Chances are, if you have been on any social media platform, listened to any conversation in the hallways of Redwood or seen anyone meticulously typing words on a Safari browser in the past few months, you have heard about Wordle. The popular word guessing game created by Josh Wardle in October of 2021 displays a puzzle allowing players six guesses to configure a new five-letter word every day. Once a player enters a word, a gray, yellow or green letter will appear. A gray letter means the letter is not in the word, a yellow letter means the letter is in the word but in the wrong place and a green letter means the letter is in the word and is correctly placed. The game took the nation by storm, quickly gaining popularity with over two and a half million players daily as of Feb. 2. As the game went viral, many different strategies emerged, each detailing different ways to find the word in the least number of guesses. Most notably, players argue over the best possible word to start with. Some players prefer a vowel-heavy word such as “irate” or “adieu.” Others, however, prefer to start with words that have a mix of common consonants and vowels such as “heist” or “tears.” Despite people’s various likings, the perfect starting word is more than a preference. Since the game’s rise to popularity, there have been many studies proving which word is scientifically the best to start with. So whether you are an avid Wordle player or have never tried the trendy game, I am here to break down the best starting word to ensure you get the daily Wordle with minimal frustration.

How common is each letter?

Many players swear that the best technique is to begin with a vowel-heavy word. This technique is based on the frequency of each letter in the English language. For example, a 2018 study conducted by Springer found that the most common letter was “e,” which appears in 46 percent of words in English. The same study found that the next most common letters were “a” (appearing in 39 percent of words), “r” (appearing in 34 percent of words), “o” (appearing in 29 percent of words) and lastly, “i” and “s” (both appearing in 28 percent of words). Based on this study, science concludes the most effective starting word is “arose,” featuring five of these six letters. In comparison, guessing “whump” as your first word would be the least effective, featuring many of the least common letters. Letter frequency, however, is not the only important factor in choosing your first word. Letter placement also plays a crucial role.

What is the best letter placement?

While “arose” may earn you the most correct letters, it does not ensure they will be in the right place. Springer’s study found that the most common first letter in five-letter words is “s,” the most common second letter is “a,” the most common third letter is also“a,” the most common fourth letter is “e” and the most common fifth letter is “y.” Therefore, the best possible starting words based on letter frequency are “samey,” “saint” or “soare.” However, when the two factors of letter placement and letter frequency are combined, the best starting word seems to be “Soare,” an obsolete definition for a young hawk.

What approach do Redwood students take?

While science may tell us one thing about which words are the best to start your daily Wordle with, many individuals have words they like to use simply based on social media suggestions or past luck. This is true for many Redwood students who choose to play the daily game. A March Bark survey found that 76 percent of Redwood students play Wordle. Moreover, the survey found that 19 percent of Redwood students start with the word “adieu,” 7 percent start with “irate,” 4 percent start with “tears” and 3 percent start with “stale.” Another 42 percent of students choose a word not included in the ones listed. Some of the most common words were “audio,” “steal,” “dream,” “bread,” “reads” and “arise.”

So whether you take the scientific approach, start with a word you have had past luck with or simply type whichever word comes to mind that day, this should provide a good insight into which word will offer the best chance of impressing your friends and family with your Wordle score. Hopefully, these tips won’t leave you “irate” on your last guess.