Useful signal
Excellent vowel coverage for players who want to learn the vowel set immediately.
Score Quick Analysis Card
Rank #8How To Read The Scores
The scores are a practical model for judging ADIEU, not a promise that one opener wins every puzzle.
The entropy score estimates how much information ADIEU is expected to gain across many possible answers. The frequency score reflects how often its letters appear in answer-style Wordle words. Letter coverage rewards the fact that ADIEU uses five unique tiles, while the hard mode score asks whether the confirmed letters usually leave playable legal follow-ups.
The overall score is most useful when comparing openers with different personalities. A word can be easy for beginners without being the highest-entropy choice, and a word can have elite entropy while feeling less natural to play every day. Use the numbers to understand the tradeoff, then choose the opener whose feedback you can act on consistently.
Letter By Letter Breakdown
ADIEU has five unique letters, so every tile can produce new information on turn one.
| Letter | Frequency and usefulness |
|---|---|
| A | A is highly useful and ADIEU tests it immediately in position one, where it is less common than in the middle. |
| D | D is serviceable but not elite as a first-turn consonant. It appears in enough answers to matter, but it is not as efficient as S, R, T, L, or N. |
| I | I is a valuable vowel, especially in position three, and helps distinguish many non-E answer families. |
| E | E is the best vowel overall, though ADIEU places it in position four instead of the very common final slot. |
| U | U is useful when it hits, but it is less common than A, E, O, or I, so it can be an inefficient first-turn slot. |
Strengths
Where ADIEU performs well as a first Wordle guess.
Useful signal
Easy for beginners to interpret because positive vowel feedback points to obvious placements.
Useful signal
Can be strong against vowel-heavy answers or words where U is present.
Useful signal
Useful as a teaching word for understanding why vowel information is only one part of Wordle.
Weaknesses
No opener is perfect. These are the tradeoffs to plan around.
Only one consonant slot is tested, and D is not one of the strongest first-guess consonants.
Lower entropy than balanced openers because many answers share similar vowel feedback.
Hard mode can become awkward when multiple vowels turn yellow and must all be reused.
It misses S, T, R, L, N, and C, which often drive candidate reduction.
The point is not to memorize one first word and stop thinking. Use the first result to decide whether your second move should reduce candidates broadly, chase a likely answer, or obey hard mode constraints.
Real Wordle Scenarios
Example feedback patterns for ADIEU and what each one teaches you.
| Pattern | Information gained | Candidate reduction | Best next guess |
|---|---|---|---|
| ADIEU Y-Y-- | A and I are present but misplaced. | The pool shifts to words with A/I but still needs consonant discovery. | RAILS or SAINT tests stronger consonants while relocating vowels. |
| ADIEU ----Y | Only U is present and not last. | This is useful because U answers are relatively narrow. | CLOUT or BLUNT can test U with high-value consonants. |
| ADIEU ----- | A, D, I, E, and U are absent. | The result points strongly toward O and consonant-heavy answers. | STORY is a practical repair guess with S, T, O, R, Y. |
How To Play The Second Turn After ADIEU
The second guess is where a good opener becomes a real strategy.
After ADIEU, do not automatically play a memorized partner word. Start by asking what the colors actually proved. Green tiles create structure. Yellow tiles create placement work. Gray tiles remove entire answer families. If the first result leaves many candidates, your second guess should usually test missing high-value letters. If the first result leaves a tight pattern, a direct solve or trap-breaking guess may be stronger.
In normal mode, you can use a broad information word even if it ignores a confirmed clue. In hard mode, every confirmed green and yellow from ADIEU must be respected, so the best follow-up may be less flashy but more legally useful. This is why the hard mode score matters: it measures whether the opener gives you room to keep learning after the first feedback pattern.
Best Follow Up Guesses
Use the actual colors you received, but these options show how ADIEU is normally complemented.
Conservative option: STORY
This follow-up favors broad coverage and avoids overcommitting to a single answer family too early.
Aggressive option: CRANE
This path is better when the first pattern points toward a recognizable answer shape and you want to press for a faster solve.
Hard mode option: SAINT
This option is designed to reuse confirmed information while still testing letters that can split the remaining pool.
Comparison With Similar Openers
How ADIEU compares with other popular starts.
Who Should Use This Word
ADIEU works differently depending on your skill level and mode.
Beginners
Good for comfort, but it can teach an overly vowel-first habit.
Experienced players
Situational. Most experienced players will prefer RAISE or SLATE.
Hard mode players
Weak to average. Multiple yellow vowels can restrict the second guess too much.
Final Verdict
Use ADIEU if vowel certainty matters to you, but switch to a balanced opener if your goal is maximum efficiency.
Related Starting Word Pages
Openers with similar goals or useful comparison value.
ADIEU FAQs
Common questions about using ADIEU as your first Wordle guess.
Why do so many people start with ADIEU?
ADIEU is popular because it tests four vowels, which feels reassuring even though it is not the highest-entropy strategy.
Is ADIEU bad for Wordle?
No, but it is usually less efficient than balanced words like SLATE, CRANE, STARE, or RAISE.
What should I play after ADIEU?
A strong follow-up should test consonants. STORY, CRONY, SLANT, and CRANE-style words often repair the missing consonant information.