Today’s Wordle helper
Updated for . No spoilers — we will not show you the answer.
Starter words for 28 July 2026
Each has five distinct letters and at least two vowels, so a single guess tests as much of the alphabet as possible. The set rotates daily.
A method that works on any Wordle
- Guess 1 — cover the alphabet. Play one of the starters above. Aim for maximum coverage, not a lucky hit.
- Guess 2 — use entirely new letters unless you already have three greens. Two guesses of ten distinct letters narrow the field far faster than shuffling the letters you already know.
- Guess 3 — place the yellows. A yellow letter is in the word but not in that column, so deliberately move it to a column you have not tried.
- Guesses 4 to 6 — commit. Now guess real candidates. Watch for repeated letters, which is where most streaks die: SPOON, LLAMA and ERROR all repeat a letter and none of them are unusual words.
When you are stuck on the last two letters
This is the classic trap: _OUND could be BOUND, FOUND, HOUND, MOUND, POUND, ROUND, SOUND or WOUND, and with two guesses left you cannot try them all. Rather than gamble, spend a guess on a word that tests several of those opening consonants at once, even though it cannot be the answer. Browse Wordle words ending with D or the matching five-letter words with middle letter U to see the full candidate set before you choose.
Word lists to narrow it down
Frequently asked questions
Do you show today's Wordle answer?
No. This page is deliberately spoiler-free. It gives you starter words, a filtering method and the word lists you need to work the puzzle out yourself, which is the part that actually improves your game.
What is the best Wordle starting word?
There is no single best word, but the strongest openers share three traits: five distinct letters, at least two vowels, and common consonants such as R, S, T, L and N. CRANE, SLATE and TRACE all fit. The starters below rotate daily so you can try a different one each time.
Should my second guess reuse the letters I found?
Only if you already have three or more greens. Early on, a second guess made entirely of new letters eliminates far more possibilities than one that reshuffles known letters. Once the field narrows to a handful of candidates, switch to guessing real candidates.
Does Wordle accept every English word?
No. Wordle uses its own accepted-guess list, which is smaller than a Scrabble dictionary and excludes most proper nouns and very obscure entries. Our Wordle word lists only contain words the game will actually accept as a guess.
Word data from our combined TWL, SOWPODS and ENABLE dictionary, last compiled . WORDLE is a trademark of The New York Times Company; this site is independent and unaffiliated.