A
G
N
I
L
U
H

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

Welcome to today’s New York Times Spelling Bee hints and answers. Today’s puzzle features a substantially larger than average board today, promising plenty of opportunities with a center letter of “I”. With a total of 60 words to find resulting in 383 total possible points, we are looking at a massively high scoring ceiling. Impressively, there are 2 pangrams to uncover. Whether you’re stuck looking for those elusive final few words to reach Genius rank, or simply seeking a gentle nudge to get the ball rolling, you’re in the right place. Dive into our comprehensive two-letter lists, explore our word length grid, and uncover targeted Merriam-Webster definitions tailored specifically to help you without giving the entire game away immediately. Good luck mastering the hive!

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Puzzle Stats

Total Words :

60

Total Pangrams :

2

Total Points:

383

Genius Score :

268

Pangram

Finding the nyt pangram is key to reaching “Genius” status.
Below is progressive reveal to help you achieve it.

7-letter pangram 0 / 7 letters revealed
???????
8-letter pangram 0 / 8 letters revealed
????????

NYT Spelling Bee Hints & Grid

Maximize your score without ruining the fun.

The grid shows how many words start with each letter, broken down by word length.

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Σ
A 3 3 1 1 1 9
G 3 1 11 3 18
H 3 7 2 12
I 2 1 3
L 1 1 2 4 2 10
N 2 2 1 5
U 2 1 3
Σ 9 4 8 25 10 3 1 60

Knowing the first two letters of a missing word is often the perfect clue. Here is the two letter list for today’s puzzle.

  • AG 2
  • AI 1
  • AL 2
  • AN 4
  • GA 8
  • GI 5
  • GL 3
  • GU 2
  • HA 6
  • HI 4
  • HU 2
  • IG 1
  • IN 2
  • LA 4
  • LI 2
  • LU 4
  • NA 3
  • NI 2
  • UN 3

Dictionary Clues for Todays List.

AG

  1. AG5 — yet another time; in addition to what has been said; just the opposite being true; afresh; anew sounds like abet, adjoin, adjourn, affair, ahead
  2. AG5 — being of advanced years and especially past middle age; aged; ancient; elderly; geriatric sounds like aching, ailing, p*****, r*****

AI

  1. AI6 — chronically or repeatedly suffering from poor health; temporarily suffering from a disorder of the body; invalid; sickly; weakly sounds like aching, aging, cling, fling, m******

AL

  1. AL5 — to bring to or be in a state of agreement; to set in order; agree; accord; check sounds like assign, line, m*****
  2. AL8 — as in alignment, lining up; alignment; lining up; design; layout sounds like abiding, adjoining, blinding, cleaning, clowning

AN

  1. AN6sounds like vagina
  2. AN7 — the act of positioning or an instance of being positioned at an angle; bend; cock; inclination; list sounds like d*******
  3. AN6sounds like newly
  4. AN9 — to balance with an equal force so as to make ineffective; to put an end to by formal action; canceling (out); compensating (for); correcting sounds like paneling

GA

  1. GA7 — to discharge the contents of the stomach through the mouth; to experience complete or partial blockage of the windpipe; to make jokes; barfing; heaving sounds like lagging, nagging, sagging
  2. GA4 — to gradually increase in; to receive as return for effort; to become healthy and strong again after illness or weakness; build up; gather sounds like arraign, bane, cane, chain, feign
  3. GA7 — as in continuing, advancing; advancing; continuing; afloat; alive sounds like caning
  4. GA7 — causing annoyance; hard to accept or bear especially emotionally; abrasive; aggravating; annoying sounds like ailing, appalling, balding, billing, boring
  5. GA7 — as in joining, grouping; affiliating; allying; attaching; banding sounds like changing, glancing, grudging, landing, managing
  6. GA7
  7. GA8 — being tall, thin and usually loose-jointed; gangly; lanky; rangy; spindling sounds like dangling
  8. GA7 — to decide the size, amount, number, or distance of (something) without actual measurement; to find out the size, extent, or amount of; calculating; calling; conjecturing

GI

  1. GI7 — as in driving, riding; busing; cabbing; coaching; cruising sounds like rigging
  2. GI8 — as in smiling, amused; amused; beaming; chuckling; smiling sounds like beguiling, guzzling, middling, piddling, sizzling
  3. GI4 — a female romantic companion; gal; girl; girlfriend; inamorata sounds like bill, chill, dill, fill, gal
  4. GI7sounds like billing, chilling, galling, killing, schilling
  5. GI7sounds like inning, sinning, winning

