You're staring at a yellow tile. Maybe it's green. Either way, you're four letters deep into a word game—probably Wordle or one of its many clones—and you've realized that the ending is definitely "UN." It feels like there should be dozens of options, right? Honestly, there aren't that many. When you filter English vocabulary down to five-letter blocks, the pool shrinks faster than a cheap cotton shirt in a hot dryer.
Finding 5 letter words ending in un is a specific challenge because "UN" isn't a common suffix for this length. We're used to "ED," "ER," or "ING." But "UN"? That’s a weird one. Most of the time, these words are either borrowed from other languages, represent very specific niche terms, or are just plain obscure.
The Common Contenders You Probably Forgot
Let’s get the obvious ones out of the way first. You’ve likely already thought of BEGUN. It’s the past participle of "begin," and it’s a heavy hitter in word games because it uses three very common vowels and consonants. If you haven’t tried BEGUN yet, do it. It’s a solid guess.
Then there is RERUN. If you’re a fan of old television or just someone who understands how syndication works, this one is a no-brainer. It’s a compound word, which is actually somewhat rare for a five-letter slot. Most five-letter words are root words, not prefixes tacked onto shorter words. RERUN breaks that mold. It’s a great way to test if the letter "R" appears twice in your puzzle, which happens more often than people think.
Why Logic Fails in Word Games
Sometimes, your brain tries to make words that don't exist. You might think "Preun" or "Deun" are words. They aren't. Your brain is just trying to find a pattern.
In the world of competitive linguistics and Scrabble, we look at frequency. Data from the Linguistic Data Consortium suggests that "N" is one of the most frequent closing letters in English, but it usually follows an "O" or an "A." The "U" before it changes the phonetic landscape entirely. It makes the word sound more guttural, more Germanic in some cases, or even Latinate.
The Weird Ones: Bedun and Beyond
Have you ever heard of BEDUN? Probably not, unless you’re deep into Middle English or specific dialect studies. It basically means to soil or dirty something. You won’t see it in a standard New York Times crossword often, but it exists in the deeper OED (Oxford English Dictionary) archives.
Then we have KOGUN. This one is fascinating. It’s not English in origin; it refers to a historical Japanese term related to the "Imperial Army." This is where word games get tricky. Depending on which dictionary the game uses—be it the Merriam-Webster Scrabble Dictionary or the Collins Scrabble Words (CSW21)—the inclusion of loanwords can make or break your winning streak.
- ALGUN: Often found in Spanish (meaning "some"), but occasionally pops up in specialized word lists.
- SAJUN: A type of fabric or garment in certain cultures.
- TABUN: This one is actually quite serious. It’s a nerve agent. Hopefully, you only encounter it in a word game and never in real life. It’s a G-series nerve agent discovered in Germany in the late 1930s.
Is This Even English?
Kinda. English is a linguistic vacuum cleaner. It sucks up words from everywhere.
Take ADJUN. It’s not a common word you’d use at brunch. However, in specific historical contexts or as a truncated form in technical manuals, you might see it. But if you’re playing Wordle, stick to the basics. The game designers usually stick to a list of about 2,300 "common" words for their daily puzzles, even though over 12,000 five-letter words exist in the English language.
The Strategy of the Final UN
When you know the word ends in UN, you need to work backward. Look at the vowels. You’ve already used "U." Is there another vowel? Words like BEGUN use two. Words like RERUN use two. If you have no other vowels, you’re looking at a very consonant-heavy start, which is rare for this specific ending.
Think about the letter M.
Wait, is there a 5 letter word ending in un with an M? Not really, unless you’re looking at MUMUN, which is extremely obscure. Most of the time, the first three letters are going to be a combination of B, G, R, or N.
A Note on Scrabble vs. Wordle
If you're playing Scrabble, you have more leeway. You can play TABUN and get away with it. You can play KOGUN if your opponent isn't paying attention or if you're using an international dictionary. But if you're playing a game designed for a general audience, the "UN" ending is almost always going to lead you to "BEGUN" or "RERUN."
The frustration comes when you’ve used those two and the boxes are still gray.
That’s when you have to start looking at names or places that have entered the lexicon. For example, LUZUN isn't a word, but it sounds like one. Don't let your brain trick you into "sound-alikes." Stick to the verified lists.
Regional Variations and Slang
Sometimes, slang enters the dictionary. While not common, you might find words like SHGUN (a shortened version of shotgun) in very informal urban dictionaries, but they rarely make the cut for formal games.
Language is fluid. What’s a "non-word" today might be the winning word three years from now. Look at how "YEET" or "FR" (for real) have started to creep into the peripheral of linguistic acceptance. For now, though, "UN" words remain a small, elite club.
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Historical Context of the UN Ending
The "UN" ending often traces back to Old English or Germanic roots. The word "sun" is ancient. "Run" is ancient. When we add letters to make them five letters long, we usually add prefixes.
BE-GUN.
RE-RUN.
The prefix is the key. English loves to modify verbs by adding "BE" or "RE." If you’re stuck, try a prefix. It’s the most logical path forward.
There’s also SAJUN. In some older botanical or regional texts, you’ll see specific names for plants or tools that end this way. Honestly, you probably won't need those for your daily puzzle. But it’s good to know they exist so you don't feel like you're losing your mind when "BEGUN" isn't the answer.
Practical Steps for Word Game Success
When you are down to your last two guesses and you know the ending is UN, follow this exact sequence to save your streak:
- Check for BEGUN immediately. It is statistically the most likely candidate in any general-knowledge word game.
- Verify the R. If you have an R available, test RERUN.
- Scan for T and B. TABUN is your "hail mary" play. It's a real word, it's in the dictionary, and it fits the 5 letter words end in un criteria perfectly, even if it is a bit grim.
- Look for unusual consonants. If you’re playing a game that allows more obscure words, try KOGUN or ADJUN.
- Stop guessing randomly. Don't throw letters like X, Z, or Q at a UN ending. They almost never appear together in this configuration in English.
By focusing on the prefix-heavy nature of these specific five-letter words, you narrow the search space from thousands of possibilities to just a handful of high-probability hits. Keep your vowel usage in mind—if the "U" is the only vowel, the word is likely a loanword or highly technical. If there is an "E," you are almost certainly looking at a "BE-" or "RE-" prefix situation.