The mathematics of vowels in Wordle
Most conversations in Wordle discussion forums and spaces echo the same feeling – they start with a word that has more than one vowel. This is a topic that needs to be talking about more. Whether you’re a novice or a veteran, generally, people start with words that have at least one vowel when playing. In Wordle, there is a tendency to repeat vowels as words like “COLOR”, “BLOOM”, and more have a propensity to come out of your brain and onto the screen. Strategically, vowel-packed words do make some of the best first words. It is the case due to the general rule of English as there are a limited number of words without vowels. This list will narrow down even further if 5-letter words are considered. Josh Wardle, the creator of the game, has condensed the scope of vowel-free words by banishing rare words from the list of 2,135 eligible words. It leaves you with a few vowel-free words like “GYPSY” or “CRYPT”. With that said, the mathematics of Vowel-stuffing your first guess will be all about facilitating the process of elimination. If you start the game with a word like “ADIEU”, you’ve submitted four of the five vowels for colored feedback from the game. The odds of having at least one of those vowels returning with a yellow/green feedback will be higher than receiving positive feedback for another vowel-packed word such as “QUEUE”. The trick would be to start with vowels that are inevitably present in most eligible words and to incorporate as much variety as possible.
5-Letter words with four vowels
AULOI ADIEU MIAOU LOUIE AUREI OURIE OUIJA AUDIO URAEI
5-Letter words with three vowels without repeating a vowel
ALONE ABUSE MEDIA ARISE OCEAN SAUCE RADIO VIDEO UNION QUIET MOVIE PIANO NAÏVE JUICE ARGUE HOUSE QUAIL SAUCE RAISE
5-Letter words with repeating vowels
AURAE AQUAE AECIA LOOIE ZOEAE AIOLI AREAE OORIE OIDIA
