5 FiveLetterWords
Very unlikely Accepted guess C tier for first-turn info

CANGS

CANGS is an accepted guess. Its modelled answer likelihood is very unlikely; no globally completed appearance is recorded here.

Meaning and pronunciation

Noun

plural of cang

Source: Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0. Corrections.

Use CANGS in a puzzle

As an opener, it rules out about 92.4% of possible answers.

Open Solver with CANGS Open Word Finder

Wordle status

Answer chance: very unlikely. Roughly 0.05% within a year (about 1 in 2,113), under the model through 2026-11-05. This is an estimate, not a publisher forecast. How this is calculated.

Playable guess

Yes

Included in the Wordle guess list used by our tools.

Earlier benchmark pool

No

Membership in the preserved uniform benchmark; it is not a future eligibility rule.

Past Wordle answer

No completed appearance

No appearance in our globally completed history. A recent puzzle may still be live elsewhere.

The possible-answer list is the solver's current list and may change when Wordle adds new answers.

How CANGS performs as a guess

Wordle accepts CANGS as a guess. It is outside this preserved uniform benchmark’s answer pool; that is not a claim about future eligibility.

Played as an opener, it lands at least one colored tile in 80.0% of games, misses completely in 20.0%, and leaves about 181 possible answers on average.

In the previous complete opener benchmark, it ranks #2,297 of 14,855 openers, averaging 3.62 guesses in games solved within six turns.

Try your feedback pattern

Tap the tiles to match your feedback, then see the ranked follow-up guesses.

All gray? Tap a tile to cycle gray → yellow → green.
See strategy patterns

Useful pattern pages

If you only know part of the word, start with one of these matching patterns.

C___S C in the 1st position and S in the 5th position C__G_ C in the 1st position and G in the 4th position _A__S A in the 2nd position and S in the 5th position

Explore lists that match the beginning, ending or letters in CANGS.

First-turn measures

All four describe CANGS used as an opening guess. Entropy is the same idea as “avg ruled out” on a log scale: a higher number means the guess splits the possible answers into more, smaller groups.

4.67 Entropy (bits)
181 Avg remaining
0.0% Exact match
92.4% Avg ruled out

As an opening guess: previous benchmark

How CANGS performed in the previous complete opener benchmark, against its captured answer snapshot. These research figures are separate from today's solver recommendations. See the data page for the method.

3.62 Avg guesses
99.92% Solved within six
0.66 Spread of game lengths
#2,297 Rank among openers
Opening with CANGS left 2 of the snapshot's answers unsolved after six guesses. A spread of 0.66 means those games clustered within about 0.66 of a guess of the 3.62 average. It ranks #2,297 of 14,855 openers by average guesses in games solved within six.
1 guess
0
2 guesses
51
3 guesses
951
4 guesses
1,191
5 guesses
147
6 guesses
12

Composition

5/5 unique
1 vowels
Common:
ANS

Feedback chances

Any hit (G/Y)
80%
Green tile
28%
All gray
20%

When CANGS is useful later

CANGS tied for the smallest expected survivor count in 3 of 54 sampled positions where it was legal. This designed sample is not a measure of how often real players should use it.

After ADIEU: 3 candidates, normal mode

ADIEU: 11000 (0 = grey, 1 = yellow, 2 = green).

LOADS: 00110 (0 = grey, 1 = yellow, 2 = green).

DARKY: 22000 (0 = grey, 1 = yellow, 2 = green).

DAWAH: 22010 (0 = grey, 1 = yellow, 2 = green).

Remaining answers: DABBA, DAGGA, DAMNA.

With a budget of 2 more guesses, CANGS is an information probe, outside this survivor list. It leaves 1.00 candidates on average under the model. Every feedback identifies a single candidate; another turn may be needed to submit it.

Try this position in the Solver
After AUDIO: 3 candidates, normal mode

AUDIO: 11200 (0 = grey, 1 = yellow, 2 = green).

Remaining answers: LADDU, SADHU, UNDAM.

With a budget of 5 more guesses, CANGS is an information probe, outside this survivor list. It leaves 1.00 candidates on average under the model. Every feedback identifies a single candidate; another turn may be needed to submit it.

Try this position in the Solver
After ROATE: 3 candidates, normal mode

ROATE: 10101 (0 = grey, 1 = yellow, 2 = green).

AWNER: 10011 (0 = grey, 1 = yellow, 2 = green).

