5-letter words with S as the 1st letter and P as the 3rd letter

The middle P splits this small group into two camps. Latin-root words such as SEPIA, SEPAL, SUPRA and SOPOR sit beside the playful -PPY adjectives: SAPPY, SIPPY and SOPPY. Only three are Wordle answers, and just one counts as a common English word, so the pattern rewards a deep vocabulary more than a lucky guess.

What the SP mid-pair actually contains

The final letters cluster at the top: six matches end in S, five in Y, four in A and four in D. Only three close in R, and C, L and N take one word each. That spread explains why the list reads like a tour of borrowed roots: SEPOY, SEPIA, SUPRA and SOPOR.

The friendliest faces are the -PPY adjectives: SAPPY, SIPPY and SOPPY each double the P, turning a 3-point letter into six. SEPIA and SEPAL are the most recognisable nouns, while SOPOR, SAPOR and SAPID stay firmly in quiz territory.

Who scores what in this mid-P group

SOPHY and SYPHS lead at 13 each, powered by the P and H digraph. The three -PPY words follow at 12, then SYPED at 11, and SEPOY, SOPHS and SYPES at 10. The average sits at 8.8, so the group pays better than its rarity suggests.

Collins lists all 25, but ENABLE and NWL2023 each carry only 19, so six words are Collins-only. Seventeen matches have a definition, and SUPER is the single common word. Anything that scores well here is likely to draw a challenge.

Five facts about the S-P pattern

• 25 five-letter words hold S first and P third.
• SUPER is the only common English word among them.
• Three are Wordle answers, and all 25 are accepted guesses.
• SOPHY and SYPHS tie at 13 points.
• Six of the 25 appear only in Collins.

5-letter words with S first and P third in Wordle