Five Letters: how to choose a good first guess

A good first guess tests letters that many words contain. In the 6,282 words Gridarium accepts as guesses, the most common letters are E, S, A, R, O, I, L, T, N, U, in that order. E appears in 46 % of the words.

Which letters to try first

This table counts, for each letter, how many of the accepted words contain it at least once.

Three opening words

The first word below is the one that tests the most common letters together. The second adds the most common letters the first did not test, and the third does the same again. Played in a row, they test 14 different letters.

1. arose
2. unlit
3. duchy

These come from the whole list of accepted guesses, which includes rare words. The words of the day are everyday words, so treat the list as a starting point, not a promise. You do not have to use all three: if your first guess already gave you several colours, start thinking about the answer.

Reading the colours

Green, with a tick: the right letter in the right place. Yellow, with a ring: the letter is in the word, but somewhere else. Grey: the letter is not in the word. If a letter appears twice in your guess but only once in the word, only one of the two is marked green or yellow.

Watch out for word families

Some endings fit a lot of words. In the accepted list, five-letter words ending in IGHT number 12 (BIGHT, DIGHT, EIGHT, FIGHT, NIGHT, SIGHT), and there are 8 that end in OUND. When most of the word is green and only one letter is missing, do not guess them one at a time. Play a word that tests several of the possible missing letters at once, even if it cannot be the answer.

There is no rush

You have six guesses and no timer. If you do not find the word, nothing is lost: the day still counts for your streak, and tomorrow brings a new word.