6-letter words with H as the 1st letter and N as the 3rd letter

The fixed pattern is H-N in positions one and three, leaving four letters open. HANDLE, HUNGRY, HUNTER, and HUNGER are recognizable options; the complete set also includes less familiar entries. Sixteen matches rank among common English words, while 60 have definitions, a mix that makes the pattern easier to scan than to memorize.

The H-N pattern at a glance

• There are 68 six-letter matches with H first and N third.
• Sixteen matches are common English words, including HANDLE and HONEST.
• S is the most frequent final letter, with 17 matches; R has 14 and D has 12.
• The average score is 11; HANDAX leads the scoring examples at 17.
• Collins includes 64 matches, compared with 56 in NWL2023 and 48 in ENABLE.

Which familiar words fit H-N?

HANDLE, HONEST, HUNGRY, HUNTER, and HUNGER are strong starting points when you want everyday vocabulary. Other recognizable forms include HANDED, HUNTED, HANGED, and HINTED. Their shared pattern is clear, but their endings vary: the largest group finishes in S, followed by R and D.

The list is not just a collection of base forms. HANDED, HUNTED, and HANGED show how familiar verbs can fit, while HINGES and HINGED make the same pattern visible in another word family. Check the open positions against your clue rather than assuming every match is a noun or an unchanged dictionary form.

There are 163 six-letter matches with P first and N third, more than with H. Keeping H fixed, changing the third letter to R yields 98 matches, while M yields 72. Those nearby patterns give you a quick route to another candidate when one clue turns out to be uncertain.

What scores well, and where the list falls short

HANDAX scores 17, the highest value among the scoring examples; HANJAR and HUNKEY score 16 each. HONKED, HONCHO, and HANKED each score 14. The standouts are less everyday than HANDLE or HUNGRY, so a strong tile score does not necessarily make a word easy to spot.

Dictionary coverage differs: Collins has 64 matches, NWL2023 has 56, and ENABLE has 48. The overall count includes words found in at least one of those tournament lists, not words shared by every list. Check your game's word list before playing an unfamiliar entry.