One more letter changes the game. Six tiles, six guesses, and words with a lot more structure to work with.
What changes with six letters
Six-letter words are long enough to have real shape: a prefix here (re, un, de), an ending there (-er, -le, -ty). Once you find two or three letters in place, the rest often falls into line. The catch is that more letters also means more room for repeats: 51% of six-letter answers repeat at least one letter, compared with 33% at five letters.
The answer list has 2,228 common six-letter words and 15,823 words are accepted as guesses. On average an answer has 2.23 vowels, so your first two guesses should cover all five of them.
Best starting words for 6 letters
We scored every possible first guess against the full list of six-letter answers and measured how well its colors split that list. The best everyday words to start with are SATIRE, SALTER, CARTEL, RETAIN, CANTER. SATIRE leaves about 22.4 possible answers on average after the first guess. A strong second guess that shares no letters with it is COLUMN. The full method is on the how to play page.
E is by far the most common letter here: it appears in 65% of six-letter answers. After it come R (49.6%), A (42.8%), T (37.4%), I (33%), N (32.3%). The ending matters too: E, R, Y are the most common last letters.
Tips for six-letter rounds
- Look for the ending first. A green E, R or Y in the last box narrows the word down faster than any single letter at the start.
- Use yellows to find the prefix. Yellow R and E often mean re- at the start or -er at the end; one guess can test both.
- Do not fear repeats. Half the answers have one. Bubble, settle and cheese are fair game.
- Daily streak: the daily 6-letter puzzle gives everyone the same word each day.
Frequently asked questions
How many guesses do I get with 6 letters?
Six. Eight and nine letters get seven guesses; four to seven letters get six.
What is a good first word for 6-letter Wordle?
SATIRE, SALTER, CARTEL, RETAIN, CANTER are the strongest common openers by our computation. SATIRE tests S, A, T, I, R and E in one go.
Is six letters much harder than five?
Most players need about the same number of guesses. The words are longer, but each guess also tells you more, and endings like -ER and -LY are easy to spot.
Can I switch length in the middle of a session?
Yes. Tap any number from 4 to 9 above the board. Each length keeps its own saved round.