Wordle FAQ: 20 Most Commonly Asked Questions Answered

wednesday — Thu, 05 Nov 2026 17:23:08 +0000

1. What is Wordle?

A daily 5-letter word game, you have 6 guesses to figure out the Wordle. Created by Josh Wardle, it became a viral sensation in late 2021 and was purchased by the New York Times in January 2022. Everyone plays the same word each day.

2. Who made Wordle?

Wordle was created by Josh Wardle, a software engineer from Brooklyn, New York (Welsh). He made it for his partner Palak Shah who loves word games. It was first launched publicly in October 2021 and can be found at powerlanguage.co.uk. Wordle is a play on Josh’s last name.

3. What do the colours mean?

Green = Letter is in the word in the right place. Yellow = Letter is in the word but not in the right place. Grey = Letter is not in the word.

4. Is Wordle free?

Yes! Since being bought by the NYT, Wordle has remained free to play. You don’t need a subscription to play Wordle.

5. Do I need a NYT subscription?

No, you don’t need any subscription to play Wordle. However, if you have an NYT Games subscription you will have access to more puzzles (Full crossword & Spelling Bee).

6. Can I play multiple Wordles a day?

No, unless you play on Wordle Unlimited fan sites. These allow you to play as many Wordles as you like. Each time you’ve finished you can instantly start again. You’ll get a new Wordle Unlimited word.

7. What is Hard Mode?

Hard Mode means that you must include all of the yellow letters you have found and keep the green letters in the same spot. This is an optional feature and can be turned on in the settings.

8. What is the best starting word?

According to NYT’s WordleBot, CRANE is the best word to start with. Other high-rated words are STARE, RAISE and SLATE. They’re all great because they contain 5 unique high frequency letters.

9. What words can be used?

Wordle uses around 2300 common 5-letter English words. These were put together by Josh Wardle and have been tweaked by the NYT since purchase. There are far more words you can guess (over 10,000) but only the 2300 words will be the answers.

10. Are proper nouns used?

No, all of the answers are common English words. There are no names, places or brand names.

11. How can I share my Wordle result?

After finishing your Wordle, click/tap the share button. This will create an emoji grid with no spoilers. You’ll be able to copy this and post it on any social media, messaging app or email.

12. What happens if I don’t guess the word in 6 guesses?

After your 6th guess you’ll see the answer. Your streak will reset to 0 and it will show as a loss on your stats page.

13. Is there an app?

There is no official Wordle app. It can be played on your browser at nytimes.com/games/wordle. It can also be played on the NYT Games app (free to download). Wordle is free to play with no subscription.

14. Will switching devices or browsers affect my streak?

Yes, if you aren’t signed into an NYT account. Your streak will reset because it is saved in Local Storage. If you sign into a free NYT account then your streak will be saved on the server.

15. What is WordleBot?

WordleBot is an analysis tool provided by the NYT. After completing the Wordle you’ll see how well you did with each guess. It will give you a skill rating (how efficient you were at narrowing down the possible words) and a luck rating (how much the structure of the answer helped you).

16. What is Wordle Unlimited?

Wordle Unlimited are fan made websites. They let you play Wordle, however you can play as many as you want as you can instantly restart after each game.

17. Are there any Wordle variations in other languages?

Yes! There are variations for French (Le Mot), Spanish (Wordle ES), Portuguese (Termo) and several variations in Hindi.

18. What is Colourblind mode?

This changes the colours of the tiles from green and yellow to blue and orange so people with red/green colourblindness can play easier. This can be found in the settings.

19. Is there an archive?

Unfortunately, the official Wordle archive has been taken down by the NYT. However there are several unofficial archives.

20. Can I make my own Wordle word?

No, unless you play on some Wordle Unlimited sites. Some sites - wordleunlimited.dev allow you to enter your own word and share the link. Your friends can then play with your Wordle word.

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