6-letter words with R as the 3rd letter and H as the 5th letter

The pattern looks like _ _ R _ H _, with the first, second, fourth, and sixth letters still unknown. BIRTHS, EARTHS, and BERTHA are among the recognizable matches; KARAHI and FURPHY are less familiar. Just 4 entries rank among the top 25,000 English words by frequency, so many matches are unlikely to come to mind immediately.

At a glance: letters, endings, and score

• The R-third, H-fifth combination produces 45 six-letter matches.
• M leads as the first letter with 11 words; B follows with 7.
• An S closes 23 matches, compared with 10 ending in Y.
• FORWHY scores 18 Scrabble points, the highest score in this group.
• Collins includes 41 matches, NWL2023 has 33, and ENABLE has 29.

Which words fit R in third place and H in fifth?

Try WORTHY, MURPHY, BIRTHS, BERTHA, EARTHS, or MARSHY when the pattern is _ _ R _ H _. M is the most productive starting letter here, while B offers the second-largest opening group.

The last tile divides the options sharply. S appears at the end of 23 matches, including BERTHS, EARTHS, and WORTHS. Y occurs at the end of 10, as in EARTHY, MARSHY, and WORTHY; A closes 6.

A small change to the pattern can greatly expand the search. Keeping R third but moving H to fifth gives 45 matches, whereas putting E in that fifth position yields 662. The same R-and-H placement has 43 matches at five letters and 100 at seven.

How can you test this pattern efficiently?

Only 4 matches are common by the frequency measure, although 34 have dictionary definitions. The full count combines words found in Collins, NWL2023, or ENABLE; acceptance is not identical across those lists. Check your game's dictionary before committing to an unfamiliar match.

• Mark R and H in their fixed slots, then use the last letter to split the candidates.
• With S at the end, start by checking BIRTHS, BERTHS, EARTHS, and WORTHS.
• For a Y ending, compare WORTHY, EARTHY, and MARSHY against your known letters.
• FORWHY is the score leader, but its unusual form makes it a poor blind guess.