Spelling Bee Answers for Thursday, January 05, 2023

Jan 05, 2023, Thursday Spelling Bee Answers for the F, E, N, I, G, L, U honeycomb (center letter F) feature 48 words, a 273-point total, 4 Pangrams (1 Perfect Pangram perfect), and the 12-letter longest word: UNFULFILLING.

Spelling Bee hive for January 5, 2023 with center letter F and surrounding letters E,N,I,G,L and U

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Thursday, January 5, 2023 NYT Spelling Bee Puzzle Insights

A closer look at this NYT puzzle difficulty, word patterns, scoring, and solve time.

Difficulty

9/10

Very Hard

88th percentile

Avg Word Length

6.04

Typical length

All-time avg: 5.4

Rarity

90/100

Very Rare

Rarer than 90% of puzzles

Avg Solve Time

53 minutes

Longer than usual

To reach Genius

2LL

11

Few pairs

Unique two-letter openings

Bingo Status

No

Missing: N

All 7 letters start at least 1 word

GN4L

21

words to Genius
1×12L1×10L4×9L5×8L7×7L3×6L

GN4L OTN

Yes

Exact 191 pts
21 words1×12L1×10L4×9L5×8L7×7L1×6L2×5L

Vowel Split

37%

Balanced mix

107 vowels · 183 consonants

Score Milestones

  • 0%Beginner0 PTS
  • 5%Good Start14 PTS
  • 15%Moving Up41 PTS
  • 25%Good68 PTS
  • 40%Solid109 PTS
  • 50%Nice137 PTS
  • 60%Great164 PTS
  • 65%Amazing177 PTS
  • 70%Genius191 PTS
  • 100%Queen Bee273 PTS

Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers

Here is the complete list of 48 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Thursday, January 5, 2023. The answers are organized by word length and point value, along with today's pangram. Prefer a spoiler-free approach? Try the spelling bee hints for today or browse the full list of NYT spelling bee words.

Common openings

F
73%
G
8%
E
6%

Try starting with these letters when you're stuck.

Puzzle Letters

Previous2023-01-04
Today's AnswersGo to Today

Pangrams

Reveal letter by letter or uncover a full solution

The Center letter is highlighted in Yellow.

Complete Answers

Sort it your way: longest words or highest scores.

12-Letter Words 1 word

10-Letter Words 1 word

9-Letter Words 4 words

8-Letter Words 5 words

7-Letter Words 7 words

6-Letter Words 8 words

5-Letter Words 7 words

4-Letter Words 15 words

Browse calendar of past puzzles

Word Length Distribution

15 words
4L
15
7 words
5L
7
8 words
6L
8
7 words (Pangram)
7L
7
5 words
8L
5
4 words (Pangram)
9L
4
1 word
10L
1
1 word
12L
1

Share of 48 answers at each word length.

Letter Coverage

F
48 words
100%
L
37 words
77%
I
32 words
67%
N
29 words
60%
E
28 words
58%
G
28 words
58%
U
22 words
46%

Share of 48 words using each hive letter.

Points by Length

15 pts
15
4L
35 pts
35
5L
48 pts
48
6L
56 pts (Pangram)
56
7L
40 pts
40
8L
57 pts (Pangram)
57
9L
10 pts
10
10L
12 pts
12
12L

Total points available at each word length.

Letter Frequency Distribution

F
3573%
G
48%
E
36%
I
24%
L
24%
U
24%

Share of 48 words starting with each letter.

How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?

  • Today’s score of 273 ranks in the 82nd percentile among all puzzles.
  • The last time a score this low appeared was on 2023-01-04.
  • The highest score recorded is 506, seen on 2023-09-24.
  • The lowest score recorded is 47, seen on 2023-03-27.
  • With 48 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 64th percentile overall.
  • The last puzzle with fewer answers occurred on 2023-01-04.
  • The highest number of answers in any puzzle is 80, on 2026-02-01.
  • The lowest number of answers in any puzzle is 16, on 2023-03-27.
  • This puzzle ranks among the Very Hard puzzles, based on overall difficulty scoring.
  • Compared to recent puzzles, today’s challenge is harder than average.
  • The letter set in this puzzle is considered Low, compared to typical puzzles.
  • Puzzles with similar letter rarity last appeared on 2023-01-03.
  • The estimated solve time of 45–61 min is slower than typical puzzles.
  • Players can expect a grind-heavy solving experience.

Other Dictionary Words Not on This Puzzle's Official List

Wondering why these words aren't on the official list*:

  • effie
  • effulge
  • effulging
  • eiffel
  • enfile
  • enif
  • feeing
  • feelingful
  • feil
  • fele
  • feuing
  • fiel
  • fifie
  • figging
  • figgle
  • figuline
  • fili
  • fini
  • finn
  • finning
  • fluellen
  • fluellin
  • flugel
  • fuelling
  • fuff
  • fuffle
  • fugging
  • fugie
  • fugle
  • fugling
  • fuguing
  • fulfil
  • fuliguline
  • fullfil
  • fulling
  • funge
  • fungin
  • funnelling
  • funning
  • gigful
  • gliff
  • gliffing
  • guelf
  • guffin
  • gulfing
  • ignifuge
  • infile
  • infin
  • ingulf
  • ingulfing
  • leef
  • lief
  • liegeful
  • lifeful
  • lifen
  • luff
  • luffing
  • lungful
  • neif
  • nife
  • niff
  • nifle
  • unfeel
  • unfeigning
  • unfeline
  • unfile
  • unfiling
  • unfill
  • unfilling
  • unfine
  • unfleeing
  • unfulfil
  • unfulfill
  • unfull
  • ungleeful
  • unguileful

*Every word here uses only the hive's seven letters, includes the center letter, and appears in our dictionary, but it was never published in the NYT's official answer list.

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