ZEBRA: 01012 (0 = grey, 1 = yellow, 2 = green).

Remaining answers: CREMA, ERICA, PRESA.

With a budget of 3 more guesses, CANGS is an information probe, outside this survivor list. It leaves 1.00 candidates on average under the model. Every feedback identifies a single candidate; another turn may be needed to submit it.

Try this position in the Solver
Sample and method

Every saved board is reachable within a six-turn game. Remaining turns equal six minus the saved history length. The sampling policy is independent of the expected-survivor metric. Two states at each of three depths per opener were selected by a fixed hash from an independent candidate-only sampling policy. Every accepted guess was evaluated. Model answer-model-2026-11-05-9183a914c959, data through 2026-11-05. The score measures expected survivors, not proved solve length or human difficulty.

How this is calculated.

How the solver finds CANGS

The strategy receives only earlier guesses and their feedback. It does not know the answer before choosing a move. Guessing the answer itself on turn one is a lucky one-turn result, not a recommended general strategy.

Normal mode

Our solver: bounded weighted policy. Current-pool replay over 14,855 accepted words. Model through 2026-11-05.

  1. The fixed opener tests its five letters.

    14,855 before → 492 after. This feedback leaves 492 candidates.

    All 492 surviving candidates

    AAPAS, BAALS, BAAPS, BABAS, BABUS, BACHS, BACKS, BAFFS, BAGHS, BAHUS, BAIKS, BAILS, BAJUS, BALAS, BALDS, BALKS, BALLS, BALMS, BALUS, BAMAS, BANCS, BANDS, BANGS, BANKS, BANNS, BAONS, BAPUS, BASAL, BASAN, BASAS, BASHA, BASHO, BASIC, BASIJ, BASIL, BASIN, BASIS, BASKS, BASON, BAUDS, BAUKS, BAWDS, BAWKS, BAWLS, BAWNS, BAYAS, BAZAS, CABAS, CACAS, CACKS, CADIS, CAFFS, CAIDS, CAINS, CALFS, CALKS, CALLS, CALMS, CALOS, CALPS, CAMAS, CAMIS, CAMOS, CAMPS, CAMUS, CANGS, CANNS, CAPAS, CAPHS, CAPOS, CASAS, CASCO, CASKS, CASKY, CASUS, CAUKS, CAULS, CAUMS, CAUPS, CAVAS, CAVUS, CAWKS, DAALS, DACKS, DADAS, DADIS, DADOS, DAFFS, DAGOS, DAHIS, DAHLS, DALIS, DAMNS, DAMPS, DANGS, DANKS, DASHI, DASHY, DAUBS, DAUDS, DAWDS, DAWGS, DAWKS, DAWNS, FADOS, FAFFS, FAIKS, FAILS, FAINS, FALLS, FANDS, FANGS, FANKS, FANOS, FASCI, FAUNS, FAVAS, FAVUS, FAWNS, GADIS, GAFFS, GAIDS, GAINS, GAJOS, GALAS, GALIS, GALLS, GAMAS, GAMBS, GAMPS, GANGS, GANKS, GAOLS, GAPOS, GASHY, GASPS, GASPY, GAUDS, GAUMS, GAUPS, GAWDS, GAWKS, GAWPS, HAAFS, HABUS, HACKS, HAFFS, HAGGS, HAHAS, HAIKS, HAILS, HAINS, HAJIS, HAKAS, HAKUS, HALFS, HALLS, HALMS, HALOS, HANDS, HANGS, HANKS, HAPAS, HAPUS, HASHY, HASKS, HASPS, HAUDS, HAUFS, HAULS, HAUNS, HAWKS, HAWMS, IAMBS, JAAPS, JACKS, JAFAS, JAGAS, JAGGS, JAILS, JAMBS, JANNS, JASPS, JAUKS, JAUPS, JAVAS, JAWNS, KACKS, KADIS, KAGOS, KAGUS, KAIDS, KAIFS, KAIKS, KAILS, KAIMS, KAINS, KAKAS, KAKIS, KALAS, KALIS, KAMAS, KAMIS, KANAS, KANGS, KAONS, KAPAS, KAPHS, KAPUS, KASHA, KAVAS, KAWAS, KAYOS, KAZIS, LABIS, LACIS, LACKS, LAICS, LAIDS, LAIKS, LAKHS, LALLS, LAMAS, LAMBS, LAMPS, LANAS, LANDS, LANKS, LAPAS, LAPIS, LAUDS, LAUFS, LAVAS, LAWKS, LAWNS, LAZOS, MACAS, MACHS, MACKS, MADOS, MAGAS, MAGGS, MAGUS, MAHIS, MAIDS, MAIKS, MAILS, MAIMS, MAINS, MAJAS, MAJOS, MAKIS, MAKOS, MALAS, MALIS, MALLS, MALMS, MALUS, MAMAS, MANAS, MANDS, MANGS, MANIS, MANKS, MANOS, MANUS, MASAS, MASHA, MASHY, MASKS, MASON, MASUS, MAUDS, MAULS, MAUMS, MAVIS, MAWKS, MAWNS, MAWPS, MAXIS, MAYAS, MAYOS, MAZAS, NAAMS, NAANS, NABIS, NABKS, NADAS, NAFFS, NAGAS, NAIBS, NAIDS, NAIFS, NAIKS, NAILS, NAINS, NAIOS, NAKAS, NALAS, NAMUS, NANAS, NANOS, NAPAS, NASAL, NASHI, NASHO, NASIS, NASON, NASUS, NAZIS, OAFOS, OASAL, OASIS, PAALS, PAANS, PACAS, PACKS, PACOS, PADAS, PADIS, PAHOS, PAHUS, PAIKS, PAILS, PAINS, PAIPS, PALAS, PALIS, PALLS, PALMS, PALPS, PALUS, PANDS, PANGS, PANKS, PAPAS, PASAG, PASCH, PASHA, PASHM, PASKA, PASMO, PASPY, PAUAS, PAULS, PAVAS, PAVIS, PAWAS, PAWKS, PAWLS, PAWNS, QADIS, QAIDS, SAAGS, SABAL, SABHA, SABIN, SABJI, SABOS, SABZI, SACKS, SADDO, SADDY, SADHU, SADIC, SADIS, SADLY, SADOS, SADZA, SAGAS, SAGGY, SAGOS, SAGUM, SAHAB, SAHIB, SAICK, SAICS, SAIDS, SAIGA, SAILS, SAIMS, SAINS, SAJOU, SAKAI, SAKIA, SAKIS, SALAD, SALAL, SALAS, SALIC, SALIS, SALIX, SALLY, SALMI, SALOL, SALON, SALOP, SALPA, SALPS, SALUD, SALVO, SAMAN, SAMAS, SAMBA, SAMBO, SAMFI, SAMFU, SAMMY, SAMPI, SAMPS, SANAD, SANDS, SANDY, SANGA, SANGH, SANGO, SANGS, SANKO, SAOLA, SAPAN, SAPID, SAPPY, SASIN, SAUBA, SAUCH, SAUCY, SAUGH, SAULS, SAUNA, SAUNF, SAVIN, SAVOY, SAVVY, SAWAH, SAYAS, SAYID, SAYON, VACAS, VADAS, VAGUS, VAIDS, VAILS, VAKAS, VALIS, VAMPS, VANGS, VASAL, WAACS, WACKS, WADAS, WADDS, WADIS, WAFFS, WAIFS, WAILS, WAINS, WAKAS, WAKFS, WALDS, WALIS, WALKS, WALLS, WAMUS, WANDS, WANGS, WANKS, WAQFS, WASHI, WASHY, WASMS, WASPS, WASPY, WAUKS, WAULS, WAWAS, WAWLS, YABAS, YACKS, YAFFS, YAGIS, YANGS, YANKS, YAPPS, YAUDS, YAUPS, YAWLS, YAWNS, YAWPS, YAYAS, ZACKS, ZAMIS, ZAWNS

    Decision measures before feedback

    Expected remaining candidates: 414.45. Information: 5.74 bits. These measures describe the decision before its realised feedback.

  2. Test POLES against the 492 candidates consistent with the earlier rows.

    492 before → 228 after. This feedback leaves 228 candidates.

