Spelling Bee Answers for Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Jan 20, 2026, Tuesday Spelling Bee Answers for the F, T, L, I, N, Y, A honeycomb (center letter A) feature 68 words, a 347-point total, 3 Pangrams (1 Perfect Pangram perfect), and the 11-letter longest word: INFANTILITY.

Spelling Bee hive for January 20, 2026 with center letter A and surrounding letters F,T,L,I,N and Y

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Tuesday, January 20, 2026 NYT Spelling Bee Puzzle Insights

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

Difficulty

8/10

Hard

77th percentile

Avg Word Length

5.59

Typical length

All-time avg: 5.4

Rarity

63/100

Rare

Rarer than 63% of puzzles

Avg Solve Time

65 minutes

Longer than usual

To reach Genius

2LL

13

Few pairs

Unique two-letter openings

Bingo Status

No

Missing: Y

All 7 letters start at least 1 word

GN4L

33

words to Genius
1×11L1×9L5×8L11×7L11×6L4×5L

GN4L OTN

Yes

Exact 243 pts
33 words1×11L1×9L5×8L11×7L10×6L5×5L

Vowel Split

37%

Balanced mix

142 vowels · 238 consonants

Score Milestones

  • 0%Beginner0 PTS
  • 5%Good Start17 PTS
  • 15%Moving Up52 PTS
  • 25%Good87 PTS
  • 40%Solid139 PTS
  • 50%Nice174 PTS
  • 60%Great208 PTS
  • 65%Amazing226 PTS
  • 70%Genius243 PTS
  • 100%Queen Bee347 PTS

Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers

Here is the complete list of 68 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Tuesday, January 20, 2026. 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
34%
A
19%
T
16%

Try starting with these letters when you're stuck.

Puzzle Letters

Previous2026-01-19
Today's AnswersGo to Today

Pangrams

Reveal letter by letter or uncover a full solution

The Center letter is highlighted in Yellow.
Other days with this pangram

Complete Answers

Sort it your way: longest words or highest scores.

11-Letter Words 1 word

9-Letter Words 1 word

8-Letter Words 5 words

7-Letter Words 11 words

6-Letter Words 11 words

4-Letter Words 18 words

Browse calendar of past puzzles

Word Length Distribution

18 words
4L
18
21 words
5L
21
11 words
6L
11
11 words (Pangram)
7L
11
5 words (Pangram)
8L
5
1 word
9L
1
1 word (Pangram)
11L
1

Share of 68 answers at each word length.

Letter Coverage

A
68 words
100%
L
45 words
66%
T
43 words
63%
I
41 words
60%
N
41 words
60%
F
32 words
47%
Y
29 words
43%

Share of 68 words using each hive letter.

Points by Length

18 pts
18
4L
105 pts
105
5L
66 pts
66
6L
84 pts (Pangram)
84
7L
47 pts (Pangram)
47
8L
9 pts
9
9L
18 pts (Pangram)
18
11L

Total points available at each word length.

Letter Frequency Distribution

F
2334%
A
1319%
T
1116%
N
1015%
I
69%
L
57%

Share of 68 words starting with each letter.

How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?

  • Today’s score of 347 ranks in the 96th percentile among all puzzles.
  • The last time a score this low appeared was on 2026-01-19.
  • The highest score recorded is 506, seen on 2023-09-24.
  • The lowest score recorded is 47, seen on 2023-03-27.
  • With 68 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 97th percentile overall.
  • The last puzzle with fewer answers occurred on 2026-01-19.
  • 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 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 2026-01-18.
  • The estimated solve time of 55–75 min is slower than typical puzzles.
  • Players can expect a challenging solving experience.

Other Dictionary Words Not on This Puzzle's Official List

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

  • aalii
  • afaint
  • affinal
  • affy
  • aflat
  • aillt
  • aint
  • alai
  • alain
  • alala
  • alalia
  • alan
  • alani
  • alanin
  • alant
  • alantin
  • alanyl
  • alay
  • alfa
  • alfin
  • alia
  • alif
  • aliya
  • allan
  • alliant
  • allyl
  • altaian
  • altin
  • anality
  • anan
  • anana
  • ananta
  • anat
  • anatta
  • anil
  • anilin
  • anility
  • anita
  • anna
  • annat
  • anta
  • antifat
  • antilia
  • antilift
  • antlia
  • atalanta
  • atfalati
  • atlanta
  • atlantal
  • atlatl
  • atli
  • atta
  • attaint
  • attal
  • attila
  • attn
  • atty
  • ayin
  • faff
  • faffy
  • fain
  • fainly
  • fainty
  • fait
  • fala
  • falla
  • fallal
  • fana
  • fanal
  • fant
  • fanti
  • fany
  • fattily
  • fayal
  • fianna
  • fila
  • filiality
  • filla
  • finnan
  • flain
  • ilia
  • ilial
  • ilian
  • ilya
  • infall
  • infanta
  • infantly
  • infinitant
  • inia
  • inial
  • intail
  • inyala
  • ital
  • itala
  • itali
  • italian
  • italianity
  • italianly
  • italy
  • lait
  • lall
  • lally
  • lana
  • lanital
  • lanny
  • lant
  • lata
  • latian
  • latin
  • latinity
  • latitant
  • latitat
  • lattin
  • liana
  • lila
  • lilian
  • lina
  • linalyl
  • litai
  • lytta
  • naiant
  • naifly
  • naily
  • nain
  • nalita
  • natalia
  • natalian
  • natalitial
  • natally
  • natantly
  • natt
  • niall
  • nina
  • nitta
  • nyala
  • nyaya
  • taal
  • taffia
  • tafia
  • taft
  • tailfan
  • tain
  • tainan
  • tait
  • taiyal
  • tala
  • tana
  • tanala
  • tania
  • tanna
  • tantalian
  • tanya
  • tatta
  • tattily
  • tilia
  • tina
  • tinta
  • titania
  • titanian
  • titanyl
  • titian
  • titillant
  • yaff
  • yaffil
  • yali
  • yalla
  • yana
  • yanan
  • yati
  • yaya

*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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