NYT Wordle today — answer and hints for game #1,013, Thursday, March 28
Find out what today's Wordle answer is plus get some hints to help you solve it
It's time for your guide to today's Wordle answer, featuring my commentary on the latest puzzle, plus a selection of hints designed to help you keep your streak going.
Don't think you need any clues for Wordle today? No problem, just skip to my daily column. But remember: failure in this game is only ever six guesses away.
Want more word-based fun? My Quordle today page contains hints and answers for that game, which remains the best of all the main Wordle alternatives.
SPOILER WARNING: Today's Wordle answer and hints are below, so don't read on if you don't want to see them.
Marc is TechRadar’s Global Editor in Chief and has been obsessed with Wordle for more than two years. He's authored dozens of articles on the game for TechRadar and its sister site Tom's Guide, including a detailed analysis of the most common letters in Wordle in every position. He's also played every Wordle ever and only lost once and yes, he takes it all too seriously.
Wordle hints (game #1013) - clue #1 - Vowels
How many vowels does today's Wordle have?
• Wordle today has vowels in two places*.
* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).
Wordle hints (game #1013) - clue #2 - first letter
What letter does today's Wordle begin with?
• The first letter in today's Wordle answer is S.
S is the most common starting letter in the game, featuring in 365 of Wordle's 2,309 answers. In fact, it's almost twice as likely to begin an answer as the next most common starting letter, C.
Wordle hints (game #1013) - clue #3 - repeated letters
Does today's Wordle have any repeated letters?
• There are no repeated letters in today's Wordle.
Repeated letters are quite common in the game, with 748 of the 2,309 Wordle answers containing one. However, it's still more likely that a Wordle doesn't have one.
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Wordle hints (game #1013) - clue #4 - ending letter
What letter does today's Wordle end with?
• The last letter in today's Wordle is K.
K is much more common at the end of a Wordle answer than at the start, and in fact ranks ninth overall in this regard.
Wordle hints (game #1013) - clue #5 - last chance
Still looking for more Wordle hints today? Here's an extra one for game #1013.
- Today's Wordle answer is to utter.
If you just want to know today's Wordle answer now, simply scroll down – but I'd always recommend trying to solve it on your own first. We've got lots of Wordle tips and tricks to help you, including a guide to the best Wordle start words.
If you don't want to know today's answer then DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER BECAUSE IT IS PRINTED BELOW. So don't say you weren't warned!
Today's Wordle answer (game #1013)
- NYT average score: 3.4
- My score: 4
- WordleBot's score: 3
- Best start word performance*: PARSE (3 remaining answers)
- My start word performance: DRANK (9)
* From WordleBot's Top 20 start words
Today's Wordle answer (game #1013) is… SPEAK.
I am ANNOYED. At myself, rather than at Wordle/NYT, because my mistake today was all of my own making. Playing a random start word rarely gives the great results that always using CRANE or SLATE or STARE does, so when an opportunity like today's arrives (I had only nine remaining answers) I really should grab it and score a 3/6. That I didn't is entirely my own fault.
The frustrating thing is that SPEAK is by most measures a simple Wordle to solve. It has an average score of 3.4, which makes it the easiest since CLONE on March 7. It starts with the most common starting letter and contains the two most letters in the game in A and E (see my analysis of every Wordle answer for more on that). Yes, it ends with a K, which is not a common letter in general, but it is in the top 10 for ending letters.
What's more, that K turned green on my first guess, courtesy of DRANK. It also gave me a yellow A, and as I said above reduced my possibles list to nine. That was one of the best results today; STARE left eight, and PARSE three, but otherwise they were all in double (or triple) figures.
The problem for me was that I somehow missed SPEAK, STEAK and TWEAK as answers. I found BAULK, plus CAULK (which I knew was a past Wordle answer) and KAYAK (ditto). I also came up with BLEAK and CLOAK. I didn't find AMUCK or BATIK (I have no idea what that even means) either, but I'm less worried about them than I am about SPEAK, STEAK and TWEAK. Their omission was a glaring error that directly led to my below-par score.
Based on the words I'd found, I played BAULK – because it would guarantee a solve in 3/6, and could even have given me a 2/6. But that logic was flawed, obviously – it would only guarantee a 3/6 if I'd found all of the options, and I hadn't.
Playing STEAL would have solved it in three no matter what, and that's what WordleBot suggested. Instead, I had to watch in horror as all of my words were ruled out. I looked again and realized my mistake: I still had three words to pick from. Fortunately, playing STEAK would guarantee success on the next guess at worst (for real this time), and that's what I had to settle for when the T failed to change color, meaning that SPEAK was the solution.
