Look, we've all been there. It’s 7:00 AM, you’re staring at those six empty rows, and the pressure is weirdly high. You want to beat your spouse. You want to post that sleek green grid on Twitter—or X, whatever—without looking like a total amateur. But picking a wordle word to start with isn't just about grabbing five random letters and hoping for the best. It’s actually a math problem disguised as a game, though you don’t need a degree in linguistics to win.
Some people swear by "ADIEU" because they love vowels. Others think "CRANE" is the only logical choice. Honestly, both groups are right, and both are kinda wrong.
The reality is that Wordle is a game of elimination. You aren't just looking for right letters; you are trying to kill off the wrong ones as fast as possible. If you waste your first turn, you're basically handicapping yourself for the rest of the puzzle. It’s about entropy. It’s about information theory. It's about not being that person who takes six tries to guess "HUMPH."
Why Your First Guess Actually Matters
Every time you hit enter on that first word, you are narrowing down a list of 2,309 possible solutions. That’s the original number of words in the Wordle dictionary, though the New York Times has tweaked it a bit since they bought the game from Josh Wardle.
If you pick a bad word—something like "FUZZY"—you learn almost nothing. You've used two 'Z's. Why? 'Z' is the least common letter in the English language. You’ve basically thrown a dart at a board while wearing a blindfold. A good wordle word to start with uses the "Wheel of Fortune" strategy: R, S, T, L, N, and E.
MIT researchers actually spent time on this. They used algorithms to find the mathematically "perfect" starting word. For a long time, the consensus was "SALET." It’s not a word most people use in daily conversation—it refers to a light medieval helmet—but it clears out a massive amount of the search space.
But here is the catch.
Computer optimal isn't always human optimal. A computer can remember every possible remaining word. You can't. You need a word that sets you up for a second guess that actually makes sense to a human brain.
The Vowel Trap: Why ADIEU is Overrated
If you check the stats, "ADIEU" is consistently one of the most popular starting words globally. It makes sense on the surface. You get four vowels out of the way immediately!
But professional Wordle players (yes, they exist) will tell you that vowels are actually easy to place. The consonants are what keep you up at night. If you know the word has an 'I' and an 'E', it could still be "PRICE," "DRIVE," "BRINE," or "SLIDE." If you know the word has a 'P', an 'R', and a 'C', your options are much narrower.
Using a vowel-heavy wordle word to start with can actually lead you into a "hard mode" trap. Imagine you find out the word ends in "IGHT." You guess "LIGHT," then "MIGHT," then "SIGHT," then "NIGHT." You’ve lost. You ran out of turns because you didn't use your opening moves to eliminate the consonants that distinguish those words.
The Heavy Hitters: CRANE, SLATE, and TRACE
If you want to play like the New York Times' own "WordleBot," you should probably start with "CRANE" or "SLATE."
When the NYT updated their bot to version 2.0, they changed their top recommendation to "SLATE." It’s incredibly efficient. It tests the most common letters in positions where they are most likely to appear. For example, 'S' is the most common starting letter for five-letter words. 'E' is the most common ending letter. Putting them in those spots immediately gives you a tactical advantage.
"TRACE" is another powerhouse.
I personally like "STARE." It feels more natural. It hits the same high-frequency letters but in a slightly different order.
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- SLATE: Best for pure mathematical efficiency.
- CRANE: The classic choice for balanced consonant-vowel discovery.
- ARISE: Good if you really can't let go of your love for vowels but want better consonants than "ADIEU" offers.
- DEALT: Excellent for finding where the 'L' and 'T' hide.
The Strategy of the Second Word
Sometimes the best wordle word to start with is actually a two-word combo. If your first word comes up all grey—which feels like a punch in the gut but is actually very informative—you need a "burner" word.
If you start with "CRANE" and get nothing, you’ve already eliminated C, R, A, N, and E. Your next move shouldn't be to struggle to find a word with those letters. It should be to fire off something like "SLOTH" or "PUDGY."
This is the "Double Opener" strategy. You aren't trying to solve the puzzle in two. You are trying to solve it in three, every single time, by sheer brute force of letter elimination. By the time you reach turn three, you’ve seen 10 different letters. That covers almost half the alphabet.
Hard Mode vs. Normal Mode
We have to talk about the "Hard Mode" toggle in the settings. In Hard Mode, any revealed hints must be used in subsequent guesses.
This changes the value of your wordle word to start with significantly. In normal mode, if you get a yellow 'A' from "SLATE," you can ignore it on turn two to test five completely new letters. In Hard Mode, you are stuck with that 'A'.
In Hard Mode, "LEAST" is often better than "SLATE" because it tests the 'L' and 'T' in more versatile positions. You have to be much more careful about ending up in a "word trap" (like the "IGHT" example). If you play Hard Mode, your first word needs to be a shield. It needs to protect you from getting stuck in a rhyming loop.
The Psychological Aspect of the Opener
Let's be honest: playing the same word every day is boring.
Some people use the "Word of the Day" from the previous day's news. Others use "ADIEU" because they just like the word. There is a certain joy in hitting a "Hole in One," even if it’s pure luck. If you use a different wordle word to start with every morning, your chances of a 1/6 are higher, but your average score will probably be worse.
If you’re a consistency junkie, pick one of the "big three" (SLATE, CRANE, TRACE) and stick with it for a month. You’ll start to recognize patterns. You’ll know exactly what to do when "SLATE" gives you a yellow 'S' and 'E'. It becomes muscle memory.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Using double letters too early. "TREES" is a terrible opener. You're wasting a slot to test 'E' twice. You only need to know if there's an 'E' at first. Save the doubles for when you're narrowing down the final answer.
- Using 'Q', 'Z', 'X', or 'J' in your first two turns. Unless you have a very strong suspicion, these letters are statistical noise.
- Ignoring the 'Y'. 'Y' is a semi-vowel and appears at the end of many words. If you've missed the main vowels, 'Y' is your best friend.
Moving Forward With Your Game
The goal is to lower your average. A 3.5 average is elite. A 4.0 is respectable. To get there, you need to stop guessing and start calculating.
Start your next game with "SLATE." If that feels too "robotic" for you, try "CAROT" or "PAINT." The key is to avoid the outliers.
Pay attention to the letters that aren't there. Sometimes a grey square is more valuable than a yellow one because it tells you exactly what the word cannot be. If you know the word doesn't have an 'S' or an 'R', you've just eliminated a huge chunk of the English language.
Take a breath. It’s just a word game. But also, beating your friends feels great, so choose your opening word wisely.
Your Actionable Cheat Sheet
- Switch to SLATE or CRANE for a week to see if your average score drops.
- Avoid ADIEU if you find yourself getting stuck in turn 5 or 6 frequently; you need more consonants.
- Memorize a backup word for when your first guess is a total wash. "PIOUS" is a great backup if your consonant-heavy opener fails.
- Check the letter frequency if you're stuck. Remember that 'S', 'T', 'R', 'N', and 'E' are your most likely candidates for any position.
- Don't panic on turn four. If you're in a "rhyme trap," use turn four to guess a word that contains all the possible starting letters of the remaining words (e.g., if it could be "FIGHT," "LIGHT," or "MIGHT," guess "FLAME" to test F, L, and M at once).
By shifting your strategy away from "finding the word" to "eliminating the wrong letters," you'll find that the game becomes much less about luck and much more about logic.