Scrabble Two-Letter Words
Every two-letter word, searchable and filterable, priced with Scrabble tiles. These are the highest-return words in the game per tile spent, and the reason parallel plays score three and four words at once.
107 of 107 words
Tap any word to load it into the solver rack, or check a different word.
Why this list is worth more than any other
Play a word alongside one already on the board and every tile you place forms a second word running the other way. Each of those short words scores on its own, and each collects whatever premium square sits under it. A four-tile play laid beside an existing word can score five words at once.
That is the whole trick behind the surprisingly large mid-game turns, and it is unavailable to anyone who does not know these words. It is also the most common way a play gets rejected: your own word is fine, but one of the short words it forms sideways is not a word, and the whole move is illegal rather than merely worth less.
Where the points are, in Scrabble prices
Scrabble prices Q and Z at ten and J and X at eight. A two-letter word that puts one of those on a triple letter square scores thirty before anything else happens — and if it forms a word in both directions, it scores thirty twice.
QI, ZA, XI, XU and JO are the five to learn first for exactly that reason: short enough to fit anywhere, expensive enough to matter, and each one solves the specific problem of a big tile stuck on your rack.
The vowel dumps
Forty-two of the ninety-eight lettered tiles are vowels, so a rack of five of them is arithmetic rather than bad luck. AA, AE, AI, OE and OI exist to fix it two tiles at a time, which is almost always better than exchanging and losing a turn outright.
Related
- Scrabble SolverEnter your board and rack, get every legal move ranked by score.
- Scrabble Word FinderType your letters, see every word you can make.
- Scrabble Three-Letter WordsEvery three-letter word, filterable.
- Scrabble Tile ValuesWhat every letter is worth, sortable.
- Scrabble StrategyThe ideas that add points to every game.
- Scrabble Scoring RulesHow a play is scored, worked through step by step.
Common questions
Why do two-letter words matter so much in Scrabble?
They are what makes parallel plays legal. Laying a word alongside one already on the board forms a short word at every point of contact, and each of those scores separately. Knowing this list is the difference between scoring one word a turn and scoring four.
How many two-letter words are there?
It depends which dictionary you play by, which is exactly why this matters. The list here comes from ENABLE, an open reference list; the official North American and Collins lists differ from it and from each other most at this length. If a play is refused in a real game, a two-letter cross word is the first thing to suspect.
Which should I learn first?
The ones carrying expensive tiles — QI, ZA, XI, XU, JO — and the vowel dumps: AA, AE, AI, OE, OI. The first group turns one tile into thirty points on a triple letter square; the second unsticks a rack of nothing but vowels.
Is QI really a word?
In ENABLE and in the current official lists, yes. It is also the single most useful two-letter word in the game, because it is the one that gets a ten-point Q off your rack without needing a U.
Word validity is checked against ENABLE, an open reference dictionary. Word acceptance may vary from the current official Scrabble dictionary. TilePlayCoach is an independent word-game helper and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by the owners of the Scrabble trademark.