Rare and repeated letters: when the word is not the usual kind
Termo team · Roghan Games · October 21, 2026
Almost every Termo player has been there: the yellow letters do not add up, the guess feels right and the word just does not show up. Often the reason is that the answer has a repeated letter or an uncommon letter. We looked at our lists to see how often that happens.
Repeated and rare letters, by length
| Length | Answers with a repeated letter | Rarest letters |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | 19% | Q (0.3%), X (1.0%), Z (1.1%), J (2.0%) |
| 5 | 33% | Q (0.8%), J (1.4%), Z (1.5%), X (2.0%) |
| 6 | 50% | Q (1.2%), Z (1.6%), J (1.7%), X (1.7%) |
| 7 | 67% | Z (1.1%), Q (1.4%), J (1.6%), X (2.0%) |
What the numbers say
- Repetition grows a lot with length. In short words, most answers have all different letters. At 7 letters, most of them already repeat a letter. It is not rare, it is the rule.
- Rare letters exist, but they appear in few answers. They are rarely worth an opening guess, because they show up in a small fraction of the list.
- Each language has its own rare letters. In English, Q, J, X and Z are the scarcest; in Portuguese, K and W barely appear; in Spanish, K, W and X have a very small presence.
How to play when the word is not the usual kind
- When yellow letters already cover almost every slot and the word will not come, consider a repeated letter: think about which of the letters you found could appear twice.
- In 6 and 7-letter words, try a guess that repeats a frequent letter (such as E or S in English) to confirm the repetition at once.
- Leave rare letters for last. Use them only when the rest of the word is almost decided and no common option fits.
- Remember that a gray square next to a green one of the same letter usually means the letter appears only once. The article on colors explains this rule in detail.
The percentages come from our answer lists and can differ in other games or dictionaries. Letters under 0.1% appear in very few words.
Example: a letter that appears several times
Here is how to spot a repeated letter. Suppose the answer is LEVEL, a word with a repeated L and a repeated E.
L
E
M
O
N
L
E
G
A
L
L
E
V
E
L
When the same letter shows up green in two different slots, ask whether there is another copy. Here the E and the V are the missing pieces.
Common mistakes
- Discarding a word for having a repeated letter. In long words repetition is normal.
- Using rare letters too early. Save them for when the rest of the word is almost decided.
- Reading a gray as "the letter does not exist". It may only mean there are no more copies.
- Forgetting the difference between languages. The rare letters of English, Portuguese and Spanish are not the same.
Practice plan for this week
- List, from memory, five rare letters of your language.
- Look in one game for a word that uses at least one of them.
- Practice words with a repeated letter and watch how gray and yellow behave.
- Reread the color explanation whenever a repetition confuses you.
Frequently asked questions about rare and repeated letters
- Do repeated letters make the game harder?
- They can, because we tend to look for words with different letters. In long words, though, repetition is the rule, and it is worth considering early.
- When should I use a rare letter?
- Only when the rest of the word is almost decided, or when no common option fits. Since they appear in few answers, they are rarely worth an exploration guess.
- How do I know if a letter repeats?
- By the colors: two colored squares of the same letter confirm two copies. One colored and one gray means there is only one.
- Does this change by language?
- Yes. The rare letters of English, Portuguese and Spanish are different, and the share of repetition also varies slightly. The table in the article shows the real numbers from our lists.