How scoring works (in plain English)
Every tile is worth a fixed number of points — common letters like E, A and R are worth 1; rarer letters like J and X are worth 8; Q and Z are worth 10. A word's base score is just those tile values added up. Tap any word above and we show the sum, letter by letter. Blank tiles score zero, which is why a blank is so valuable: it lets you reach a big word without paying the points cost of a hard letter. (Premium board squares — double/triple letter and word — multiply on top of this; the Pro finder calculates those for a specific placement.)
Two-letter words, with meanings
Two-letter words are the backbone of good play — they let you hook onto the board and score in two directions at once. Here are the valid ones, with what each actually means, so you can play them with confidence (and settle challenges).
AA — rough, cindery lava
AB — an abdominal muscle
AD — an advertisement
AE — one (Scots)
AG — agriculture
AH — to exclaim in delight
AI — a three-toed sloth
AL — an East Indian tree
AM — form of "to be"
AN — a form of "a"
AR — the letter R
AS — to the same degree
AT — in the position of
AW — used to express protest
AX — to chop with an axe
AY — an affirmative vote
BA — the eternal soul (Egyptian)
BE — to exist
BI — a bisexual person
BO — a pal
BY — near to
DA — a dad
DE — of or from (in names)
DO — a tone of the scale
ED — education
EF — the letter F
EH — to ask for repetition
EL — an elevated railway
EM — a printing measure
EN — half an em
ER — used to show hesitation
ES — the letter S
ET — a past tense of eat
EW — used to express disgust
EX — the letter X
FA — a tone of the scale
FE — a Hebrew letter
GI — a judo garment
GO — to move along
HA — to exclaim in surprise
HE — a male person
HI — used in greeting
HM — used to express thought
HO — used to express surprise
ID — part of the psyche
IF — a possibility
IN — to harvest
IS — form of "to be"
IT — the thing
JO — a sweetheart
KA — the spiritual self (Egyptian)
KI — the life force (var. of qi)
LA — a tone of the scale
LI — a Chinese unit of distance
LO — used to attract attention
MA — a mother
ME — the self
MI — a tone of the scale
MM — used to express assent
MO — a moment
MU — a Greek letter
MY — belonging to me
NA — no; not
NE — born with the name of
NO — a negative reply
NU — a Greek letter
OD — a hypothetical force
OE — a whirlwind off the Faroes
OF — belonging to
OH — to exclaim
OI — used to attract attention
OM — a mantra syllable
ON — atop
OP — a style of abstract art
OR — a choice between
OS — a bone
OW — used to express pain
OX — an adult castrated bull
OY — used to express dismay
PA — a father
PE — a Hebrew letter
PI — a Greek letter
PO — a chamber pot
QI — the vital life force
RE — a tone of the scale
SH — used to urge silence
SI — a tone of the scale
SO — a tone of the scale
TA — thank you
TE — a tone of the scale
TI — a tone of the scale
TO — in the direction of
UG — to loathe
UM — used to show hesitation
UN — one
UP — to raise
UR — used to show hesitation
US — we, objectively
UT — the musical tone do
WE — you and I
WO — woe
XI — a Greek letter
XU — a coin of Vietnam
YA — you
YE — you (archaic)
YO — used to call attention
YU — a fine jade
ZA — a pizza
ZO — a hybrid yak
Three quick lessons
1. Balance your rack
Aim to keep a workable mix of vowels and consonants. If you're holding five vowels, it's often worth playing a short word just to dump a couple and draw fresh tiles, rather than getting stuck unable to make anything next turn.
2. Learn the hooks
A "hook" is a letter you add to the front or back of a word already on the board to make a new word — turning CAT into CATS or HEAT into WHEAT. Hooks let you build off the board instead of starting fresh, and they score both the new word and any crossing words.
3. Hold tiles for a bingo
Using all seven tiles in one turn earns a 50-point bonus ("bingo"). Common seven-letter stems like SATIRE, RETINA and RATIOS combine with a huge number of letters, so if your rack is close, it can pay to play short and keep the good tiles for a bingo next turn.