    All 228 surviving candidates

    BABAS, BABUS, BACHS, BACKS, BAFFS, BAGHS, BAHUS, BAIKS, BAJUS, BAMAS, BANCS, BANDS, BANGS, BANKS, BANNS, BASAS, BASIS, BASKS, BAUDS, BAUKS, BAWDS, BAWKS, BAWNS, BAYAS, BAZAS, CABAS, CACAS, CACKS, CADIS, CAFFS, CAIDS, CAINS, CAMAS, CAMIS, CAMUS, CANGS, CANNS, CASAS, CASKS, CASUS, CAUKS, CAUMS, CAVAS, CAVUS, CAWKS, DACKS, DADAS, DADIS, DAFFS, DAHIS, DAMNS, DANGS, DANKS, DAUBS, DAUDS, DAWDS, DAWGS, DAWKS, DAWNS, FAFFS, FAIKS, FAINS, FANDS, FANGS, FANKS, FAUNS, FAVAS, FAVUS, FAWNS, GADIS, GAFFS, GAIDS, GAINS, GAMAS, GAMBS, GANGS, GANKS, GAUDS, GAUMS, GAWDS, GAWKS, HAAFS, HABUS, HACKS, HAFFS, HAGGS, HAHAS, HAIKS, HAINS, HAJIS, HAKAS, HAKUS, HANDS, HANGS, HANKS, HASKS, HAUDS, HAUFS, HAUNS, HAWKS, HAWMS, IAMBS, JACKS, JAFAS, JAGAS, JAGGS, JAMBS, JANNS, JAUKS, JAVAS, JAWNS, KACKS, KADIS, KAGUS, KAIDS, KAIFS, KAIKS, KAIMS, KAINS, KAKAS, KAKIS, KAMAS, KAMIS, KANAS, KANGS, KAVAS, KAWAS, KAZIS, MACAS, MACHS, MACKS, MAGAS, MAGGS, MAGUS, MAHIS, MAIDS, MAIKS, MAIMS, MAINS, MAJAS, MAKIS, MAMAS, MANAS, MANDS, MANGS, MANIS, MANKS, MANUS, MASAS, MASKS, MASUS, MAUDS, MAUMS, MAVIS, MAWKS, MAWNS, MAXIS, MAYAS, MAZAS, NAAMS, NAANS, NABIS, NABKS, NADAS, NAFFS, NAGAS, NAIBS, NAIDS, NAIFS, NAIKS, NAINS, NAKAS, NAMUS, NANAS, NASIS, NASUS, NAZIS, QADIS, QAIDS, SAAGS, SACKS, SADIS, SAGAS, SAICS, SAIDS, SAIMS, SAINS, SAKIS, SAMAS, SANDS, SANGS, SAYAS, VACAS, VADAS, VAGUS, VAIDS, VAKAS, VANGS, WAACS, WACKS, WADAS, WADDS, WADIS, WAFFS, WAIFS, WAINS, WAKAS, WAKFS, WAMUS, WANDS, WANGS, WANKS, WAQFS, WASMS, WAUKS, WAWAS, YABAS, YACKS, YAFFS, YAGIS, YANGS, YANKS, YAUDS, YAWNS, YAYAS, ZACKS, ZAMIS, ZAWNS

    Decision measures before feedback

    Expected remaining candidates: 18.385. Information: 2.689 bits. These measures describe the decision before its realised feedback.

  3. Test MANKS against the 228 candidates consistent with the earlier rows.

    228 before → 20 after. This feedback leaves 20 candidates.

    All 20 surviving candidates

    BANCS, BANDS, BANGS, BANNS, CANGS, CANNS, DANGS, FANDS, FANGS, GANGS, HANDS, HANGS, JANNS, NANAS, SANDS, SANGS, VANGS, WANDS, WANGS, YANGS

    Decision measures before feedback

    Expected remaining candidates: 37.012. Information: 3.193 bits. These measures describe the decision before its realised feedback.

  4. Test DANGS against the 20 candidates consistent with the earlier rows.

    20 before → 9 after. This feedback leaves 9 candidates.

    All 9 surviving candidates

    BANGS, CANGS, FANGS, GANGS, HANGS, SANGS, VANGS, WANGS, YANGS

    Decision measures before feedback

    Expected remaining candidates: 6.6. Information: 1.734 bits. These measures describe the decision before its realised feedback.

  5. Test SABES against the 9 candidates consistent with the earlier rows.

    9 before → 7 after. This feedback leaves 7 candidates.

    All 7 surviving candidates

    CANGS, FANGS, GANGS, HANGS, VANGS, WANGS, YANGS

    Decision measures before feedback

    Expected remaining candidates: 5.667. Information: 0.986 bits. These measures describe the decision before its realised feedback.

