Searching for the answer to Wordle on January 3, 2025? Continue reading for hints, useful strategies, and the ultimate solution. This day’s puzzle is relatively straightforward; I managed to solve it in just three attempts. Heads up—spoilers follow for January 3, Wordle #1,294! If you prefer hints first, keep going for clues (followed by the answer) to today’s Wordle challenge.

Wordle Gameplay Overview

Wordle can be found on the New York Times website. Each day, a fresh puzzle is released at midnight local time.

Begin by guessing a five-letter word. The letters will be color-coded: green signifies a correct letter in the correct position, yellow indicates the letter is in the word but in the wrong spot, and gray shows that the letter does not appear in the word at all. For further details, check out this guide and this strategy overview. Additional insights are available at this post’s conclusion, following the hints and reveal.

Are you ready for the hints? Let’s dive right in!

Uncommon Letters in Today’s Wordle

For our purposes, we’ll consider common letters those that can be remembered using the historic typesetter phrase ETAOIN SHRDLU. (Think of it as “Edwin Shirdloo”—a fictional friend you can easily recall.)

Today’s word includes three of these common letters, while the remaining two are also quite frequent.

A Hint for Today’s Wordle

Consider what is not found in houses.

Double or Repeated Letters in Today’s Wordle

No letters are repeated in today’s guess.

Count of Vowels in Today’s Wordle

Today’s mystery word contains two vowels.

Starting Letter of Today’s Wordle

It begins with the letter C.

Ending Letter of Today’s Wordle

The word concludes with a P.

Today’s Wordle Answer

Here it is: the word for today is CHEAP.

My Solution Process for Today’s Wordle

Starting with the words RAISE and TOUCH provided the necessary clues to uncover the answer: CHEAP.

Wordle 1,294 3/6

Answer for Yesterday’s Wordle

The previous day’s Wordle featured a hint of “selected,” containing four frequent letters and one that is also rather common.

The solution was CHOSE.

An Introduction to Wordle Play

The main goal in Wordle is to identify the secret word for the day. When the game opens, players will see a blank letter grid and must make the first move by entering any five-letter word.

Observe the colors displayed as clues about the word: Green indicates a correct letter in the right spot (e.g., guessing PARTY revealing green for P and R against the word PURSE).

• Yellow means the letter is part of the word but is incorrectly positioned (e.g., guessing PARTY against ROAST provides yellow for R, A, and T).

• Gray signals that the letter is not included in the solution (e.g., if guessing PARTY reveals all gray, the answer can’t contain P, A, R, T, or Y).

With this system in mind, players continue guessing until they find the correct word, with a total of six attempts allowed.

Optimal Starting Words for Wordle

Wondering what to use for your opening guess? The most effective starters are typically comprised of common letters, boosting the likelihood of obtaining yellow and green highlights. Even if you consistently get gray squares from common selections, it still provides useful data for subsequent guesses. While there isn’t a definitive “best” word, recommendations from Wordle analysis bots include words like these:

• CRANE

• TRACE

• SLANT

• CRATE

• CARTE

Further investigation by MIT concluded starting with these words could be most effective in narrowing down options:

• SALET

• REAST

• TRACE

• CRATE

• SLATE

Other solid choices might include ARISE or ROUND. Words like ADIEU or AUDIO bring more vowels into the mix, but a consonant-heavy approach with words like RENTS or CLAMP can also be advantageous. Select a method and see how it works out.

Winning Strategies for Wordle

For those who take their Wordle knowledge seriously, several strategy guides can enhance your gameplay. This piece examines the effective use of consonants, while another guide emphasizes strategies centered on the most common letters. An advanced guide contains a tripartite approach to extract hints while maximizing your likelihood of success.

The key differentiator between Wordle victors and those who struggle lies in how successful players use their guesses to unveil the letters in the target word. For instance, if you know the word ends with -OUND, don’t squander guesses on MOUND, ROUND, SOUND, and HOUND; instead, combine those consonants and try MARSH. If H lights up as yellow, you’ve gathered valuable information.

Additionally, note that the original Wordle solution set comprised around 2,300 words, but post-acquisition by the NYT, the game is now overseen by an editor. This means some solutions may be more challenging and could relate to specific themes, such as having FEAST as an answer during Thanksgiving.

Alternative Games to Wordle

For those who crave additional five-letter guessing challenges, check out these popular alternatives, each graded by difficulty level:

• Wheeldle, where you can tackle consecutive puzzles

• Dordle and Quordle, which challenge you to solve two (Dordle) or four (Quordle) puzzles simultaneously

• Octordle, which includes eight puzzles, and Sedecordle with sixteen.

• Waffle, where you rearrange letters within a scrambled grid until solving the words.

• Absurdle, which changes its answer after every guess, yet still adheres to former clues, pushing you to strategically isolate the final word choice.

• Squabble, where you compete against others in real-time, incurring penalties for taking too long on your guesses; the last player standing wins.

• Antiwordle, in which you aim to avoid guessing the correct word of the day. Players must reuse letters they previously revealed, leading to longer game durations.