It’s time for your guide to today’s Wordle answer, featuring my commentary on the latest puzzle, plus a selection of hints designed to help you keep your streak going.
Don’t think you need any clues for Wordle today? No problem, just skip to my daily column. But remember: failure in this game is only ever six guesses away.
Want more word-based fun? TechRadar’s Quordle today page contains hints and answers for that game, and you can also take a look at our NYT Strands today and NYT Connections today pages for our verdict on two of the New York Times’ other brainteasers.
SPOILER WARNING: Today’s Wordle answer and hints are below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to see them.
Wordle hints (game #1314) – clue #1 – Vowels
How many vowels does today’s Wordle have?
• Wordle today has vowels in two places*.
* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).
Wordle hints (game #1314) – clue #2 – first letter
What letter does today’s Wordle begin with?
• The first letter in today’s Wordle answer is U.
U is not a particularly common starting letter in Wordle, with only 33 answers beginning with it. It ranks 20th in this regard, and is the least common vowel to start an answer.
Wordle hints (game #1314) – clue #3 – repeated letters
Does today’s Wordle have any repeated letters?
• There are repeated letters in today’s Wordle.
Repeated letters are quite common in the game, with 748 of the 2,309 Wordle answers containing one. However, it’s still more likely that a Wordle doesn’t have one.
Wordle hints (game #1314) – clue #4 – ending letter
What letter does today’s Wordle end with?
• The last letter in today’s Wordle is R.
R is a very common letter to end a Wordle answer – it’s actually the 4th most common there, behind E, Y and T.
Wordle hints (game #1314) – clue #5 – last chance
Still looking for more Wordle hints today? Here’s an extra one for game #1314.
- Today’s Wordle answer is higher in position.
If you just want to know today’s Wordle answer now, simply scroll down – but I’d always recommend trying to solve it on your own first. We’ve got lots of Wordle tips and tricks to help you, including a guide to the best Wordle start words.
If you don’t want to know today’s answer then DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER BECAUSE IT IS PRINTED BELOW. So don’t say you weren’t warned!
Today’s Wordle answer (game #1314)
- NYT average score: 4.3
- My score: 3
- WordleBot’s score: 5
- Best start word performance*: PARSE (18 remaining answers)
- My start word performance: SCAMP (144)
* From WordleBot’s Top 20 start words
Today’s Wordle answer (game #1314) is… UPPER.
The second ER word this week, and the fourth so far in January, is also the easiest for a while – but it’s far from easy compared to most other answers.
WordleBot says UPPER has an average score of 4.3, compared to 5.6 for the horrendous ROWER, 5.0 for WAFER and 4.6 for CYBER. But compared to yesterday’s REACH (see below), which finished at 3.0, it’s still a tough nut to crack.
It does differ from most ER words in that it lacks the consonant-vowel-consonant format at the start that characterizes so many of them. This theoretically makes it easier, as there are only so many two-consonant pairings that work; you’d never get R followed by J or K followed by V for instance. The effect here was to reduce the number of possible solutions, so that once you had the second letter in place you would (theoretically) have had an easier time than you would if it was a vowel.
On the flip side, it contains a repeated P – a format that is pretty uncommon even by the standards of repeat letters; a mere 18 of the Wordle’s 2,309 original solutions contain more than one P.
It’s hard enough overall that it took WordleBot five guesses to solve it, surely not helped by the fact that CRANE left 191 solutions. Well, excuse my lack of sympathy, ‘bot, but welcome to my world.
Today, as it happens, my opener performed better than that, with SCAMP leaving 144 options. Better still, it gave me the yellow P that would prove pivotal to my own game here.
I followed up with PRINT, knowing that P is very common at the start, and gained a yellow R. And, at this point, I realized that an ER word was likely – something that I should probably have played for by this stage.
Still, I only had nine words left, WordleBot told me afterwards, and found a handful: LEPER, DOPER, ROPER, UPPER and REPLY. But I dismissed DOPER and ROPER as very unlikely, and decided to go with UPPER on nothing more than a hunch. If wrong I might still have had three or four words to choose from, but I’d have confirmed that ER format and would be guaranteed to know where the P went.
I needn’t have worried. Sometimes a hunch is correct, and today, improbably, mine was spot on. UPPER turned out to be the answer and I got home in three.