  6. Test CANGS against the 7 candidates consistent with the earlier rows.

    7 before → 1 after. The answer is submitted and solved.

    All 1 surviving candidates

    CANGS

    Decision measures before feedback

    Expected remaining candidates: 5.286. Information: 0.592 bits. These measures describe the decision before its realised feedback.

Solved in 6 guesses. Uniquely identified on turn 6.

Continue this board in the Solver

Hard Mode

Our solver: bounded weighted policy. Current-pool replay over 14,855 accepted words. Model through 2026-11-05.

  1. The fixed opener tests its five letters.

    14,855 before → 492 after. This feedback leaves 492 candidates.

    All 492 surviving candidates

    AAPAS, BAALS, BAAPS, BABAS, BABUS, BACHS, BACKS, BAFFS, BAGHS, BAHUS, BAIKS, BAILS, BAJUS, BALAS, BALDS, BALKS, BALLS, BALMS, BALUS, BAMAS, BANCS, BANDS, BANGS, BANKS, BANNS, BAONS, BAPUS, BASAL, BASAN, BASAS, BASHA, BASHO, BASIC, BASIJ, BASIL, BASIN, BASIS, BASKS, BASON, BAUDS, BAUKS, BAWDS, BAWKS, BAWLS, BAWNS, BAYAS, BAZAS, CABAS, CACAS, CACKS, CADIS, CAFFS, CAIDS, CAINS, CALFS, CALKS, CALLS, CALMS, CALOS, CALPS, CAMAS, CAMIS, CAMOS, CAMPS, CAMUS, CANGS, CANNS, CAPAS, CAPHS, CAPOS, CASAS, CASCO, CASKS, CASKY, CASUS, CAUKS, CAULS, CAUMS, CAUPS, CAVAS, CAVUS, CAWKS, DAALS, DACKS, DADAS, DADIS, DADOS, DAFFS, DAGOS, DAHIS, DAHLS, DALIS, DAMNS, DAMPS, DANGS, DANKS, DASHI, DASHY, DAUBS, DAUDS, DAWDS, DAWGS, DAWKS, DAWNS, FADOS, FAFFS, FAIKS, FAILS, FAINS, FALLS, FANDS, FANGS, FANKS, FANOS, FASCI, FAUNS, FAVAS, FAVUS, FAWNS, GADIS, GAFFS, GAIDS, GAINS, GAJOS, GALAS, GALIS, GALLS, GAMAS, GAMBS, GAMPS, GANGS, GANKS, GAOLS, GAPOS, GASHY, GASPS, GASPY, GAUDS, GAUMS, GAUPS, GAWDS, GAWKS, GAWPS, HAAFS, HABUS, HACKS, HAFFS, HAGGS, HAHAS, HAIKS, HAILS, HAINS, HAJIS, HAKAS, HAKUS, HALFS, HALLS, HALMS, HALOS, HANDS, HANGS, HANKS, HAPAS, HAPUS, HASHY, HASKS, HASPS, HAUDS, HAUFS, HAULS, HAUNS, HAWKS, HAWMS, IAMBS, JAAPS, JACKS, JAFAS, JAGAS, JAGGS, JAILS, JAMBS, JANNS, JASPS, JAUKS, JAUPS, JAVAS, JAWNS, KACKS, KADIS, KAGOS, KAGUS, KAIDS, KAIFS, KAIKS, KAILS