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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 Friday'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.
Don't think you need any clues for Wordle today? No problem, just skip to my daily column. But remember: failure in this game is only ever six guesses away.
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 #1799) - clue #1 - Vowels
How many vowels does today's Wordle have?
• Wordle today has 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).
Wordle hints (game #1799) - clue #2 - first letter
What letter does today's Wordle begin with?
• The first letter in today's Wordle answer is C.
C is a very common starting letter in Wordle – in fact, it's the second most common of all, behind only S.
Wordle hints (game #1799) - clue #3 - repeated letters
Does today's Wordle have any repeated letters?
• There are 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 #1799) - clue #4 - ending letter
What letter does today's Wordle end with?
• The last letter in today's Wordle is 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.
Wordle hints (game #1799) - clue #5 - last chance
Still looking for more Wordle hints today? Here's an extra one for game #1799.
- Today's Wordle answer is to casually throw.
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 #1799)
- NYT average score: 4.0
- My score: 4
- WordleBot's score: 4
- My skill score: 99
- My luck score: 37
- My start word performance: SANER (304 remaining answers)
- WordleBot's start word performance: SLATE (315)
- Tomorrow's start word: SANER
Today's Wordle answer (game #1799) is… CHUCK.
Why is it that so many words that end in a CK start with a C? There really are a lot of them. Or at least that's what it seemed like to me on completing today's game, so being a curious sort I decided to check.
Among Wordle's original answers list there are 11 solutions that have the format C--CK. That makes it the sixth most likely combination for those positions, behind S--CK (for instance SHOCK, with 14 options), S--RE (STORE, 13), R--ER (ROVER, 12), S--LL (SMELL, 12) and S--ER (SAFER, 12). Never say I don't know how to entertain you!
Anyway, the upshot is that I was right to think that there are lots of words that have the C--CK format, albeit not quite as many as those that start with an S instead. But it goes to show how likely the CK ending is.
The other reason why it probably felt familiar is that just in the past month we've also had CROCK (game #1776) and CLOCK (#1788), with other CK-ending words in that time being QUACK (#1774) and then WRECK last week (#1796).
None of that made today's job any easier, unfortunately, so I had to settle for a four. Then again, the average is exactly 4.0 too, so it's not a disaster.
I had a poor start, but CLOUT removed 299 answers and left only five: CUBIC, CHUCK, CHUMP, CUBBY and CUPID.
I found them all, and spotted that CUPID and CUBIC would both guarantee a four at worst, while also possibly being correct; the others might have left a 50/50. I went with CUPID and though it was wrong it pointed the way to CHUCK and its familiar format.
Yesterday's Wordle hints (game #1798)
In a different time zone where it's still Friday? Don't worry — I can give you some clues for Wordle #1798, too.
- Wordle yesterday had 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).
- The first letter in yesterday's Wordle answer was V.
V is a fairly uncommon starting letter in Wordle. There are only 43 answers that begin with a V, and it ranks just 16th.
- 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 L.
L is a really common letter to find at the end of a Wordle. There are 155 games that finish with an L, and it ranks as the fifth most likely letter there.
Still looking for more Wordle hints? Here's an extra one for game #1798.
- Yesterday's Wordle answer is outspoken.
Yesterday's Wordle answer (game #1798)
- NYT average score: 4.4 (revised)
- My score: 5
- WordleBot's score: 5
- My skill score: 99
- My luck score: 15
- My start word performance: SANER (127 remaining answers)
- WordleBot's start word performance: SLATE (76)
- Tomorrow's start word: SANER
Yesterday's Wordle answer (game #1798) was… VOCAL.
It's not often that I score a five but earn a perfect 99/99 skill score from WordleBot, but such was my lot. Then again, I also scored a 15/99 for luck — which tells you all you need to know about what went wrong here.
From a glance at the board you might think that I'd fallen into one of Wordle's classic letter traps, but I (generally) know better than to get lost in one of those. Instead, I just picked the wrong one from a 50/50; the board looks worse than reality.