How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.
Yesterday's Wordle hints (game #1012)
In a different time zone where it's still Wednesday? Don't worry – I can give you some clues for Wordle #1012, too.
- Wordle yesterday had a vowel in one place.
* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).
- The first letter in yesterday's Wordle answer was S.
S is the most common starting letter in the game, featuring in 365 of Wordle's 2,309 answers. In fact, it's almost twice as likely to begin an answer as the next most common starting letter, C.
- There were no repeated letters in yesterday's Wordle.
Repeated letters are quite common in the game, with 748 of the 2,309 Wordle answers containing one. However, it's still more likely that a Wordle doesn't have one.
- The last letter in yesterday's Wordle was G.
G is not a common letter to end a Wordle answer – in fact only 41 of Wordle's 2,309 games finish with one.
Still looking for more Wordle hints? Here's an extra one for game #1012.
- Yesterday's Wordle answer has been hurt by a piercing of the flesh.
Yesterday's Wordle answer (game #1012)
- NYT average score: 4.2
- My score: 3
- WordleBot's score: 3
- Best start word performance*: SAINT (5 remaining answers)
- My start word performance: REALM (369)
* From WordleBot's Top 20 start words
Yesterday's Wordle answer (game #1012) was… STUNG.
We're now up to three tough games in a row, with STUNG having an average score of 4.2 following 4.4 and 4.5 on the previous two days. Should we consider this a horror run though? Not really. As with yesterday's game, STUNG likely has a score of above 4.0 because there are lots of other words that start ST, meaning that people required an extra guess or two to narrow it down.
Looking at WordleBot's analysis, lots of people played STING before STUNG, while STUNT, STUCK, STUMP, STUNK, STUFF and STUDY were all common guesses too. But unless you were a little reckless with your play you're unlikely to have scored a 6/6 or even a fail – it's not really difficult, just a little annoying.
I suspect there will be a few 3/6s today too, because a couple of the best start words cut down the options quite nicely. We're not talking single-figure results – well, other than for SAINT, which is not a particularly common opener. But the 22 left by STARE and the 43 for SLATE are both acceptable tallies.
My random word today was REALM, and that left a more daunting 369 options. The fact that I still got home in three guesses was almost entirely due to luck.
With A and E already ruled out, I wanted to include two more vowels, so decided to go for I and O; as my analysis of every Wordle answer shows, these are both more common than U. The most common consonants I'd not played yet were T, N, S and C, but I couldn't think of a word that used three of those plus the O and I. Actually, that's not entirely true – I could have played TONIC or SONIC. But a C is not common at the end of a word, so instead I played POINT.
This worked really well. Like, really, really well: it gave me a green N, yellow T and cut my options to only two! I knew there was likely to be a U in the word now, so it wasn't too hard to come up with STUNG and STUNK as the remaining possibles. There was no particularly reason to guess one over the other, but I couldn't score lower than a 4/6 anyway, so it didn't matter much. I went with STUNG and guessed right this time for a lucky 3/6.
Wordle answers: The past 50
I've been playing Wordle every day for more than two years now and have tracked all of the previous answers so I can help you improve your game. Here are the last 50 solutions starting with yesterday's answer, or check out my past Wordle answers page for the full list.
