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 Saturday'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 three 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 #1639) - 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 #1639) - clue #2 - first letter
What letter does today's Wordle begin with?
• The first letter in today's Wordle answer is S.
S is the most common starting letter in the game, featuring in 365 of Wordle's 2,309 answers. In fact, it's almost twice as likely to begin an answer as the next most common starting letter, C.
Wordle hints (game #1639) - 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 #1639) - clue #4 - ending letter
What letter does today's Wordle end with?
• The last letter in today's Wordle is G.
G is not a common letter to end a Wordle answer – in fact only 41 of Wordle's 2,309 games finish with one.
Wordle hints (game #1638) - clue #5 - last chance
Still looking for more Wordle hints today? Here's an extra one for game #1639.
- Today's Wordle answer is to move to and fro, or oscillate.
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 #1639)
- NYT average score: 4.0
- My score: 4
- WordleBot's score: 4
- My skill score: 94
- My luck score: 52
- My start word performance: SANER (31 remaining answers)
- WordleBot's start word performance: SLATE (70)
- Tomorrow's start word: SANER
Today's Wordle answer (game #1639) is… SWING.
Getting a green S at the start of a word can be a mixed blessing. There are 16 letters that can follow an S at the start of a Wordle, a clear majority of the alphabet given that (not counting S itself) there are only nine that can't follow it. And that can make it difficult to narrow down the opening combination and start forming the answer even if your start word is SLATE or STARE or indeed SANER as mine is.
That goes some way to explaining the relatively high average of 4.0 for SWING, although the presence of a W and (to an extent) a G are also contributing factors.
The W in particular is annoying – it tends to be one of the possibilities that I spend the least amount of time considering whenever I see an S at the start of a word. That's probably because as a letter in its own right, it's uncommon – the sixth least likely ahead of only V, Z, X, Q and J.
However, after an S it's actually pretty common – as the table below shows.
First 2 letters | Frequency |
|---|---|
ST | 65 |
SH | 52 |
SP | 45 |
SC | 29 |
SL | 27 |
SA | 23 |
SW | 23 |
SN | 18 |
SM | 15 |
SE | 14 |
SO | 14 |
SI | 13 |
SU | 13 |
SK | 9 |
SQ | 3 |
SY | 2 |
That's right, there are 23 words that begin SW, a total that puts it at equal 26th among starting pairs overall. Given that there are 214 distinct combinations across the game's 2,309 original solutions, it's at the top end of the table for sure.
In fact, it's more common than SN and SM, two combos I always look for, and more likely than S followed by any vowel other than A. I really need to give it more credit.
Instead, I played COUNT as my second guess – a word that was designed to rule out as many of those opening pairs as possible, but that includes the less likely (after an S) O, U and N.
Of course, the benefit of playing generally common letters is that one might appear somewhere else instead, and indeed the N did – turning green near the end of the word and cutting my initial 31 options to five.
At this point I did consider the W, because those five words included SWING as well as SLINK, SLING, SPINY and SHINY. However, I decided to go with SLING instead, and had to finally fill the W-shaped gap on the fourth guess.
In a different time zone where it's still Saturday? Don't worry – I can give you some clues for Wordle #1638, 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 M.
M is a middling letter when it comes to starting a word. It sits 10th in the rankings, with 107 occurrences in the 2,309 answers.
- 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 R.
R is a very common letter to end a Wordle answer – it's actually the 4th most common there, behind E, Y and T.
Still looking for more Wordle hints? Here's an extra one for game #1638.
- Yesterday's Wordle answer is (very) careful with money.
Yesterday's Wordle answer (game #1638)
- NYT average score: 4.0
- My score: 2
- WordleBot's score: 4
- My skill score: 84
- My luck score: 93
- My start word performance: SANER (7 remaining answers)
- WordleBot's start word performance: SLATE (32)
- Tomorrow's start word: SANER
Yesterday's Wordle answer (game #1638) was… MISER.
Before this week, I'd only scored one 2/6 in the past four months – LATER, which was game #1,553 in September – so to get a couple in the space of four days is unusual. And indeed, if you believe WordleBot, also incredibly lucky; 93 out of 99 lucky. But I also think it involved another quality. You might call it chutzpah, or nerve, or even arrogance – but it worked.
