes, he takes it all too seriously.
Wordle hints (game #1679) - clue #1 - Vowels
How many vowels does today's Wordle have?
• Wordle today has vowels in two places*.
* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).
Wordle hints (game #1679) - clue #2 - first letter
What letter does today's Wordle begin with?
• The first letter in today's Wordle answer is B.
B is a very, very common starting letter in Wordle. In fact, it's the third most common overall, behind only S and C.
Wordle hints (game #1679) - clue #3 - repeated letters
Does today's Wordle have any repeated letters?
• There are no repeated letters in today's Wordle.
Repeated letters are quite common in the game, with 748 of the 2,309 Wordle answers containing one. However, it's still more likely that a Wordle doesn't have one.
Wordle hints (game #1679) - clue #4 - ending letter
What letter does today's Wordle end with?
• The last letter in today's Wordle is N.
N is a pretty common ending letter in Wordle: it's the seventh most likely in that position and features in 130 solutions.
Wordle hints (game #1679) - clue #5 - last chance
Still looking for more Wordle hints today? Here's an extra one for game #1679.
- Today's Wordle answer is an aristocratic title.
If you just want to know today's Wordle answer now, simply scroll down – but I'd always recommend trying to solve it on your own first. We've got lots of Wordle tips and tricks to help you, including a guide to the best Wordle start words.
If you don't want to know today's answer then DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER BECAUSE IT IS PRINTED BELOW. So don't say you weren't warned!
Today's Wordle answer (game #1679)
- NYT average score: 3.7
- My score: 3
- WordleBot's score: 3
- My skill score: 99
- My luck score: 67
- My start word performance: SANER (6 remaining answers)
- WordleBot's start word performance: SLATE (202)
- Tomorrow's start word: SANER
Today's Wordle answer (game #1679) is… BARON.
There's no hiding that I got lucky today – really lucky. And you know what? I don't care! After all, Wordle is a game of luck as well as skill.
BARON is not a tough Wordle anyway, as its average score of 3.7 indicates. B is not a particularly common letter in general, but it's the third most common starting letter after S and C, a fact that always surprises me even though I must have shared it in this column at least 50 times.
There have now been 125 answers that begin with a B – out of 173 in total – so there are still a fair few to come. Many of those are followed by an R or L, for instance in BLAST (game #1664) or BRAND (#1483), but lots instead have a vowel in that place, and when that vowel is an A it probably makes the game easier, because most starting words contain that letter.
The fact that the other three letters here are the also-common R, O and N will also have helped, and there were no major complications to worry about in the form of similarly spelled words (though a few people played MANOR instead).
My first bit of luck was that my opening SANER cut the options to only six – a better return than that enjoyed by any of the most popular starters.
Those six were RAINY, CARNY, CAIRN, BARON, RAYON and RADON, but I only came up with the first three of those myself. No matter, because I then got my second slice of luck. I played CARNY, thinking that it would guarantee me a three at worst because it would rule in/out the other two choices even if it was incorrect. Of course the fact that I hadn't thought of the other three words could have come back to haunt me – but it didn't, because CARNY was actually guaranteed to narrow down all six answers.
I guess I would have been even luckier if CARNY had itself proven to be the answer, but it pointed the way to BARON instead, and I happily accepted a three.
Yesterday's Wordle hints (game #1678)
In a different time zone where it's still Thursday? Don't worry – I can give you some clues for Wordle #1678, too.
- Wordle yesterday had a vowel in one place*
* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).
- The first letter in yesterday's Wordle answer was C.
C is a very common starting letter in Wordle – in fact, it's the second most common of all, behind only S.
- There were no repeated letters in yesterday's Wordle.
Repeated letters are quite common in the game, with 748 of the 2,309 Wordle answers containing one. However, it's still more likely that a Wordle doesn't have one.
- The last letter in yesterday's Wordle was K.
K is much more common at the end of a Wordle answer than at the start, and in fact ranks ninth overall in this regard.
Still looking for more Wordle hints? Here's an extra one for game #1678.
- Yesterday's Wordle answer is a short, sharp sound.
Today's Wordle answer (game #1678)
- NYT average score: 4.0
- My score: 3
- WordleBot's score: 3
- My skill score: 98
- My luck score: 62
- My start word performance: SANER (86 remaining answers)
- WordleBot's start word performance: SLATE (50)
- Tomorrow's start word: SANER
Yesterday's Wordle answer (game #1678) was… CLINK.
What is it about C and K? They often go together at the end of a word: there are 47 words among the Wordle answers that end CK, making it the sixth most common finishing pair. But there are also 24 games that have a C at the start and K at the end – making it the 15th most likely start-and-end combo. From what I can see, only SE, TE and DY rival it for commonality in both regards.
Part of that is just that both letters are common in those positions in general, but I wonder if it also something about them that links them together. They're two sides of the same coin, after all, both making the same sound in many situations. Plus, they just sound right together – in the same way that CLINK on its own sounds right.
It's also a good example of an onomatopoeic word, and I'm a sucker for those. Although for the full effect you need a high-pitched voice, which I don't have. But I can do it in my head and it works.
Anyway, I digress! I scored a three, my first after a couple of fours, and didn't really put a foot wrong throughout. SANER, my opening word, left 86 options, but with a yellow N on the board and T not yet played I was able to go for COUNT and pack the board with common letters.
That turned the N green and gave me the C at the start as a bonus, and in doing so cut my shortlist to a pair of CLINK and CLING. I reckon I get the 50/50s right about ooh 50% of the time, and today was one of my lucky days. I'll take it.
