Very unlikely Accepted guess B tier for first-turn info

THEIN

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

Meaning and pronunciation

Noun

Alternative spelling of theine.

Noun

Obsolete form of thane.

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

Etymology

Borrowing from Burmese သိန်း (sin:).

Source: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA)

How it sounds

One syllable Say it THYN.

Rhymes with SHINE SPINE STEIN ALIGN SWINE

Use THEIN in a puzzle

As an opener, it rules out about 94.1% of possible answers.

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 THEIN performs as a guess

Wordle accepts THEIN 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 85.2% of games, misses completely in 14.8%, and leaves about 142 possible answers on average.

In the previous complete opener benchmark, it ranks #2,455 of 14,855 openers, averaging 3.63 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.

First-turn measures

All four describe THEIN 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.

5.09 Entropy (bits)
142 Avg remaining
0.0% Exact match
94.1% Avg ruled out

As an opening guess: previous benchmark

How THEIN 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.

3.63 Avg guesses
99.92% Solved within six
0.71 Spread of game lengths
#2,455 Rank among openers
Opening with THEIN left 2 of the snapshot's answers unsolved after six guesses. A spread of 0.71 means those games clustered within about 0.71 of a guess of the 3.63 average. It ranks #2,455 of 14,855 openers by average guesses in games solved within six.
1 guess
0
2 guesses
73
3 guesses
963
4 guesses
1,102
5 guesses
195
6 guesses
19

Composition

5/5 unique
2 vowels
Common:
EINT

Feedback chances

Any hit (G/Y)
85%
Green tile
28%
All gray
15%

When THEIN is useful later

THEIN tied for the smallest expected survivor count in 1 of 54 sampled positions where it was legal. This designed sample is not a measure of how often real players should use it.

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, THEIN 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 THEIN

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 → 73 after. This feedback leaves 73 candidates.

    All 73 surviving candidates

    TECHY, TECUM, TEDDY, TEEND, TEENY, TEETH, TEIID, TEIND, TELCO, TELEX, TELIC, TELLY, TELOI, TEMED, TEMPI, TEMPO, TEMPT, TENCH, TENDU, TENET, TENNO, TENNY, TENON, TENTH, TENTY, TEPID, TEPOY, TEUCH, TEUGH, TEWED, TEWEL, TEWIT, THEED, THEEK, THEFT, THEGN, THEIC, THEIN, THELF, THEOW, THEWY, THIEF, TICED, TIDED, TILED, TIMED, TINED, TOGED, TOKED, TOKEN, TOLED, TOMEN, TONED, TONEY, TOPED, TOPEK, TOTED, TOTEM, TOWED, TOWEL, TOYED, TOZED, TUBED, TUNED, TUPEK, TWEED, TWEEL, TWEEN, TWEEP, TWEET, TYNED, TYPED, TYPEY

    Decision measures before feedback

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

  2. Test TONED against the 73 candidates consistent with the earlier rows.

    73 before → 3 after. This feedback leaves 3 candidates.

    All 3 surviving candidates

    TEENY, THEGN, THEIN

    Decision measures before feedback

    Expected remaining candidates: 5.842. Information: 2.852 bits. These measures describe the decision before its realised feedback.

  3. Test TEENY against the 3 candidates consistent with the earlier rows.

    3 before → 2 after. This feedback leaves 2 candidates.

    All 2 surviving candidates

    THEGN, THEIN

    Decision measures before feedback

    Expected remaining candidates: 1.009. Information: 0.074 bits. These measures describe the decision before its realised feedback.

  4. Test THEGN against the 2 candidates consistent with the earlier rows.

    2 before → 1 after. This feedback leaves 1 candidate.

    All 1 surviving candidates

    THEIN

    Decision measures before feedback

    Expected remaining candidates: 1.0. Information: 1.0 bits. These measures describe the decision before its realised feedback.

  5. Submit the only remaining candidate.

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

    All 1 surviving candidates

    THEIN

    Decision measures before feedback

    Expected remaining candidates: 1.0. Information: 0.0 bits. These measures describe the decision before its realised feedback.

Solved in 5 guesses. Uniquely identified on turn 4.

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 → 73 after. This feedback leaves 73 candidates.

    All 73 surviving candidates

    TECHY, TECUM, TEDDY, TEEND, TEENY, TEETH, TEIID, TEIND, TELCO, TELEX, TELIC, TELLY, TELOI, TEMED, TEMPI, TEMPO, TEMPT, TENCH, TENDU, TENET, TENNO, TENNY, TENON, TENTH, TENTY, TEPID, TEPOY, TEUCH, TEUGH, TEWED, TEWEL, TEWIT, THEED, THEEK, THEFT, THEGN, THEIC, THEIN, THELF, THEOW, THEWY, THIEF, TICED, TIDED, TILED, TIMED, TINED, TOGED, TOKED, TOKEN, TOLED, TOMEN, TONED, TONEY, TOPED, TOPEK, TOTED, TOTEM, TOWED, TOWEL, TOYED, TOZED, TUBED, TUNED, TUPEK, TWEED, TWEEL, TWEEN, TWEEP, TWEET, TYNED, TYPED, TYPEY

    Decision measures before feedback

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

  2. Test TONED against the 73 candidates consistent with the earlier rows.

    73 before → 3 after. This feedback leaves 3 candidates.

    All 3 surviving candidates

    TEENY, THEGN, THEIN

    Decision measures before feedback

    Expected remaining candidates: 5.842. Information: 2.852 bits. These measures describe the decision before its realised feedback.

  3. Test TEENY against the 3 candidates consistent with the earlier rows.

    3 before → 2 after. This feedback leaves 2 candidates.

    All 2 surviving candidates

    THEGN, THEIN

    Decision measures before feedback

    Expected remaining candidates: 1.009. Information: 0.074 bits. These measures describe the decision before its realised feedback.

  4. Test THEGN against the 2 candidates consistent with the earlier rows.

    2 before → 1 after. This feedback leaves 1 candidate.

    All 1 surviving candidates

    THEIN

    Decision measures before feedback

    Expected remaining candidates: 1.0. Information: 1.0 bits. These measures describe the decision before its realised feedback.

  5. Submit the only remaining candidate.

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

    All 1 surviving candidates

    THEIN

    Decision measures before feedback

    Expected remaining candidates: 1.0. Information: 0.0 bits. These measures describe the decision before its realised feedback.

Solved in 5 guesses. Uniquely identified on turn 4.

Continue this board in the Solver

How the fixed opener panel performs on this answer

OpenerFirst feedbackSurvivorsNormalHard Mode
TARSE20001 (0 grey, 1 yellow, 2 green)7355
CRANE00011 (0 grey, 1 yellow, 2 green)40344
SLATE00011 (0 grey, 1 yellow, 2 green)29944
ADIEU00110 (0 grey, 1 yellow, 2 green)37733
STARE01001 (0 grey, 1 yellow, 2 green)27044
AUDIO00020 (0 grey, 1 yellow, 2 green)25855
RAISE00101 (0 grey, 1 yellow, 2 green)25655
ROATE00011 (0 grey, 1 yellow, 2 green)31233
SALET00011 (0 grey, 1 yellow, 2 green)22855
Normal mode
1 guess: 0 · 2 guesses: 0 · 3 guesses: 2 · 4 guesses: 3 · 5 guesses: 4 · 6 guesses: 0 · Failed in six: 0
Hard Mode
1 guess: 0 · 2 guesses: 0 · 3 guesses: 2 · 4 guesses: 3 · 5 guesses: 4 · 6 guesses: 0 · Failed in six: 0

The nine openers use the same pool and continuation policy. Across both modes: 3–5 guesses among successes; 0 of 18 configurations failed. This is performance on this answer, not an overall opener ranking.

49 openers set up a two-turn opportunity; examples include THEIR, THINK, THING, CHINA, CHAIN, SHINE, TEENS, TOKEN, STEIN, THORN. 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 3 different answers at one later decision: TEENY, THEGN, THEIN. 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: TEENY, THEGN, THEIN.

A lesson from this route

Before TEENY, 3 words still fit. Its feedback left 2; 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

THEIN can come back 119 different ways. These are the most likely, and how many of the possible answers give each one:

353 answers
346 answers
117 answers
109 answers
108 answers
100 answers
95 answers
73 answers
72 answers
66 answers
58 answers
49 answers
42 answers
39 answers
36 answers
34 answers
33 answers
32 answers
32 answers
31 answers
30 answers
28 answers
25 answers
24 answers
22 answers
21 answers
19 answers
18 answers
16 answers
15 answers

Letter-value totals

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

Scrabble

T1H4E1I1N1
Total: 8 points

Words With Friends

Total: 8 points

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

Strategy after playing THEIN

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

Quick reference

Largest feedback groups after playing THEIN:

15% chance
Suggested:
SOLAR
14% chance
Suggested:
LAREE
5% chance
Suggested:
SORAL

Follow-ups for common patterns

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

14.8% →
SOLAR 5.87 bits
14.5% →
LAREE 5.44 bits
4.9% →
SORAL 5.41 bits
4.6% →
SLIMY 4.77 bits
4.5% →
SEARE 4.94 bits
4.2% →
ROANY 4.83 bits
4.0% →
PLIED 4.45 bits
3.1% →
SAUCY 4.82 bits
3.0% →
SONAR 4.57 bits
2.8% →
ERASE 4.20 bits

Research on THEIN

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

Optimal play

Opening with THEIN, a proven-optimal strategy averages 3.68 guesses and ranks #3,524 of 14,855 legal openers. The best proven opener, TARSE, averages 3.55.

In hard mode it averages 3.80 guesses at best and is rank #1,358 of the 7,453 openers that can still guarantee a solve within six guesses.

Our six-turn simulation says 3.63, 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.

Familiarity and learning

Frequency
THEIN sits in the advanced band of the wordfreq scale, appearing less than once per million words in the source corpus. Corpus frequency does not measure every reader’s familiarity.

Sources: Optimal-play values: Alex Selby's exhaustive Wordle analysis (MIT); Pronunciation: CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (BSD); Word frequency: wordfreq (data CC BY-SA 4.0).