How did you do today? Send me an email or let me know in the comments.
Yesterday’s Wordle hints (game #1313)
In a different time zone where it’s still Wednesday? Don’t worry – I can give you some clues for Wordle #1313, too.
- Wordle yesterday had vowels in two places.
* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).
- The first letter in yesterday’s Wordle answer was R.
R is a surprisingly uncommon starting letter. Despite ranking third overall in Wordle, it’s merely the 11th most likely to begin an answer.
- There were no repeated letters in yesterday’s Wordle.
Repeated letters are quite common in the game, with 748 of the 2,309 Wordle answers containing one. However, it’s still more likely that a Wordle doesn’t have one.
- The last letter in yesterday’s Wordle was H.
H is a regular visitor to the final spot in a Wordle word. It occurs 137 times at the end of a Wordle answer, making it the sixth most common letter there.
Still looking for more Wordle hints? Here’s an extra one for game #1313.
- Yesterday’s Wordle answer is to stretch out or extend.
Yesterday’s Wordle answer (game #1313)
- NYT average score: 3.0
- My score: 3
- WordleBot’s score: 3
- Best start word performance*: TRACE, CRATE (1 remaining answer)
- My start word performance: BOARD (52)
* From WordleBot’s Top 20 start words
Yesterday’s Wordle answer (game #1313) was… REACH.
I talk a lot about the hardest Wordles ever, but what about the easiest? Well, REACH is the latest inclusion in that list, jumping in at equal third place.
In order, the easiest Wordle for which I have an average score (just over 1,000 games in total) is SLATE (average score an improbable 1.5), followed by PLATE (2.9), then TRAIN, STALE, RAISE, STARE and now REACH, all at 3.0.
Given that the overall average is around 3.9, REACH really is a very easy Wordle. Some of this will be due to the performance of several of the best Wordle start words. For instance, TRACE and CRATE each left only one solution, but more relevant here will be the fact that CRANE left only two and STARE three.
What’s more, the letters and combinations here are so common that many people will have cut the shortlist to one or two on the second guess. Plus, the word itself is so widely used that lots will have guessed it on the third attempt even if just as a narrowing-down option.
My game was entirely trouble-free. I played BOARD first, and that left 52. But helpfully, it gave me a green A in the middle and a yellow R next to it. The R was unlikely to go at the end, given that A placement; it could have been a word such as STAIR or FLAIR or CHAIR, and I considered them all, but more common format-wise was R in second and E at the end. This gave me the likes of CRANE, GRACE, TRACE, CRATE, GRATE and lots more.
The only problem was, I knew that many had been past Wordle answers. I’m not great at remembering what’s gone before in this game, but the likes of CRANE, TRACE and CRATE had all stuck in my mind due to their prominence as start words.
Instead, I played FRESH. This was a risk, but I thought there might be an S in there (CRASS, GRASS, GRASP, CRASH, STAIR), F also cropped up often (FRAME, FLAIR, CRAFT, GRAFT) and H was in the likes of GRAPH, WRATH and indeed REACH.
Honestly, I got lucky; WordleBot only rated my guess as 62 for skill but 93 for luck. But I’ve had my fair share of bad luck too, so who cares? FRESH gave me a green H but yellow R and E, and that left REACH as my only option. I thought I’d done very well, but it turns out I was merely average today!
Wordle answers: The past 50
I’ve been playing Wordle every day for more than three years now and have tracked all of the previous answers so I can help you improve your game. Here are the last 50 solutions starting with yesterday’s answer, or check out my past Wordle answers page for the full list.
