# What a Yellow Letter Means in a Word Game Learn what a yellow tile rules out, what it keeps possible, and how to combine it with green and grey clues on a worked board Yellow means the letter is in the answer but not in the position you guessed. Follow a complete board to see how that clue narrows the remaining options ## Yellow means present, misplaced In a five-letter word game, a yellow tile tells you that the letter is in the secret word, but not in the position you just tried. It rules out that one slot; it does not rule out the letter elsewhere. Keep it among your possible letters, move it to a different position, and use green clues to fix letters in place. Grey means the guess has no unused copy of that letter in the answer A quick rule Yellow rules out a position, not a letter. Green fixes a position. Grey rules out an unused copy of the letter ## Read the whole row A yellow clue is most useful when you record its position as well as its letter. If A is yellow in slot one, A cannot go in slot one, but it may still fit in slots two through five. Then combine that restriction with every green and grey tile you already have. A guess is a set of clues, not just a near miss Worked board: follow the yellow clues crank light arose snake brand crane Green marks a correct position, yellow marks a letter elsewhere, and grey means no unused copy remains. Watch how the yellow A, N and K narrow the answer What each guess tells you Guess Clue to carry forward light All five letters are grey, so none has an unused copy in the answer arose A is yellow in slot one, while R is green in slot two snake N is yellow in slot two, A is green in slot three, and K is yellow in slot four brand R, A and N are green in slots two, three and four; B and D are grey crane C, R, A and N are green in the first four slots; E is grey ## How the yellow clues resolve After arose, A must be somewhere other than slot one. The next useful clue comes from snake: N cannot be in slot two, and K cannot be in slot four. Those exclusions do not yet tell you exactly where N or K belong. They become powerful when brand confirms R, A and N in slots two, three and four. The yellow N is now accounted for in slot four, while the green A in slot three also satisfies its earlier yellow clue Turn the clues into a next guess Keep a position list Write down each yellow letter and the slot it cannot occupy. For this board, A cannot be in slot one, N cannot be in slot two, and K cannot be in slot four Lock in greens Use green tiles to hold confirmed letters in place. The board fixes R, A and N in slots two through four, then confirms C in slot one Test what remains With C, R, A and N fixed, the final slot is the only open position. K is already known to be in the answer and cannot be in slot four, so it fits in slot five. The answer is crank Notice what the yellow K did and did not tell you. On its own, it only said that K belonged somewhere other than slot four; it did not say that K belonged at the end. The later green clues left just one open slot, making that placement possible. Avoid turning a yellow clue into a guess about its destination before the other positions support it In the guess snake, K is yellow in slot four. What does that tell you? K is in the answer, but not in slot four K must be in slot five K is not in the answer K is in the answer, but not in slot four The correct option is “K is in the answer, but not in slot four” because yellow confirms the letter is present while ruling out only the position where it was guessed Keep the distinction clear A yellow tile is not a weaker version of grey. It confirms the letter; it simply leaves its correct position unresolved - [Worduel: English](https://worduel.gg/) - [Worduel Unlimited](https://worduel.gg/wordle-unlimited/) Try the clues in a game Use each color to narrow the board one guess at a time Play solo in English