, KAIMS, KAINS, KAKAS, KAKIS, KALAS, KALIS, KAMAS, KAMIS, KANAS, KANGS, KAONS, KAPAS, KAPHS, KAPUS, KASHA, KAVAS, KAWAS, KAYOS, KAZIS, LABIS, LACIS, LACKS, LAICS, LAIDS, LAIKS, LAKHS, LALLS, LAMAS, LAMBS, LAMPS, LANAS, LANDS, LANKS, LAPAS, LAPIS, LAUDS, LAUFS, LAVAS, LAWKS, LAWNS, LAZOS, MACAS, MACHS, MACKS, MADOS, MAGAS, MAGGS, MAGUS, MAHIS, MAIDS, MAIKS, MAILS, MAIMS, MAINS, MAJAS, MAJOS, MAKIS, MAKOS, MALAS, MALIS, MALLS, MALMS, MALUS, MAMAS, MANAS, MANDS, MANGS, MANIS, MANKS, MANOS, MANUS, MASAS, MASHA, MASHY, MASKS, MASON, MASUS, MAUDS, MAULS, MAUMS, MAVIS, MAWKS, MAWNS, MAWPS, MAXIS, MAYAS, MAYOS, MAZAS, NAAMS, NAANS, NABIS, NABKS, NADAS, NAFFS, NAGAS, NAIBS, NAIDS, NAIFS, NAIKS, NAILS, NAINS, NAIOS, NAKAS, NALAS, NAMUS, NANAS, NANOS, NAPAS, NASAL, NASHI, NASHO, NASIS, NASON, NASUS, NAZIS, OAFOS, OASAL, OASIS, PAALS, PAANS, PACAS, PACKS, PACOS, PADAS, PADIS, PAHOS, PAHUS, PAIKS, PAILS, PAINS, PAIPS, PALAS, PALIS, PALLS, PALMS, PALPS, PALUS, PANDS, PANGS, PANKS, PAPAS, PASAG, PASCH, PASHA, PASHM, PASKA, PASMO, PASPY, PAUAS, PAULS, PAVAS, PAVIS, PAWAS, PAWKS, PAWLS, PAWNS, QADIS, QAIDS, SAAGS, SABAL, SABHA, SABIN, SABJI, SABOS, SABZI, SACKS, SADDO, SADDY, SADHU, SADIC, SADIS, SADLY, SADOS, SADZA, SAGAS, SAGGY, SAGOS, SAGUM, SAHAB, SAHIB, SAICK, SAICS, SAIDS, SAIGA, SAILS, SAIMS, SAINS, SAJOU, SAKAI, SAKIA, SAKIS, SALAD, SALAL, SALAS, SALIC, SALIS, SALIX, SALLY, SALMI, SALOL, SALON, SALOP, SALPA, SALPS, SALUD, SALVO, SAMAN, SAMAS, SAMBA, SAMBO, SAMFI, SAMFU, SAMMY, SAMPI, SAMPS, SANAD, SANDS, SANDY, SANGA, SANGH, SANGO, SANGS, SANKO, SAOLA, SAPAN, SAPID, SAPPY, SASIN, SAUBA, SAUCH, SAUCY, SAUGH, SAULS, SAUNA, SAUNF, SAVIN, SAVOY, SAVVY, SAWAH, SAYAS, SAYID, SAYON, VACAS, VADAS, VAGUS, VAIDS, VAILS, VAKAS, VALIS, VAMPS, VANGS, VASAL, WAACS, WACKS, WADAS, WADDS, WADIS, WAFFS, WAIFS, WAILS, WAINS, WAKAS, WAKFS, WALDS, WALIS, WALKS, WALLS, WAMUS, WANDS, WANGS, WANKS, WAQFS, WASHI, WASHY, WASMS, WASPS, WASPY, WAUKS, WAULS, WAWAS, WAWLS, YABAS, YACKS, YAFFS, YAGIS, YANGS, YANKS, YAPPS, YAUDS, YAUPS, YAWLS, YAWNS, YAWPS, YAYAS, ZACKS, ZAMIS, ZAWNS

    Decision measures before feedback

    Expected remaining candidates: 414.45. Information: 5.74 bits. These measures describe the decision before its realised feedback.

  2. Test PALIS against the 492 candidates consistent with the earlier rows.

    492 before → 191 after. This feedback leaves 191 candidates.

    All 191 surviving candidates

    BABAS, BABUS, BACHS, BACKS, BAFFS, BAGHS, BAHUS, BAJUS, BAMAS, BANCS, BANDS, BANGS, BANKS, BANNS, BAONS, BASAS, BASKS, BAUDS, BAUKS, BAWDS, BAWKS, BAWNS, BAYAS, BAZAS, CABAS, CACAS, CACKS, CAFFS, CAMAS, CAMOS, CAMUS, CANGS, CANNS, CASAS, CASKS, CASUS, CAUKS, CAUMS, CAVAS, CAVUS, CAWKS, DACKS, DADAS, DADOS, DAFFS, DAGOS, DAMNS, DANGS, DANKS, DAUBS, DAUDS, DAWDS, DAWGS, DAWKS, DAWNS, FADOS, FAFFS, FANDS, FANGS, FANKS, FANOS, FAUNS, FAVAS, FAVUS, FAWNS, GAFFS, GAJOS, GAMAS, GAMBS, GANGS, GANKS, GAUDS, GAUMS, GAWDS, GAWKS, HAAFS, HABUS, HACKS, HAFFS, HAGGS, HAHAS, HAKAS, HAKUS, HANDS, HANGS, HANKS, HASKS, HAUDS, HAUFS, HAUNS, HAWKS, HAWMS, JACKS, JAFAS, JAGAS, JAGGS, JAMBS, JANNS, JAUKS, JAVAS, JAWNS, KACKS, KAGOS, KAGUS, KAKAS, KAMAS, KANAS, KANGS, KAONS, KAVAS, KAWAS, KAYOS, MACAS, MACHS, MACKS, MADOS, MAGAS, MAGGS, MAGUS, MAJAS, MAJOS, MAKOS, MAMAS, MANAS, MANDS, MANGS, MANKS, MANOS, MANUS, MASAS, MASKS, MASUS, MAUDS, MAUMS, MAWKS, MAWNS, MAYAS, MAYOS, MAZAS, NAAMS, NAANS, NABKS, NADAS, NAFFS, NAGAS, NAKAS, NAMUS, NANAS, NANOS, NASUS, OAFOS, SAAGS, SABOS, SACKS, SADOS, SAGAS, SAGOS, SAMAS, SANDS, SANGS, SAYAS, VACAS, VADAS, VAGUS, VAKAS, VANGS, WAACS, WACKS, WADAS, WADDS, WAFFS, WAKAS, WAKFS, WAMUS, WANDS, WANGS, WANKS, WAQFS, WASMS, WAUKS, WAWAS, YABAS, YACKS, YAFFS, YANGS, YANKS, YAUDS, YAWNS, YAYAS, ZACKS, ZAWNS

    Decision measures before feedback

    Expected remaining candidates: 19.34. Information: 2.481 bits. These measures describe the decision before its realised feedback.

  3. Test MANKS against the 191 candidates consistent with the earlier rows.

    191 before → 22 after. This feedback leaves 22 candidates.

    All 22 surviving candidates

    BANCS, BANDS, BANGS, BANNS, CANGS, CANNS, DANGS, FANDS, FANGS, FANOS, GANGS, HANDS, HANGS, JANNS, NANAS, NANOS, SANDS, SANGS, VANGS, WANDS, WANGS, YANGS

    Decision measures before feedback

    Expected remaining candidates: 32.309. Information: 3.162 bits. These measures describe the decision before its realised feedback.

  4. Test DANGS against the 22 candidates consistent with the earlier rows.

    22 before → 9 after. This feedback leaves 9 candidates.

    All 9 surviving candidates

    BANGS, CANGS, FANGS, GANGS, HANGS, SANGS, VANGS, WANGS, YANGS

    Decision measures before feedback

    Expected remaining candidates: 7.091. Information: 1.742 bits. These measures describe the decision before its realised feedback.

  5. Test BANGS against the 9 candidates consistent with the earlier rows.

    9 before → 8 after. This feedback leaves 8 candidates.

    All 8 surviving candidates

    CANGS, FANGS, GANGS, HANGS, SANGS, VANGS, WANGS, YANGS

    Decision measures before feedback

    Expected remaining candidates: 7.222. Information: 0.503 bits. These measures describe the decision before its realised feedback.

  6. Test CANGS against the 8 candidates consistent with the earlier rows.

    8 before → 1 after. The answer is submitted and solved.

    All 1 surviving candidates

    CANGS

    Decision measures before feedback

    Expected remaining candidates: 6.25. Information: 0.544 bits. These measures describe the decision before its realised feedback.

Solved in 6 guesses. Uniquely identified on turn 6.

Continue this board in the Solver

How the fixed opener panel performs on this answer

OpenerFirst feedbackSurvivorsNormalHard Mode
TARSE02010 (0 grey, 1 yellow, 2 green)49266
CRANE20110 (0 grey, 1 yellow, 2 green)2355
SLATE10100 (0 grey, 1 yellow, 2 green)68566
ADIEU10000 (0 grey, 1 yellow, 2 green)201964
STARE10100 (0 grey, 1 yellow, 2 green)66266
AUDIO10000 (0 grey, 1 yellow, 2 green)251366
RAISE02010 (0 grey, 1 yellow, 2 green)49466
ROATE00100 (0 grey, 1 yellow, 2 green)140455
SALET12000 (0 grey, 1 yellow, 2 green)46655
Normal mode
1 guess: 0 · 2 guesses: 0 · 3 guesses: 0 · 4 guesses: 0 · 5 guesses: 3 · 6 guesses: 6 · Failed in six: 0
Hard Mode
1 guess: 0 · 2 guesses: 0 · 3 guesses: 0 · 4 guesses: 1 · 5 guesses: 3 · 6 guesses: 5 · Failed in six: 0

The nine openers use the same pool and continuation policy. Across both modes: 4–6 guesses among successes; 0 of 18 configurations failed. This is performance on this answer, not an overall opener ranking.

12 openers set up a two-turn opportunity; examples include CONGO, CAGES, CONGA, CRAGS, CAGER, INCOG, CLAGS, COIGN, CONGE, GANCH. After their feedback, this answer is among the most likely survivors with at least half the model probability. This is an opportunity, not a guarantee. An opener that immediately solves is excluded.

Why this answer can be difficult

The worked board still allows 9 different answers at one later decision: BANGS, CANGS, FANGS, GANGS, HANGS, SANGS, VANGS, WANGS, YANGS. These are mechanical alternatives, not a judgement of vocabulary difficulty.

Vocabulary evidence and voluntary player results are reported separately from these solver observations.

Closest competing answers in this board

These words all fit the earlier feedback, rather than merely sharing similar spelling: BANGS, CANGS, FANGS, GANGS, HANGS, SANGS, VANGS, WANGS, YANGS.

A lesson from this route

Before SABES, 9 words still fit. Its feedback left 7; check the full survivor list before choosing the next answer.

Try another opener or a different move

How this is calculated

The current policy checks all remaining candidates and up to 128 fixed probes. At six or fewer candidates it uses bounded lookahead, preferring modelled six-turn success, then speed among successes. Larger states use expected survivors as a heuristic. These are recommendations, not proofs of optimal play. Hard Mode retains green positions and revealed letter counts; it allows grey letters and a yellow in the same position. Candidate-only play is stricter.

Methods and limitations

Feedback distribution

CANGS can come back 86 different ways. These are the most likely, and how many of the possible answers give each one:

479 answers
248 answers
239 answers
140 answers
118 answers
107 answers
87 answers
82 answers
73 answers
53 answers
48 answers
43 answers
41 answers
38 answers
38 answers
34 answers
33 answers
30 answers
30 answers
28 answers
23 answers
22 answers
21 answers
20 answers
19 answers
19 answers
18 answers
16 answers
14 answers
14 answers

Letter-value totals

Base letter-value totals for CANGS; these do not show whether either game accepts the word.

Scrabble

C3A1N1G2S1
Total: 8 points

Words With Friends

Total: 11 points

Scores shown are base values without double/triple letter or word bonuses.

Try next

TOILE STIRE ALERT ROUET PORTE STARE

Strategy after playing CANGS

What the solver recommends next for each way the board can respond to CANGS.

Quick reference

Largest feedback groups after playing CANGS:

20% chance
Suggested:
TOILE
10% chance
Suggested:
STIRE
10% chance
Suggested:
ALERT

Follow-ups for common patterns

Ranked follow-up guesses for the 10 most common feedback patterns.

20.0% →
TOILE 6.09 bits
10.4% →
STIRE 5.49 bits
10.0% →
ALERT 5.60 bits
5.9% →
ROUET 5.36 bits
4.9% →
PORTE 4.72 bits
4.5% →
STARE 4.87 bits
3.6% →
TRICE 5.11 bits
3.4% →
PROLE 5.09 bits
3.1% →
DROLE 5.15 bits
2.2% →
ROUET 4.60 bits

Research on CANGS

Game-tree analysis and word research for CANGS, with an explanation for each figure.

Optimal play

Opening with CANGS, a proven-optimal strategy averages 3.68 guesses and ranks #3,219 of 14,855 legal openers. The best proven opener, TARSE, averages 3.55.

In hard mode it averages 3.79 guesses at best and is rank #1,120 of the 7,453 openers that can still guarantee a solve within six guesses.

Our six-turn simulation says 3.62, at or below the proven-optimal 3.68, because the two figures score different answer lists.

These figures come from exhaustive game-tree search and are exact for the NYT lists of July 2023 (3,158 answers). They do not use the site's working answer pool.

Sources: Optimal-play values: Alex Selby's exhaustive Wordle analysis (MIT).