Crossplay Two-Letter Words
All 107 two-letter words, searchable and filterable. These are the highest-value words in the game per tile spent — learn them and your score goes up immediately.
107 of 107 words
Tap any word to load it into the solver rack, or check a different word.
Why this is the highest-return list in the game
There are only a hundred or so of these, and they unlock a scoring pattern nothing else does. When you play a word alongside an existing one rather than through it, every tile you place forms a second word running the other way. Each of those short words scores, and each one collects the premium square underneath it.
A four-tile parallel play that forms four two-letter crosses scores five words at once. That is where the surprisingly large mid-game turns come from — not from long words, but from short ones stacked up.
The ones that rescue a bad rack
- QI — the reason a Q is never dead. 11 face points from two tiles.
- ZA — same trick for the Z.
- XI, XU, AX, EX, OX — the X is the best hook letter in the game precisely because it works in both directions.
- JO — a home for the J when nothing else fits.
- AA, AE, AI, OE, OI — vowel dumps for when your rack has five of them.
How to actually learn them
Do not memorise the list alphabetically. Learn it by second letter instead — every word ending in A, then every word ending in E, and so on. That is the shape your brain needs when you are staring at a board looking for somewhere to hook, because you are usually asking “what can go above this A?” rather than reciting from the start.
Related
- Three-Letter WordsEvery three-letter word, filterable.
- Q Without UThe short list that saves a stuck rack.
- Strategy GuideTen ideas that add points to every game.
- Crossplay SolverEnter your board and rack, get every legal move ranked by score.
- Dictionary CheckerIs that word playable? Check it instantly.
- Tile ValuesWhat every letter is worth, sortable.
Common questions
Why do two-letter words matter so much?
They are what makes parallel plays possible. Laying a word alongside an existing one forms a short word at every point of contact — if you know the two-letter list, you can score three or four words in a single turn instead of one.
Which ones should I learn first?
The ones using awkward tiles: QI, ZA, XI, XU, JO. Each turns a rack-clogging tile into points, and on a double letter square QI alone is worth 22 before any word multiplier.
Are all of these valid in my game?
These come from an open reference dictionary, which is very close to but not identical to an official lexicon. The two-letter list is the most stable part of any word list, so disagreements here are rare.