How can I win at Wordle? The best words to use for the best results according to linguistic experts

The game was created by software engineer Josh Wardle, who used his own surname as inspiration for the name of the game. He made a prototype of the game in 2013 before completing it last year for his partner to play as part of their morning routine.

The Internet word game challenges users to guess a mystery five-letter word with six guesses per day and has become the viral sensation of 2022.

It has now caught the attention of the New York Times who bought the game for an undisclosed seven-figure sum.

Online searches for Wordle increase by 2180 per cent in the UK alone, according to online tracking tool ahrefs.

Language expert at Preply, Daniele Saccardi, said: “It’s so encouraging to see so many people enjoying and interacting with language online. Wordle has been a surprise online hit, and anything that gets people thinking about language, and challenging themselves is definitely welcome.

“Part of the charm of Wordle is how easy it is to play.”

With six tries, you must guess a five-letter word from the English language. After each guess, if a letter turns yellow, it’s one of the letters of the word but not in the right position. If it turns green, it means the letter is in the word and in the right position. If it is dark grey, it means that the letter is not in the word.

There have been many accounts on TikTok revealing their Wordle hacks; which words to start with that will achieve the best results within fewer attempts.

An account called @linguisticdiscovery has analysed the frequency of letters used in the English language.

The theory is that words containing the most commonly used letters would give Wordle users the best chance of guessing more correct letters sooner.

The linguist advises that E, A and I are the most commonly used vowels in the English language, with T and R being the most common consonants. As a result, they recommend the best word to use to start Wordle is ‘IRATE’.

This video has been viewed 2.5 million times and has resulted in many people changing the way they start the game. It has also set off a chain of other people suggesting other words. One TikTok user, a PhD student @tokbyzeb, created a programme specifically designed to unlock the mystery word on Wordle.

Other words suggested are ‘ROATE’, which you can then follow up with ‘LINDS’.

Ms Saccardi added: “It’s interesting to see the many theories appearing about the best word to use as a first guess in Wordle, as people are engaging with language theory, and how words are formed, but it’s all being done in an enjoyable and accessible way. And remember, the only tip that really matters when you’re playing Wordle is to enjoy it. That said, I always start with ‘EMAIL’.”