- Wordle #1012, Wednesday 27 March: STUNG
- Wordle #1011, Tuesday 26 March: MAYOR
- Wordle #1010, Monday 25 March: SALLY
- Wordle #1009, Sunday 24 March: TOWEL
- Wordle #1008, Saturday 23 March: RISEN
- Wordle #1007, Friday 22 March: DECAY
- Wordle #1006, Thursday 21 March: SHADE
- Wordle #1005, Wednesday 20 March: LINGO
- Wordle #1004, Tuesday 19 March: ABIDE
- Wordle #1003, Monday 18 March: SPELT
- Wordle #1002, Sunday 17 March: SNORT
- Wordle #1001, Saturday 16 March: TOXIN
- Wordle #1000, Friday 15 March: ERUPT
- Wordle #999, Thursday 14 March: SINCE
- Wordle #998, Wednesday 13 March: LOCAL
- Wordle #997, Tuesday 12 March: HEAVE
- Wordle #996, Monday 11 March: PESKY
- Wordle #995, Sunday 10 March: GRASP
- Wordle #994, Saturday 9 March: CHEER
- Wordle #993, Friday 8 March: EARLY
- Wordle #992, Thursday 7 March: CLONE
- Wordle #991, Wednesday 6 March: TEARY
- Wordle #990, Tuesday 5 March: HUNCH
- Wordle #989, Monday 4 March: FLAME
- Wordle #988, Sunday 3 March: STATE
- Wordle #987, Saturday 2 March: URBAN
- Wordle #986, Friday 1 March: FORTY
- Wordle #985, Thursday 29 February: IMAGE
- Wordle #984, Wednesday 28 February: DEVIL
- Wordle #983, Tuesday 27 February: SENSE
- Wordle #982, Monday 26 February: OFTEN
- Wordle #981, Sunday 25 February: SMITH
- Wordle #980, Saturday 24 February: PIPER
- Wordle #979, Friday 23 February: APART
- Wordle #978, Thursday 22 February: HEAVY
- Wordle #977, Wednesday 21 February: BUILD
- Wordle #976, Tuesday 20 February: MATCH
- Wordle #975, Monday 19 February: PRICE
- Wordle #974, Sunday 18 February: RIDGE
- Wordle #973, Saturday 17 February: PSALM
- Wordle #972, Friday 16 February: STASH
- Wordle #971, Thursday 15 February: ASCOT
- Wordle #970, Wednesday 14 February: TALON
- Wordle #969, Tuesday 13 February: SCRAM
- Wordle #968, Monday 12 February: PASTA
- Wordle #967, Sunday 11 February: NEVER
- Wordle #966, Saturday 10 February: FRIED
- Wordle #965, Friday 9 February: STIFF
- Wordle #964, Thursday 8 February: PLACE
- Wordle #963, Wednesday 7 February: AFTER
What is Wordle?
If you're on this page then you almost certainly know what Wordle is already, and indeed have probably been playing it for a while. And even if you've not been playing it, you must surely have heard of it by now, because it's the viral word game phenomenon that took the world by storm last year and is still going strong in 2024.
We've got a full guide to the game in our What is Wordle page, but if you just want a refresher then here are the basics.
What is Wordle?
Wordle challenges you to guess a new five-letter word each day. You get six guesses, with each one revealing a little more information. If one of the letters in your guess is in the answer and in the right place, it turns green. If it's in the answer but in the wrong place, it turns yellow. And if it's not in the answer at all it turns gray. Simple, eh?
It's played online via the Wordle website or the New York Times' Crossword app (iOS / Android), and is entirely free.
Crucially, the answer is the same for everyone each day, meaning that you're competing against the rest of the world, rather than just against yourself or the game. The puzzle then resets each day at midnight in your local time, giving you a new challenge, and the chance to extend your streak.
What are the Wordle rules?
The rules of Wordle are pretty straightforward, but with a couple of curveballs thrown in for good measure.
1. Letters that are in the answer and in the right place turn green.
2. Letters that are in the answer but in the wrong place turn yellow.
3. Letters that are not in the answer turn gray.
4. Answers are never plural.
5. Letters can appear more than once. So if your guess includes two of one letter, they may both turn yellow, both turn green, or one could be yellow and the other green.
6. Each guess must be a valid word in Wordle's dictionary. You can't guess ABCDE, for instance.
7. You do not have to include correct letters in subsequent guesses unless you play on Hard mode.
8. You have six guesses to solve the Wordle.
9. You must complete the daily Wordle before midnight in your timezone.
10. All answers are drawn from Wordle's list of 2,309 solutions. However…
11. Wordle will accept a wider pool of words as guesses – some 10,000 of them. For instance, you can guess a plural such as WORDS. It definitely won't be right (see point 4 above), but Wordle will accept it as a guess.
Marc is TechRadar’s Global Editor in Chief, the latest in a long line of senior editorial roles he’s held in a career that started the week that Google launched (nice of them to mark the occasion). Prior to joining TR, he was UK Editor in Chief on Tom’s Guide, where he oversaw all gaming, streaming, audio, TV, entertainment, how-to and cameras coverage. He's also a former editor of the tech website Stuff and spent five years at the music magazine NME, where his duties mainly involved spoiling other people’s fun. He’s based in London, and has tested and written about phones, tablets, wearables, streaming boxes, smart home devices, Bluetooth speakers, headphones, games, TVs, cameras and pretty much every other type of gadget you can think of. An avid photographer, Marc likes nothing better than taking pictures of very small things (bugs, his daughters) or very big things (distant galaxies). He also enjoys live music, gaming, cycling, and beating Wordle (he authors the daily Wordle today page).
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