What happened was that my second guess, PLAIT, cut the options down to 15, and among those 15 were FOCAL, VOCAL and LOCAL. But I had several others shortlisted, including MODAL, LOYAL and AWFUL, so played LOCAL to see which format I might need to worry about. Playing a word with the L at both ends might also seem strange, but I figured it would help me to place it.
LOCAL did give me the format: it was going to be that pesky -OCAL pattern. And that meant that I now faced a 50/50 between FOCAL and LOCAL. Guess which one I picked? Yep, you got it.
I won't be the only one to make that mistake, because the average here is 4.3 (note — revised to 4.4), so clearly it's troubling many other Wordlers too. Does that make me feel any better about scoring a five? No. Does the fact that I scored 99 for skill help? No. Can anything provide succor? Well, a two or three tomorrow might do, but until then it's a resounding no. Oh well.
Wordle answers: The past 50
I've been playing Wordle every day for more than four 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 #1798, Friday 22 May: VOCAL
- Wordle #1797, Thursday 21 May: AGREE
- Wordle #1796, Wednesday 20 May: WRECK
- Wordle #1795, Tuesday 19 May: DUSTY
- Wordle #1794, Monday 18 May: LOATH
- Wordle #1793, Sunday 17 May: BYLAW
- Wordle #1792, Saturday 16 May: MOVER
- Wordle #1791, Friday 15 May: CREED
- Wordle #1790, Thursday 14 May: WAVER
- Wordle #1789, Wednesday 13 May: DOWDY
- Wordle #1788, Tuesday 12 May: CLOCK
- Wordle #1787, Monday 11 May: NEWLY
- Wordle #1786, Sunday 10 May: PARKA
- Wordle #1785, Saturday 9 May: SATIN
- Wordle #1784, Friday 8 May: UMBRA
- Wordle #1783, Thursday 7 May: BUDGE
- Wordle #1782, Wednesday 6 May: LIKEN
- Wordle #1781, Tuesday 5 May: LATCH
- Wordle #1780, Monday 4 May: RISER
- Wordle #1779, Sunday 3 May: PUFFY
- Wordle #1778, Saturday 2 May: BRING
- Wordle #1777, Friday 1 May: PLUME
- Wordle #1776, Thursday 30 April: CROCK
- Wordle #1775, Wednesday 29 April: RURAL
- Wordle #1774, Tuesday 28 April: QUACK
- Wordle #1773, Monday 27 April: EERIE
- Wordle #1772, Sunday 26 April: GLOSS
- Wordle #1771, Saturday 25 April: WOMEN
- Wordle #1770, Friday 24 April: DRUNK
- Wordle #1769, Thursday 23 April: TWEET
- Wordle #1768, Wednesday 22 April: SNORE
- Wordle #1767, Tuesday 21 April: CLUMP
- Wordle #1766, Monday 20 April: WEAVE
- Wordle #1765, Sunday 19 April: STAND
- Wordle #1764, Saturday 18 April: TOADY
- Wordle #1763, Friday 17 April: BELLE
- Wordle #1762, Thursday 16 April: CUBIT
- Wordle #1761, Wednesday 15 April: BEGUN
- Wordle #1760, Tuesday 14 April: CYCLE
- Wordle #1759, Monday 13 April: ELFIN
- Wordle #1758, Sunday 12 April: ALLEY
- Wordle #1757, Saturday 11 April: PRUDE
- Wordle #1756, Friday 10 April: CAROM
- Wordle #1755, Thursday 9 April: LADEN
- Wordle #1754, Wednesday 8 April: INLET
- Wordle #1753, Tuesday 7 April: DENSE
- Wordle #1752, Monday 6 April: SWORN
- Wordle #1751, Sunday 5 April: ENVOY
- Wordle #1750, Saturday 4 April: SANDY
- Wordle #1749, Friday 3 April: SINGE
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.
10c. Plus, the NYT has now started repeating answers that have already appeared in Wordle. We have no idea how often it will do this, so you'll need to be on your guard.
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.