GL

  1. GL4
  2. GL8sounds like bugging, flagging, galloping, grudging, lagging
  3. GL6 — as in cementing; cementing; adhesiveness; attachment; cohesiveness sounds like bluing

GU

  1. GU7 — to cause to believe what is untrue; bamboozling; beguiling; bluffing; buffaloing sounds like galling
  2. GU7 — to strike with a missile from a gun; drilling; plugging; popping; shooting sounds like cunning, running

HA

  1. HA8 — as in bargaining, dealing; bargaining; dealing; dickering; horse trading sounds like baffling, dangling, dazzling, paneling
  2. HA4 — to declare enthusiastic approval of; to demand or request the presence or service of; acclaim; accredit; applaud sounds like ail, ale, bail, bale, dale
  3. HA7 — to declare enthusiastic approval of; to demand or request the presence or service of; acclaiming; accrediting; applauding sounds like ailing, healing, mailing, railing, veiling
  4. HA7 — bending downward or forward; extending freely from a support from above; bowed; bowing; declined
  5. HA8sounds like angle, ankle, annul, channel, dangle
  6. HA7 — to cause to follow by applying steady force on; to support and take from one place to another; dragging; drawing; haling sounds like galling, healing

HI

  1. HI4 — extending to a great distance upward; being at a higher level than average; located at a greater height than average or usual; altitudinous; lofty sounds like awry, buy, die, dye, eye
  2. HI4 — an upward slope; a quantity of things thrown or stacked on one another; an area of high ground; acclivity; ascent sounds like bill, c****, dill, fill, hail
  3. HI7 — to form into a pile or ridge of earth; banking; mounding sounds like billing, c*******, healing, hearing, killing
  4. HI7 — to be determined by, based on, or subject (to); depending; hanging; riding; turning sounds like ginning, hearing, inning, sinning, winning

HU

  1. HU7 — to express to (someone) admiration for his or her success or good fortune; to put one’s arms around and press tightly; complimenting; congratulating; felicitating sounds like bugging, mugging
  2. HU7 — to remove the natural covering of; barking; flaying; husking; peeling sounds like healing

IG

  1. IG6sounds like donna, icon, mana, swan, wan

IN

  1. IN8 — to swallow or eat greedily; bolting; cramming; devouring; glutting sounds like engulfing
  2. IN6sounds like earring, g******, s******, w******

LA

  1. LA7 — moving or proceeding at less than the normal, desirable, or required speed; crawling; creeping; dallying; dawdling sounds like f*******, logging, nagging, sagging
  2. LA4 — to be positioned along a certain course or in a certain direction; to occupy a place or location; to remain out of sight; borne; extended sounds like arraign, bane, cane, chain, feign
  3. LA5 — a covered structure adjoining an entrance to a building; gallery; piazza; porch; stoop sounds like cannot
  4. LA8 — indicative of or marked by high spirits or good humor; blithe; blithesome; festive; gay

LI

  1. LI8sounds like bikini, singly
  2. LI6 — as in quilting, interlining; interlining; quilting; packing; buffer sounds like dining, fining, shining

LU

  1. LU7 — to cause to follow by applying steady force on; to support and take from one place to another; dragging; drawing; haling sounds like bugging, lagging, logging, loving, mugging
  2. LU6sounds like lodging, losing
  3. LU7 — tending to calm the emotions and relieve stress; calming; comforting; dreamy; narcotic sounds like loving
  4. LU7 — as in plunging, diving; diving; plunging; settling; sinking sounds like bulging, fudging, lodging, longing, loving

NA

  1. NA7 — causing worry or anxiety; discomforting; discomposing; disquieting; distressing sounds like lagging, sagging
  2. NA4 — to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner; to make final, definite, or beyond dispute; to reveal the true nature of; bang; bash sounds like ail, ale, bail, bale, dale
  3. NA7 — to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner; to make final, definite, or beyond dispute; to reveal the true nature of; banging; bashing sounds like ailing, mailing, railing, veiling, whaling

NI

  1. NI8 — so small or unimportant as to warrant little or no attention; chicken; de minimis; footling; inconsequential sounds like beguiling, middling, piddling, sizzling
  2. NI4 — not being distant in time, space, or significance; close; close-up; immediate; near sounds like awry, buy, die, dye, eye

UN

  1. UN9
  2. UN9 — to cause to go insane or as if insane; to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy; cracking; crazing; deranging
  3. UN10sounds like bilingual, nightingale

The Complete Word List (Spoiler Alert!)