Wordle answers: The past 50
I've been playing Wordle every day for more than three years now and have tracked all of the previous answers so I can help you improve your game. Here are the last 50 solutions starting with yesterday's answer, or check out my past Wordle answers page for the full list.
- Wordle #1678, Thursday 22 January: CLINK
- Wordle #1677, Wednesday 21 January: CUBIC
- Wordle #1676, Tuesday 20 January: SULLY
- Wordle #1675, Monday 19 January: WAXEN
- Wordle #1674, Sunday 18 January: SUMAC
- Wordle #1673, Saturday 17 January: FIERY
- Wordle #1672, Friday 16 January: RACER
- Wordle #1671, Thursday 15 January: CHASM
- Wordle #1670, Wednesday 14 January: AVOID
- Wordle #1669, Tuesday 13 January: GUMBO
- Wordle #1668, Monday 12 January: TRIAL
- Wordle #1667, Sunday 11 January: QUARK
- Wordle #1666, Saturday 10 January: MANIC
- Wordle #1665, Friday 9 January: EIGHT
- Wordle #1664, Thursday 8 January: BLAST
- Wordle #1663, Wednesday 7 January: PECAN
- Wordle #1662, Tuesday 6 January: OOMPH
- Wordle #1661, Monday 5 January: FILLY
- Wordle #1660, Sunday 4 January: POSSE
- Wordle #1659, Saturday 3 January: SITAR
- Wordle #1658, Friday 2 January: PROOF
- Wordle #1657, Thursday 1 January: FABLE
- Wordle #1656, Wednesday 31 December: SIREN
- Wordle #1655, Tuesday 30 December: DECOR
- Wordle #1654, Monday 29 December: FRUIT
- Wordle #1653, Sunday 28 December: ABBOT
- Wordle #1652, Saturday 27 December: BATCH
- Wordle #1651, Friday 26 December: SPEED
- Wordle #1650, Thursday 25 December: PRISM
- Wordle #1649, Wednesday 24 December: SPOOL
- Wordle #1648, Tuesday 23 December: GLINT
- Wordle #1647, Monday 22 December: CONCH
- Wordle #1646, Sunday 21 December: QUILT
- Wordle #1645, Saturday 20 December: WHITE
- Wordle #1644, Friday 19 December: MYRRH
- Wordle #1643, Thursday 18 December: RUGBY
- Wordle #1642, Wednesday 17 December: GRASS
- Wordle #1641, Tuesday 16 December: SEGUE
- Wordle #1640, Monday 15 December: DODGY
- Wordle #1639, Sunday 14 December: SWING
- Wordle #1638, Saturday 13 December: MISER
- Wordle #1637, Friday 12 December: TRUCK
- Wordle #1636, Thursday 11 December: GUESS
- Wordle #1635, Wednesday 10 December: ERASE
- Wordle #1634, Tuesday 9 December: SNIDE
- Wordle #1633, Monday 8 December: GRAVY
- Wordle #1632, Sunday 7 December: FLUTE
- Wordle #1631, Saturday 6 December: WAIST
- Wordle #1630, Friday 5 December: WAIST
- Wordle #1629, Thursday 4 December: TULIP
What is Wordle?
If you're on this page then you almost certainly know what Wordle is already, and indeed have probably been playing it for a while. And even if you've not been playing it, you must surely have heard of it by now, because it's the viral word game phenomenon that took the world by storm in 2022 and is still going strong in 2026.
We've got a full guide to the game in our What is Wordle page, but if you just want a refresher then here are the basics.
What is Wordle?
Wordle challenges you to guess a new five-letter word each day. You get six guesses, with each one revealing a little more information. If one of the letters in your guess is in the answer and in the right place, it turns green. If it's in the answer but in the wrong place, it turns yellow. And if it's not in the answer at all it turns gray. Simple, eh?
It's played online via the Wordle website or the New York Times' Games app (iOS / Android), and is entirely free.
Crucially, the answer is the same for everyone each day, meaning that you're competing against the rest of the world, rather than just against yourself or the game. The puzzle then resets each day at midnight in your local time, giving you a new challenge, and the chance to extend your streak.
What are the Wordle rules?
The rules of Wordle are pretty straightforward, but with a couple of curveballs thrown in for good measure.
1. Letters that are in the answer and in the right place turn green.
2. Letters that are in the answer but in the wrong place turn yellow.
3. Letters that are not in the answer turn gray.
4a. Answers are never plural.
4b. …unless they are. There have been a couple of plural words that don't end in an S or ES, including FUNGI (game #439), ATRIA (#1478) and TEETH (#1551). But S and ES plurals are definitely outlawed.
5. Letters can appear more than once. So if your guess includes two of one letter, they may both turn yellow, both turn green, or one could be yellow and the other green.
6. Each guess must be a valid word in Wordle's dictionary. You can't guess ABCDE, for instance.
7. You do not have to include correct letters in subsequent guesses unless you play on Hard mode.
8. You have six guesses to solve the Wordle.
9. You must complete the daily Wordle before midnight in your timezone.
10a. All answers are drawn from Wordle's list of 2,309 solutions…
10b. …unless they are not. That's because the NYT has added in some of its own words which weren't in that list of 2,309 solutions. More will undoubtedly come over the next few years.
11. Wordle will accept a wider pool of words as guesses – some 10,000 of them. For instance, you can guess a plural such as WORDS. It definitely won't be right (see point 4a above), but Wordle will accept it as a guess.
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