Best Second Word After SLATE in Wordle (Plus CRANE, RAISE)
October 20, 2026 · Ali Ahmad
Quick answer: the best second word depends on your first. After SLATE, play MINOR. After CRANE, play PILOT. After RAISE, play COUNT or CLOTH. After CRATE or TRACE, play LIONS. Each pair tests ten different common letters and leaves only about 4 to 5 possible answers on average.
But you can do even better: if you choose your second word after seeing the colours from your first, you leave 30 to 40% fewer answers. Below are both: the best fixed two-word openings, and what to play for the most common colour patterns. Every number comes from testing each guess against our 2,130 likely Wordle answers.
Best fixed second word for each starter
If you like to open with the same two words every day, these are the best pairs we found among everyday words. “Answers left” is how many possible answers remain, on average, after both guesses. Lower is better.
| First word | Best second word | Answers left after both | Good alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLATE | MINOR | 4.27 | ROBIN (4.71), RHINO (4.82), CHOIR (4.92) |
| CRATE | LIONS | 4.26 | SOLID (4.43), NOISY (4.95) |
| TRACE | LIONS | 4.26 | SOLID (4.40), NOISY (4.94) |
| LATER | COINS | 4.46 | SONIC (4.48), ICONS (4.91) |
| CRANE | PILOT | 4.61 | SPLIT (4.79), LOTUS (4.93), SOLID (4.94) |
| RAISE | COUNT | 4.83 | CLOTH (4.89), NOTCH (5.04), MONTH (5.17) |
| STARE | LOGIC | 5.22 | COULD (5.61), BLOND (5.63) |
| ARISE | CLOTH | 5.23 | COUNT (5.39), MONTH (5.53) |
| ADIEU | SHORT | 7.44 | SPORT (7.62), NORTH (7.74) |
| AUDIO | CREST | 7.62 | STERN (7.65), TERMS (8.44) |
Three things stand out:
- The best pairs share no letters. SLATE + MINOR, CRATE + LIONS and RAISE + COUNT each cover ten different letters, almost all from the most common group (E, A, R, O, T, I, L, S, N, C). See Most Common Letters in 5 Letter Words for the full ranking.
- A strong pair beats a strong single word by a mile. RAISE alone leaves about 53 answers. RAISE + COUNT leaves under 5.
- ADIEU and AUDIO never catch up. Even with their best partner, they leave about 75% more answers than SLATE + MINOR. Vowel-heavy starters waste letters, as we showed in 5 Letter Words with the Most Vowels.
Rarer words can squeeze out a little more. The best pair we found among all 8,602 valid words, TOILE + CARNS, leaves 3.87 answers. But that is less than half an answer better than CRATE + LIONS, and most players will remember the everyday words more easily.
Better: choose your second word after seeing the colours
A fixed second word ignores what your first guess told you. If you pick the best second guess for the colours you actually got, the numbers drop sharply:
| First word | Same second word every day | Second word chosen from the colours |
|---|---|---|
| SLATE | 4.27 answers left (MINOR) | 2.96 answers left |
| RAISE | 4.83 answers left (COUNT) | 2.99 answers left |
| CRANE | 4.61 answers left (PILOT) | 3.11 answers left |
That is roughly 30 to 40% fewer answers left before your third guess, which is why so many games can be won in three. Here is what to play for the most common results.
