How to Read the Spelling Bee Hint Grid
The hint grid is the single most powerful tool the NYT gives you for reaching Genius — a spoiler-free map of every word in the puzzle. Once you can read it, you never have to search blindly again.
What Is the Hint Grid?
The hint grid is the New York Times Spelling Bee’s own daily hint. It is a small table that tells you, for the day’s puzzle, how many valid words there are of each length, starting with each letter — without ever showing you the words. It has three parts:
- A letter-by-length grid: rows are starting letters, columns are word lengths, and each cell is a count.
- A two-letter list: how many words start with each two-letter pair.
- A pangram count: how many pangrams the puzzle contains, and often the total word count and points.
Every cell is a specific, findable target. “Two 6-letter words start with T and I’ve found none” is a far better instruction than “keep looking.”
Reading the Letter-by-Length Grid
Here is a short illustrative example (not a real puzzle). Each row is a starting letter, each column is a word length, and the last column is the row total:
| Start | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2 | 1 | — | 1 | 4 |
| C | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 4 |
| T | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
| Total | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 16 |
Read a row across to see the shape of the words starting with that letter. The T row above says there are eight T words: three 4-letter, two 5-letter, two 6-letter, and one 7-letter. The bottom row says the puzzle has sixteen words total, and the column totals tell you the length distribution — here, most words are short, and only two run seven letters.
Using It to Find Missing Words
- Compare cell by cell. Line up the grid against your found words. Any cell where your count is lower than the grid’s is a precise pointer to a missing word.
- Chase the long words first. The 6- and 7-letter cells are worth the most points and often include the pangram. Clear those before mopping up 4-letter words.
- Add the two-letter list. The grid tells you a 6-letter word starts with C; the two-letter list tells you it starts with CO or CR — together they nearly name the word.
- Watch the pangram count. If it says two pangrams and you have found one, keep hunting; a second exists.
Where to See Today’s Grid
The New York Times publishes the grid in its daily Spelling Bee hints column. Our daily hints page gives you the same read — today’s words grouped by starting letter and length, plus a spoiler-free pangram nudge — refreshed every day. Want the two-letter half in depth? See our two-letter list guide. And when you are finished and just want to confirm you found them all, the free solver shows the full word list.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Spelling Bee hint grid?
The hint grid is the NYT Spelling Bee’s own spoiler-free hint. It is a table where each row is a starting letter and each column is a word length, and each cell shows how many valid words match — for example, how many 5-letter words start with T. It also includes row and column totals, a two-letter list, and the number of pangrams.
How do you read the Spelling Bee grid?
Read the row for a starting letter across the length columns to see how many words of each length begin with that letter. The totals on the right and bottom give the count per letter and per length. Compare those counts to the words you have found to see exactly how many, and what length, you are still missing.
Where can I see today’s Spelling Bee grid?
The New York Times publishes it in its daily Spelling Bee hints. SpellingBeeFinder shows the same kind of breakdown — the day’s words grouped by starting letter and length, plus a spoiler-free pangram nudge — on its daily hints page, updated every day.
Does the hint grid give away the answers?
No. The grid only shows counts — how many words of each length start with each letter — never the words themselves. It tells you where to look without spoiling what you find.
What is the difference between the grid and the two-letter list?
The grid sorts words by starting letter and length (how many 6-letter words start with C). The two-letter list sorts by the first two letters (how many words start with CO). Used together they pinpoint a missing word by both its opening pair and its length.
More Spelling Bee Guides
Keep improving with the rest of our free guides: