Word Lists · N _ _ _ S
5 Letter Words Starting With N and Ending in S
Every five-letter word that fits N _ _ _ S — answer-eligible words are flagged in green, and you can tap any word to play it.
How Many 5-Letter Words Start With N and End in S?
Locking N at the front and S at the back still leaves 117 words — more than about 95% of the start/end shapes we track. 0 of those sit in the answer pool.
The second letter stays open here — O is the most common at only 30%. Expect to spend a guess narrowing it rather than assuming.
Green-dotted words are answer-eligible — the everyday vocabulary the daily puzzle actually draws from — while hollow-dotted words are valid guesses you can play but that will never be the solution. Flip on Answers only to focus on the 0 words that could truly win the board.
Best Wordle Guesses That Fit N _ _ _ S
Few answer words fit N···S, so no single word in this set stands out as an opener. Test the middle letters with a word rich in E, A, R, O, and T, then return to this list once the board narrows.
The Full List, Grouped by Second Letter
Reading by square two: NO·35 NA·29 NE·29 NI·16 NU·8. Tap the group that matches your board rather than scrolling the whole 117-word column.
N···S Words That Have Been Wordle Answers
In 1916 puzzles, no word with N and ending in S has ever been the answer. The shape has no answer-eligible words at all, so it can only ever appear as a guess.
N···S Words by Vowel Count & Second Letter
Vowel structure is the fastest way to narrow the middle three squares. Here is how the 117 N···S words split by how many vowels they contain in total:
| Vowels | Words | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 or fewer | 36 | 31% |
| Exactly 2 | 81 | 69% |
| 3 or more | 0 | 0% |
And the most common second letters among N···S words — handy when a yellow tile hints at the square right after N:
| Pattern | Words |
|---|---|
| NO···S | 35 |
| NA···S | 29 |
| NE···S | 29 |
| NI···S | 16 |
| NU···S | 8 |
How to Use These Words to Win Wordle
- Pin the second letter first. The square after N splits the list fastest — NO alone accounts for 35 of the 117 candidates, so fixing that tile drops most of the rest.
- Favor distinct letters early. 76 of the 117 words here use five different letters and 41 repeat one.
Full strategy lives in the how-to-play guide, and you can practice any time on the unlimited Wordle board.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many 5-letter words start with N and end in S?
There are 117 valid five-letter words that start with N and end in S in our Wordle dictionary, and 0 of them can appear as a daily answer. Turn on the "Answers only" filter above to narrow the N···S list to answer-eligible words.
What are the best N···S words for Wordle?
Few answer words fit N···S, so words rich in common letters elsewhere tend to score higher.
Has a N···S word ever been a Wordle answer?
No. In 1916 puzzles the daily Wordle has never landed on a word starting with N and ending in S. See the full answer archive for what has come up instead.
Do these N···S words work in hard mode?
Yes. Once N and S are green you must keep them, so this list is exactly your hard-mode candidate set. 76 of the 117 words use five distinct letters and 41 repeat one — worth knowing, because hard mode will not let you drop a confirmed letter to probe elsewhere. See the how-to-play guide.
What is the most common second letter in N···S words?
O — NO accounts for 35 of the 117 words (30%), ahead of NA with 29. With both ends already green, square two is usually the tile worth testing first.
How many vowels do N···S words usually have?
69% of these 117 words carry two or more vowels — 81 have exactly two and 0 have three or more, against 36 with one or fewer. With N and S already fixed, that tells you how much vowel room the three middle squares still need. For a full clue-by-clue solve, send your board to the Wordle Solver.