Ready to see the words? Use the toggles below to reveal today’s nyt spelling bee answers.

  • gain
  • gill
  • glia
  • hail
  • high
  • hill
  • lain
  • nail
  • nigh

  • again
  • aging
  • ailing
  • align
  • aligning
  • angina
  • angling
  • annuli
  • annulling
  • gagging
  • gaining
  • galling
  • ganging
  • ganglia
  • gangling
  • gauging
  • gigging
  • giggling
  • gilling
  • ginning
  • glugging
  • gluing
  • gulling
  • gunning
  • haggling
  • hailing
  • hanging
  • hangnail
  • hauling
  • hilling
  • hinging
  • hugging
  • hulling
  • iguana
  • inhaling
  • inning
  • lagging
  • lanai
  • laughing
  • linguini
  • lining
  • lugging
  • luging
  • lulling
  • lunging
  • nagging
  • nailing
  • niggling
  • unhanging
  • unhinging
  • unilingual

Valid dictionary words not in today’s official answers

Today’s puzzle have total of 114 valid dictionary words that are excluded. If you found a valid dictionary word that wasn’t accepted, it’s likely due to the New York Times Spelling Bee’s strict editorial criteria. Sam Ezersky, the puzzle’s editor, manually curates the daily word list to balance difficulty and fairness.

  • Obscure or Highly Technical Words: Medical, legal, and intensely specific scientific jargon is frequently omitted to keep the puzzle accessible to a general audience.
  • Offensive Language: Vulgar or derogatory words are universally banned.
  • Proper Nouns: Capitalized names of people or places are never allowed.
  • Hyphenated Words: Multi-word combinations containing hyphens are excluded.
  • Letter S / Plurals: The letter “S” is generally never included on a Spelling Bee board to avoid making the game too simple by tacking plurals onto every word.

  • AAHING
  • AALII
  • AGILA
  • AGIN
  • AGNAIL
  • AHIGH
  • AHING
  • AIGA
  • AINGA
  • ALALIA
  • ALANIN
  • ALGIN
  • ALINING
  • ANALGIA
  • ANGINAL
  • ANHINGA
  • ANIGH
  • ANIL
  • ANILIN
  • GAGGLING
  • GAGING
  • GANGLIAL
  • GANNING
  • GHILGAI
  • GIGA
  • GILA
  • GILGAI
  • GING
  • GINGAL
  • GINGALL
  • GINGILI
  • GINGILLI
  • GINN
  • GLIAL
  • GUANIN
  • GUGGLING
  • GUILING
  • GUNGING
  • HAGGING
  • HAIN
  • HAINING
  • HALALLING
  • HALING
  • HALLALI
  • HALLALLING
  • HALLIAN
  • HALLING
  • HANGI
  • HIGGLING
  • HIGHING
  • HILA
  • HILI
  • HINAHINA
  • HINAU
  • HING
  • HUIA
  • IGGING
  • IGLU
  • IGUANIAN
  • ILIA
  • ILIAL
  • INANGA
  • INGAN
  • INGUINAL
  • INHAUL
  • INIA
  • INULA
  • INULIN
  • LAGGIN
  • LAIGH
  • LALLING
  • LANGUAGING
  • LIANA
  • LIANG
  • LIGAN
  • LIGGING
  • LIGNAN
  • LIGNIN
  • LIGULA
  • LILL
  • LILLING
  • LING
  • LINGA
  • LINGUA
  • LINGUAL
  • LINGULA
  • LININ
  • LINN
  • LINNING
  • LUNGI
  • NAIN
  • NGAI
  • NIGHING
  • NIHIL
  • NILGAI
  • NILGAU
  • NILGHAI
  • NILGHAU
  • NILL
  • NILLING
  • NULLING
  • UGALI
  • UGGING
  • ULLAGING
  • ULLING
  • UNAGING
  • UNAI
  • UNGAGGING
  • UNGAIN
  • UNGLUING
  • UNIALGAL
  • UNLINING
  • UNNAIL
  • UNNAILING