- Wordle #1313, Wedneday 22 January: REACH
- Wordle #1312, Tuesday 21 January: ICING
- Wordle #1311, Monday 20 January: SQUID
- Wordle #1310, Sunday 19 January: ROWER
- Wordle #1309, Saturday 18 January: SILLY
- Wordle #1308, Friday 17 January: PROSE
- Wordle #1307, Thursday 16 January: FLINT
- Wordle #1306, Wednesday 15 January: KNACK
- Wordle #1305, Tuesday 14 January: FANCY
- Wordle #1304, Monday 13 January: CLOAK
- Wordle #1303, Sunday 12 January: TOTAL
- Wordle #1302, Saturday 11 January: DINGY
- Wordle #1301, Friday 10 January: CRAWL
- Wordle #1300, Thursday 9 January: WAFER
- Wordle #1299, Wednesday 8 January: DRAFT
- Wordle #1298, Tuesday 7 January: ATLAS
- Wordle #1297, Monday 6 January: SPRIG
- Wordle #1296, Sunday 5 January: CYBER
- Wordle #1295, Saturday 4 January: RELAX
- Wordle #1294, Friday 3 January: CHEAP
- Wordle #1293, Thursday 2 January: CHOSE
- Wordle #1292, Wednesday 1 January: NERVE
- Wordle #1291, Tuesday 31 December: LEMUR
- Wordle #1290, Monday 30 December: STARE
- Wordle #1289, Sunday 29 December: MAMBO
- Wordle #1288, Saturday 28 December: DECRY
- Wordle #1287, Friday 27 December: GRAIN
- Wordle #1286, Thursday 26 December: AFFIX
- Wordle #1285, Wednesday 25 December: SHARE
- Wordle #1284, Tuesday 24 December: EAGLE
- Wordle #1283, Monday 23 December: SAUNA
- Wordle #1282, Sunday 22 December: BRAWN
- Wordle #1281, Saturday 21 December: BLADE
- Wordle #1280, Friday 20 December: FLASH
- Wordle #1279, Thursday 19 December: STRAY
- Wordle #1278, Wednesday 18 December: HEFTY
- Wordle #1277, Tuesday 17 December: SCOWL
- Wordle #1276, Monday 16 December: BOAST
- Wordle #1275, Sunday 15 December: FUNKY
- Wordle #1274, Saturday 14 December: DROOL
- Wordle #1273, Friday 13 December: BOXER
- Wordle #1272, Thursday 12 December: VYING
- Wordle #1271, Wednesday 11 December: PLUMB
- Wordle #1270, Tuesday 10 December: PATIO
- Wordle #1269, Monday 9 December: FLUNG
- Wordle #1268, Sunday 8 December: HYENA
- Wordle #1267, Saturday 7 December: HILLY
- Wordle #1266, Friday 6 December: SHOVE
- Wordle #1265, Thursday 5 December: ENDOW
- Wordle #1264, Wednesday 4 December: CRYPT
- Wordle #1263, Tuesday 3 December: SHAKY
What is Wordle?
If you’re on this page then you almost certainly know what Wordle is already, and indeed have probably been playing it for a while. And even if you’ve not been playing it, you must surely have heard of it by now, because it’s the viral word game phenomenon that took the world by storm last year and is still going strong in 2024.
We’ve got a full guide to the game in our What is Wordle page, but if you just want a refresher then here are the basics.
What is Wordle?
Wordle challenges you to guess a new five-letter word each day. You get six guesses, with each one revealing a little more information. If one of the letters in your guess is in the answer and in the right place, it turns green. If it’s in the answer but in the wrong place, it turns yellow. And if it’s not in the answer at all it turns gray. Simple, eh?
It’s played online via the Wordle website or the New York Times’ Crossword app (iOS / Android), and is entirely free.
Crucially, the answer is the same for everyone each day, meaning that you’re competing against the rest of the world, rather than just against yourself or the game. The puzzle then resets each day at midnight in your local time, giving you a new challenge, and the chance to extend your streak.
What are the Wordle rules?
The rules of Wordle are pretty straightforward, but with a couple of curveballs thrown in for good measure.
1. Letters that are in the answer and in the right place turn green.
2. Letters that are in the answer but in the wrong place turn yellow.
3. Letters that are not in the answer turn gray.
4. Answers are never plural.
5. Letters can appear more than once. So if your guess includes two of one letter, they may both turn yellow, both turn green, or one could be yellow and the other green.
6. Each guess must be a valid word in Wordle’s dictionary. You can’t guess ABCDE, for instance.
7. You do not have to include correct letters in subsequent guesses unless you play on Hard mode.
8. You have six guesses to solve the Wordle.
9. You must complete the daily Wordle before midnight in your timezone.
10. All answers are drawn from Wordle’s list of 2,309 solutions. However…
11. Wordle will accept a wider pool of words as guesses – some 10,000 of them. For instance, you can guess a plural such as WORDS. It definitely won’t be right (see point 4 above), but Wordle will accept it as a guess.