5-letter words with G as the 1st letter and K as the 4th letter

The K in position four almost always pairs with the letter before it, so G?NK?, G?CK? and G?WK? cover most of the list. Because K and Y both carry weight, the average match scores 11.7 points, well above the 8.2 average of the nearby G?E? shape. Only GEEKS counts as common English.

What the 21 G-K matches contain

• Twenty-one matches, 20 of them legal Wordle guesses.
• The fourth letter is always K, and 12 matches end in KS.
• GAWKY leads the Scrabble values at 16 points; GUCKY takes 15.
• Three matches are Wordle answers: GAWKY, GECKO and GEEKY.
• Only one match, GEEKS, counts as common English.

The K bonds with the letter before it

A K in fourth position rarely stands alone here. Five matches run G?NK?, as in GANKS, GINKS and GONKS. Four run G?CK?, covering GECKO, GECKS, GUCKS and GUCKY, and three run G?WK?, the GAWKS, GAWKY and GOWKS group.

That pairing is what makes the pattern worth remembering. When a rack hands you K beside N, C or W, this shape soaks up both tiles at once, and the Y variants add an easy second hook for a follow-up guess.

Skip the rare tail when you are guessing blind. GLIKE, GRIKE and GRYKE all sit in Collins, yet none of the three reaches 15 points, and the doubled forms GEEKS and GEEKY do not turn up in every word list.

Wordle answers and everyday words

Three matches double as Wordle answers: GAWKY, GECKO and GEEKY. Two of them close with Y, and GECKO is the only match in the set that ends in O. Away from Wordle the list thins quickly, since GEEKS is the sole common English entry out of 21.

Where the entries thin out