Here's a fact that changes how you think about Wordle: position 5 (the last letter) has the lowest diversity of any position. Only about 12 letters commonly appear there, with E, Y, and T dominating. Position 1, meanwhile, has the highest diversity — nearly all 26 letters appear with meaningful frequency.
This asymmetry means that confirming the LAST letter is often more valuable than confirming the FIRST letter, because it eliminates more candidates. Advanced solvers exploit this by strategically targeting high-value positions early.
Letter Distribution by Position
| Position | Top 5 Letters | Top 5 Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (first) | S, C, B, T, P | ~38% |
| 2 | A, O, R, E, I | ~55% |
| 3 | A, I, O, R, N | ~45% |
| 4 | E, N, S, A, L | ~48% |
| 5 (last) | E, Y, T, D, S | ~62% |
Key insight: position 2 and 5 have the most concentrated distributions (top 5 letters cover 55-62% of answers). These positions are the most "solvable" — confirming or eliminating letters there narrows candidates fastest.
Position-Based Strategy
Priority 1: Lock Position 5
The ending letter has the lowest entropy (least randomness). If you can confirm it early, you've immediately categorized the word into a family: words ending in -E, words ending in -Y, words ending in -T, etc. Each family has a limited candidate set.
Priority 2: Lock Position 2
Position 2 is overwhelmingly a vowel (A, O, E, I, U cover ~70% of answers). Confirming the position 2 vowel gives you the first syllable structure — arguably the most valuable single piece of information.
Priority 3: Lock Position 1
Position 1 is highly diverse, so confirmation here eliminates fewer candidates. But when combined with position 2 (confirmed vowel), position 1 confirmation gives you the full word opening: BR-, CR-, TR-, ST-, etc.
Practical Application
Opening Word Selection
Choose openers that test high-value positions with high-frequency letters:
- SLATE — Tests S(1), L(2), A(3), T(4), E(5). Hits position 5 with E (most common ending) and position 1 with S (most common starter).
- CRANE — Tests C(1), R(2), A(3), N(4), E(5). Again targets position 5 with E.
Notice how both top openers place E at position 5 — this is not a coincidence. E at position 5 maximizes information at the game's most informative position.
Mid-Game Decisions
When choosing between two candidate words that are otherwise equal, prefer the one that tests untested high-value positions. If you haven't confirmed position 5 yet, prioritize a word that places a common position-5 letter there.
Reading Your Results
A green at position 5 is worth more than a green at position 1 in most scenarios, because it reduces candidates more aggressively. If you get green at position 5 on guess 1, you're in excellent shape.
Advanced Insight: Position Pairs
Some position pairs are highly correlated. Knowing both positions gives disproportionate information:
- Positions 2+5 — The most informative pair. Position 2 (vowel) + position 5 (ending) defines the word's phonetic category.
- Positions 1+2 — The opening consonant-cluster. If both are confirmed, you know the word starting pattern (BL-, CR-, ST-, etc.).
- Positions 4+5 — The ending pair. Very common endings (-ER, -ED, -LY, -AL, -TE) are locked with just these two positions.
Apply Position Strategy
Track which positions you confirm first and watch your average improve.
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