How to use the Wordle helper

Type your pattern in the first box using letters for confirmed positions and ? for unknowns. Add yellow-tile letters in the "Present" box and grey-tile letters in the "Absent" box. The word list filters as you type.

Wordle strategy tips

Start with a word that covers common letters: CRANE, SLATE, ARISE.
Your second guess should target letters not in your first word.
Use the present list to keep track of misplaced letters.

Information theory behind Wordle

Each Wordle guess provides information in the information-theoretic sense: the colour feedback (green/yellow/grey) reduces the number of possible remaining answers. An optimal first guess maximises the expected number of bits of information gained - measured by how evenly it splits the remaining word space. This is why words like CRANE, SLATE, and ARISE are popular openers: their letters (R, E, A, T, S, L, N) appear frequently in 5-letter words, providing the most feedback on average.

Hard mode strategy

Hard mode requires using confirmed letters in every subsequent guess. This creates the -IGHT trap: if you confirm the pattern _IGHT, at least five valid words remain (MIGHT, NIGHT, FIGHT, LIGHT, SIGHT) but Hard mode forces you to use _IGHT in every guess, meaning you can only eliminate one at a time and may need all 6 guesses just for this family. In Normal mode, a guess like FILMS could eliminate three options at once. This trade-off is the central strategy difference between the two modes.

Letter frequency reference

The most common letters in 5-letter English words (approximately, by position-weighted frequency):

Common: E, A, R, O, T, L, I, S, N, C

Rare: Q, Z, X, J, V (appear in very few 5-letter words)

First guesses that cover as many common letters as possible maximise your information gain on the opening move.