How to use the Five Letters
- 1 Type a five-letter word and press Enter. It has to be a real word from the word list.
- 2 Each letter turns green (right place), amber (in the word, but elsewhere) or grey (not in the word). The keyboard keeps track of what you know.
- 3 Use those clues for your next guess. You have six tries.
- 4 Solved the daily puzzle? Share your result: it shows your coloured squares, not the letters, so nobody gets spoiled.
- 5 Switch to Practice for as many extra words as you like. Your streak only counts daily puzzles.
How the game works
Every day there is one hidden five-letter word – the same for everyone, starting at midnight in your own time zone. You have six guesses. After each guess the letters show how close you are:
| Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Green (with a dot) | The letter is in the word, in this place |
| Amber (with a ring) | The letter is in the word, in another place |
| Grey | The letter is not in the word – or not as often as you used it |
A letter that appears once in the answer is marked only once, even if you typed it twice. That rule is what makes guesses like “geese” or “llama” informative.
Tips for a good start
- Open with common letters. Words with E, A, R, O, T, L and S rule out or find many letters at once.
- Do not reuse grey letters in your next guesses, unless you are deliberately testing other positions.
- Watch double letters: words such as “ample” versus “apple” differ only in a repeated letter.
- Use practice games to try openers without risking your streak.
English and Dutch
On the English page you play with English words; on the Dutch page you play with Dutch words, each with its own daily puzzle. Accepted guesses come from open word lists – SCOWL for English and OpenTaal for Dutch – and the answers are a selection of common words, without offensive ones.
Your statistics
Games, streaks and the number of guesses you needed are kept in your browser, per language. Pin Five Letters to My tools to see today's result and your streak on your start page.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Is there one puzzle per day?
Yes: one daily puzzle, the same for everyone who plays in English, changing at midnight in your time zone. Practice games are unlimited.
Why is my word not accepted?
Guesses have to be in the word list. It is large, but it leaves out names, abbreviations and very rare words.
What do the colours mean?
Green: right letter, right place. Amber: the letter is in the word somewhere else. Grey: the letter is not in the word, or not that many times.
Does sharing reveal the answer?
No. A shared result shows the puzzle number, how many guesses you needed and the coloured squares – not the letters.
Can I play in Dutch?
Yes. The Dutch page uses a Dutch word list and has its own daily puzzle.
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