After SLATE
| SLATE result | How often | Play next | Answers left on average |
|---|---|---|---|
| All gray | 186 answers (8.7%) | MOURN | 5.95 |
| Only E yellow | 155 answers (7.3%) | MINOR | 7.48 |
| Only A yellow | 147 answers (6.9%) | MINOR | 4.07 |
| Only E green | 102 answers (4.8%) | GROIN | 3.98 |
| Only L yellow | 68 answers (3.2%) | HILLY | 3.24 |
After CRANE
| CRANE result | How often | Play next | Answers left on average |
|---|---|---|---|
| All gray | 203 answers (9.5%) | SLOTH | 6.17 |
| Only A yellow | 135 answers (6.3%) | SALTY | 4.87 |
| R and E yellow | 127 answers (6.0%) | PILOT | 11.30 |
| Only E yellow | 108 answers (5.1%) | SPLIT | 3.83 |
| Only R yellow | 75 answers (3.5%) | SHOUT | 2.49 |
After RAISE
| RAISE result | How often | Play next | Answers left on average |
|---|---|---|---|
| All gray | 144 answers (6.8%) | BLUNT | 5.15 |
| Only E yellow | 109 answers (5.1%) | TEENY | 4.28 |
| R and E yellow | 100 answers (4.7%) | TEENY | 8.14 |
| Only I yellow | 93 answers (4.4%) | PILOT | 4.76 |
| Only R yellow | 84 answers (3.9%) | COLON | 4.19 |
Notice that the best second guess often reuses a letter you already know about, but in a new position (like TEENY after a yellow E). Moving a yellow letter to a new spot tells you where it goes while also testing new letters.
For any other result, enter your colours in the Wordle Solver. It ranks every possible second guess by the same measure we used here.
Should your second guess be a possible answer?
Usually not. Many of the best second words above cannot be the answer: MINOR after a yellow E has no E, and GROIN after a green E has no E either. That is fine. On guess two, finding new letters matters far more than a small chance of winning. In our full-game tests in the Wordle strategy guide, this approach never lost a game, while always guessing a word that fits lost 29 of 2,130.
The exception is hard mode, where your second guess must use the letters you found. Then, among the words that fit, pick the one with the most letters you have not tried yet.
Common second-guess mistakes
- Repeating gray letters. Every gray letter you reuse is a wasted tile.
- Testing a double letter too early. One in three answers has a repeated letter, but a second guess like SPEED tests fewer new letters than MINOR. Save doubles for later, as explained in Wordle Double Letters.
- Chasing rare letters. Q, J, Z and X together appear in only about 6% of answers. They are not worth a tile on guess two.
- Keeping a yellow letter in the same spot. You already know it does not go there.
Tools and lists
- Best Wordle Starting Words, Ranked by Data
- Wordle Solver: best next guess for any colours
- Wordle Game Analyzer: see how your second guess compared with the best one
- 5 letter word finder: search by green, yellow and gray letters
- Quordle & Octordle Solver
- 5 letter words starting with S, starting with C and ending in E
Frequently asked questions
What is the best second word in Wordle?
It depends on your first word. The best everyday pairs we found are CRATE + LIONS, TRACE + LIONS and SLATE + MINOR, each leaving about 4.3 answers on average. Choosing your second word after seeing the colours is even better.
What should I guess after CRANE?
PILOT is the best fixed choice. If CRANE comes back all gray, SLOTH is a strong follow-up. If only A is yellow, try SALTY.
What is the best word after SLATE?
MINOR. Together, SLATE and MINOR test ten different letters and leave about 4.3 possible answers on average.
What is the best two-word start in Wordle?
Among common words, CRATE + LIONS and SLATE + MINOR are the best we tested. The best pair we found among all valid words is TOILE + CARNS, but it is only slightly better.
Is ADIEU a good first word if I use a good second word?
It is still behind. ADIEU + SHORT leaves about 7.4 answers on average, compared with about 4.3 for SLATE + MINOR.
About this data
For each pair of guesses, we checked the colours they would produce against every one of our 2,130 likely Wordle answers, then measured how many answers would still be possible on average. For the fixed pairs, “everyday words” means words among the 15,000 most common words in English. The colour-pattern tables show the best familiar guess (from our likely answers list), while the “chosen from the colours” totals allow any valid word. The likely answers are our own estimate based on word frequency, not the official New York Times list. You can download the word lists for free under CC BY 4.0 and read how they were built on our methodology page.