Spelling Bee Solver | Find Spelling Bee Answers
Get the help you need, but only the help you want. Enter today’s seven hive letters, choose a hint level, and work toward Genius. Unofficial helper. Not affiliated with The New York Times.
Enter the 7 hive letters
Type the six outer cells and the required yellow center. Then get hints, or reveal the full unofficial word list.
Official digital rules: words must be 4+ letters, include the center letter, and use only the hive. Letters may repeat. Uncheck hints only if you want the full unofficial list.
This spelling bee solver is a free helper for the New York Times digital hive. Get customizable, spoiler-free hints, or reveal a full unofficial word list when you are stuck. The Queen Bee crown can still be yours if you want every last word. This page is independent. It is not the official game, not Spelling Bee Buddy, and not a New York Times product.
How to use this spelling bee solver
Type the seven letters from today’s hive. Put the required center letter in the yellow center box and the other six letters around it. Press Get hints.
Leave spoiler-free hints on if you want a nudge. The letter x length grid shows how many words start with each letter at each length, without naming the words. Turn hints off only when you want answers. The tool searches an English word list for every string that uses only your seven letters and includes the center. Letters can be repeated inside a word.
The official puzzle uses an editor-curated list. Some dictionary words here will not score in the game. Some official answers may be missing. Treat the output as a hint engine, then type words into the real hive yourself.
Spelling Bee rules
The New York Times states these digital rules in its Spelling Bee glossary and help pages:
- Every word must include the center letter.
- Words must contain at least four letters.
- Letters can be used more than once.
- The word list does not include words that are offensive, obscure, hyphenated, or proper nouns.
- Each puzzle includes at least one pangram, a word that uses every hive letter at least once.
The digital game is at nytimes.com/puzzles/spelling-bee. The Times says a new hive is released at 3 a.m. Eastern Time every day. Full play, past puzzles, and official answers are for Games, All Access, and Home Delivery subscribers. The print Magazine hive uses a different letter set and a different scoring system. Do not mix the two.
The print puzzle debuted in The New York Times Magazine in 2014. The digital game launched on 9 May 2018.
Scoring, Genius, and Queen Bee
Official digital scoring, again from the Times:
- Four-letter words are worth 1 point each.
- Longer words earn 1 point per letter. A six-letter word is worth 6 points.
- A pangram is worth an extra 7 points on top of its length score.
So a seven-letter pangram is 7 + 7 = 14 points. An eight-letter pangram is 8 + 7 = 15 points.
The official rank ladder published in-game runs from Beginner up to Genius. The Times has described Queen Bee as an extra Easter egg: you found every accepted word. Queen Bee is not part of the regular published ranks.
The Times does not publish a public percentage chart for each rank. Independent solvers widely report the same thresholds. The table below uses official scoring in the first rows, then those commonly reported rank percentages. The point examples are calculated from those percentages. They are not an official Times chart.
| Item | Value | On a 150-pt hive | On a 200-pt hive | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4-letter word | 1 point | 1 | 1 | NYT glossary (official) |
| 5-letter word | 5 points | 5 | 5 | NYT glossary (official) |
| 6-letter word | 6 points | 6 | 6 | NYT glossary (official) |
| 7-letter word | 7 points | 7 | 7 | NYT glossary (official) |
| Pangram bonus | +7 points | +7 | +7 | NYT glossary (official) |
| Beginner | 0% | 0 | 0 | Commonly reported |
| Good Start | 2% | 3 | 4 | Commonly reported |
| Moving Up | 5% | 8 | 10 | Commonly reported |
| Good | 8% | 12 | 16 | Commonly reported |
| Solid | 15% | 23 | 30 | Commonly reported |
| Nice | 25% | 38 | 50 | Commonly reported |
| Great | 40% | 60 | 80 | Commonly reported |
| Amazing | 50% | 75 | 100 | Commonly reported |
| Genius | 70% | 105 | 140 | Commonly reported; Genius is official |
| Queen Bee | 100% of words | 150 | 200 | NYT: unofficial Easter egg |
A daily hive often lands near 40 to 60 official answers. That range comes from community trackers, not from the Times. Maximum points change every day, so Genius is a moving target.
Hints without giving the hive away
You do not have to dump every word. Useful hint levels on this solver:
- Letter x length grid: how many words start with C at 5 letters, and so on. Starting letters that hide a pangram are highlighted.
- Total word count: how many unofficial words remain.
- First letter only: a nudge without the rest of the spelling.
- Word length only: you know a six-letter word is still out there.
Official subscriber tools include Spelling Bee Buddy (personalized hints) and the Spelling Bee Forum. Revealing Answers or Yesterday inside the official game ends that puzzle. This page does not log into a Times account and cannot show the official key.
Pangrams, perfect pangrams, and bingo
A pangram uses all seven hive letters at least once. That definition is official. A perfect pangram is a community name for a pangram that is exactly seven letters long (each hive letter once). Bingo is a community name for a hive that has at least one accepted word starting with each of the seven letters. Perfect pangram and bingo are not official Times ranks.
Why a real word can still be rejected
Two lists are in play. The Times uses a curated hive. Independent solvers use a broader dictionary. The Times says it excludes obscure words, hyphenated forms, proper nouns, and offensive terms. Community answer pages often list extra dictionary words the official hive will not take.
Players in the UK and Australia should also expect American spelling. COLOR can be valid when COLOUR is not. CENTER can appear when CENTRE does not. The hive is edited in American English.
Spelling Bee solver vs Blossom game solver
Both puzzles use seven letters and a required center. They are not the same game. Spelling Bee has no word cap. Volume raises your rank. A spelling bee solver should show a full hive, or a grid that helps you finish it.
Merriam-Webster Blossom caps you at 12 words and scores length, pangrams, and a bonus petal. For that puzzle use the Blossom Word Finder. Do not spend twelve Blossom slots on every four-letter word a hive solver would happily list.
For players in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia
The official digital hive is one puzzle worldwide. Same letters. Same American word list. A new puzzle posts at 3 a.m. Eastern Time, which is morning in the UK and evening in eastern Australia (the exact local hour shifts with daylight saving). Play on the web or in the Times apps if your subscription includes Games.
This spelling bee solver is free, needs no account, and works in any modern browser. Use it to practice spelling, prefixes, suffixes, and vocabulary. Then take the words back to the official hive if you want them to count on your Genius streak.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the official New York Times Spelling Bee?
No. This is an unofficial helper. Play the official hive at nytimes.com/puzzles/spelling-bee. We are not affiliated with The New York Times.
Is this spelling bee solver free?
Yes. No sign-up and no download. Use hints as often as you like.
Will every listed word score in the official game?
No. The Times uses an editor-curated list. Obscure, hyphenated, proper, and offensive words are excluded. Treat this as a hint engine.
How do I reach Genius?
Genius is the official top rank. Independent solvers commonly report it as about 70% of that day’s maximum points. Find the pangram, then keep adding longer words.
What is Queen Bee?
The Times has described Queen Bee as an Easter egg for finding every accepted word. It is not one of the regular ranks that stop at Genius.
Does the print Magazine Spelling Bee use these scores?
No. The Times says the print hive uses a different letter set and a different scoring system. This solver follows the digital rules.
Can UK and Australian spellings score?
Usually only if they match American spelling in the official list. Try COLOR, not COLOUR, unless both forms are in the hive list.