It was certainly good luck that my start word, SANER, left only seven possible solutions. And yes, a 1/7 solve on the second guess does involve a fair bit of good fortune too, even if there was some logic behind it.
Admittedly, I didn't even think of all seven: for -ISER I had MISER, WISER, for -OSER I had LOSER and POSER. But I missed the others, which were RISER, USHER and ESTER; I definitely should have thought of the first two, but the third is a little more obscure, so I don't feel too bad about not spotting it.
Regardless of whether I thought of them all or not, though, I differed from the 'Bot in terms of how to play the second guess.
The way I approached it was that I had a chance of a two, and I was going to grasp that chance with both hands. Now, when faced with a possible fail, or even a five or six, I'll generally play it safe and narrow it down. But a 1/7 chance of a two, followed by a 1/2 chance of a three? That sounds like pretty good odds to me.
So I went for it. I knew that guessing MISER could only have left a 50/50 at worst, and ultimately I'd still have scored either a three or four. The 'Bot's own choice of WHOMP, meanwhile, was guaranteed to solve it in three unless the answer was either RISER or ESTER, (which would leave a 50/50) – but couldn't possibly score a 2/6.
So, on the one hand, you have my approach: a slim chance of a two, a decent good chance of a three, and a definite four. And the 'Bot's: no chance of a two, a strong chance of a three, a possible four.
Sure, to maximize my score I'd want to follow its computer-brain way of doing things, but we humans also like a bit of glory now and then, so I gambled and won. Yes, that's luck – but you can't win unless you take a risk now and again.
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 #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
- Wordle #1628, Wednesday 3 December: HASTE
- Wordle #1627, Tuesday 2 December: CACTI
- Wordle #1626, Monday 1 December: LEACH
- Wordle #1625, Sunday 30 November: MUGGY
- Wordle #1624, Saturday 29 November: GRUFF
- Wordle #1623, Friday 28 November: COLIC
- Wordle #1622, Thursday 27 November: REMIT
- Wordle #1621, Wednesday 26 November: HOVEL
- Wordle #1620, Tuesday 25 November: PLEAD
- Wordle #1619, Monday 24 November: DOUGH
- Wordle #1618, Sunday 23 November: BUNNY
- Wordle #1617, Saturday 22 November: THICK
- Wordle #1616, Friday 21 November: VOWEL
- Wordle #1615, Thursday 20 November: GRAVE
- Wordle #1614, Wednesday 19 November: MAKER
- Wordle #1613, Tuesday 18 November: OPINE
- Wordle #1612, Monday 17 November: CLAMP
- Wordle #1611, Sunday 16 November: WIELD
- Wordle #1610, Saturday 15 November: CLUNG
- Wordle #1609, Friday 14 November: LURID
- Wordle #1608, Thursday 13 November: TINGE
- Wordle #1607, Wednesday 12 November: DEUCE
- Wordle #1606, Tuesday 11 November: GIZMO
- Wordle #1605, Monday 10 November: TABBY
- Wordle #1604, Sunday 9 November: FUGUE
- Wordle #1603, Saturday 8 November: ARISE
- Wordle #1602, Friday 7 November: PERIL
- Wordle #1601, Thursday 6 November: GUISE
- Wordle #1600, Wednesday 5 November: SHORT
- Wordle #1599, Tuesday 4 November: VENUE
- Wordle #1598, Monday 3 November: AWOKE
- Wordle #1597, Sunday 2 November: RABID
- Wordle #1596, Saturday 1 November: MOTEL
- Wordle #1595, Friday 31 October: ABHOR
- Wordle #1594, Thursday 30 October: LATHE
- Wordle #1593, Wednesday 29 October: GLARE
- Wordle #1592, Tuesday 28 October: HOLLY
- Wordle #1591, Monday 27 October: FETID
- Wordle #1590, Sunday 26 October: PLUMP
- Wordle #1589, Saturday 25 October: GAUGE
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 2025.
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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