I’ll be honest: I was a little hesitant to make a post about the latest online fad, because everyone else is doing it. There are so many posts on what Wordle is, the story behind its creation, whether to do easy mode or hard mode (and what those are), and mathematical formulas for figuring out each day’s word. But what I love the most about Wordle is its simplicity.

(Play Wordle right now.)

In case you’ve been resistant to the recent Wordle phenomenon, it’s a simple game: Every 24 hours, there is a new five-letter word provided and players are tasked with guessing the word in six tries or fewer. If you can guess it, you win. If you can’t, you don’t. Super simple.

Of course, there’s a lot of strategy that can go into the simplest of games, including whether to use the same starting word each day or change it up each day. Originally, I took a haphazard approach, but I finally landed on my personal favorite starting word: piano.

I’ve read a few articles on the best starting words, and I’ve yet to see piano mentioned as one that makes analytical sense. But I like that it has three vowels and a couple normal consonants. Plus, the poet in me just likes the musical quality of the word: piano.

What Is Your Favorite Starting Word in Wordle?

That’s the question, I recently asked on Facebook. I’ve got a lot of writerly friends on there, so I was interested in their answers. I’ll share a few quotes here, and then a list of words below that. While statisticians and mathematicians may not agree, I don’t know that there’s really a best starting word, but it’s fun to think there is a magic word that will unlock more doors than others.

“I never use the same one.” -Alice Pope

“I mix it up but use Shore a lot.” -Mike Maher

“I have been stupidly using aorta. Sometimes I will use weary. I should start using tears bc those are all common letters and I might learn more.” -Heather Fowler

“I try different words sometimes, but usually start with arise or arose.” -RJ Clarken

“I always use CHAIR as my opening play.” -Khara House

“I use different starting words. Usually also with five different letters.” -Sari Grandstaff

“Heart was a good one out of the gate today. Might be one I make a mental note of using again.” -Hannah E Bowles

“I always use a word with 4 vowels and then my second word contains the remaining vowel and Y.” -Linda Evans Hofke

“I always change it up, it’s more fun for me that way.” -Phayvanh Leukamhan

“I have two or three I rotate. Sometimes I use ouija even though strategically the ‘j’ is a wasted space; I love that word for all its vowels and its happy sound.” -Janet Hale Tabin

“There are a lot of words that can be made from the most common letters, and I get bored writing the same thing every day. I mean, it’s a game I play just to play, so I don’t feel the need to really drill down into that statistically most valuable opening word, which I saw in an article recently and then promptly forgot.” -John Gallaher

A List of Favorite Starting Words

Here are some of the words others shared with me on Facebook:

• irate
• frost
• great
• soare
• deity
• adieu
• stead
• weary
• poise
• learn
• mouse
• route
• alone
• above
• moist
• audio
• stare
• train
• trunk
• beach
• beaus
• union
• lions
• steam
• aster
• dream
• point
• rates

*****

No matter what type of writing you do, mastering the fundamentals of grammar and mechanics is an important first step to having a successful writing career.

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