4 letter hangman words
87 words of exactly 4 letters, hardest first, each with a clue and a difficulty score. 43 easy, 18 medium, 26 hard.
Average score
4.6
Site average is 3.7
Hardest
duck
12.5
Easiest
iris
-1.8
Length is the first thing a guesser learns about a word, before anybody has guessed a letter, so it is worth knowing what 4 blanks actually tells you. These 87 words average 4.6 against a site average of 3.7, which makes them harder than a word picked at random from here.
The reason runs against instinct. A long word looks intimidating and is generous: every correct letter uncovers more of the board, and long words are almost always built from ordinary letters. A short word can be made entirely of letters nobody opens with, and then a guesser can spend half their allowance learning nothing.
These words are drawn from 18 categories, and the full scoring formula is on the methodology page. If you are mid-game rather than choosing, the solver takes the length and the letters you have missed and narrows it from there.
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All 87 words
| Word | Clue | Letters | Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| duck | Swims on the pond and quacks | 4 / 4 distinct | 12.5 | Hard |
| lynx | Tufted-eared wild cat with huge snowshoe paws | 4 / 4 distinct | 12.0 | Hard |
| jazz | Written down, then argued with | 4 / 3 distinct | 11.8 | Hard |
| plum | Dark purple-red | 4 / 4 distinct | 11.0 | Hard |
| folk | Passed on before it was published | 4 / 4 distinct | 10.0 | Hard |
| milk | White drink that comes from a cow | 4 / 4 distinct | 10.0 | Hard |
| howl | The wolf, at the moon | 4 / 4 distinct | 10.0 | Hard |
| lurk | Waiting somewhere you cannot see | 4 / 4 distinct | 10.0 | Hard |
| quiz | Short, sharp and often unannounced | 4 / 4 distinct | 9.5 | Hard |
| golf | The lowest number of shots wins | 4 / 4 distinct | 8.5 | Hard |
| chef | Runs the kitchen and the timing | 4 / 4 distinct | 8.5 | Hard |
| calf | The back of the lower leg | 4 / 4 distinct | 8.5 | Hard |
| lung | Two of them, and one is smaller | 4 / 4 distinct | 8.5 | Hard |
| palm | The inside of the hand | 4 / 4 distinct | 8.5 | Hard |
| gold | Metallic yellow, and first | 4 / 4 distinct | 8.5 | Hard |
| judo | Throws, holds, and a coloured belt system | 4 / 4 distinct | 8.0 | Hard |
| ball | You throw it, kick it or bounce it | 4 / 3 distinct | 7.8 | Hard |
| bark | The tree's outer defence | 4 / 4 distinct | 7.5 | Hard |
| wind | You cannot see it but it moves the trees | 4 / 4 distinct | 7.5 | Hard |
| zany | Comically unconventional | 4 / 4 distinct | 7.5 | Hard |
| crow | In a group they are called a murder | 4 / 4 distinct | 7.5 | Hard |
| mask | Covers the face and changes the voice | 4 / 4 distinct | 7.5 | Hard |
| yawn | Contagious, and nobody knows quite why | 4 / 4 distinct | 7.5 | Hard |
| navy | Very dark blue | 4 / 4 distinct | 7.5 | Hard |
| onyx | Black, from the stone | 4 / 4 distinct | 7.5 | Hard |
| cuba | The largest island in the Caribbean | 4 / 4 distinct | 6.5 | Hard |
| crab | Sidles sideways and wears its skeleton outside | 4 / 4 distinct | 6.0 | Medium |
| harp | Forty seven strings and seven pedals | 4 / 4 distinct | 6.0 | Medium |
| bird | Has feathers and usually flies | 4 / 4 distinct | 6.0 | Medium |
| fish | Lives in water and has fins | 4 / 4 distinct | 6.0 | Medium |
| frog | Green, jumps, and starts as a tadpole | 4 / 4 distinct | 6.0 | Medium |
| chin | Below the mouth, above the neck | 4 / 4 distinct | 6.0 | Medium |
| bike | Two wheels and pedals | 4 / 4 distinct | 5.5 | Medium |
| cake | Candles go on top for a birthday | 4 / 4 distinct | 5.5 | Medium |
| jade | Soft green, from the carving stone | 4 / 4 distinct | 5.5 | Medium |
| zoom | The lens changing, not the camera | 4 / 3 distinct | 5.3 | Medium |
| newt | Small amphibian that returns to water to breed | 4 / 4 distinct | 5.0 | Medium |
| snow | White, cold and good for snowmen | 4 / 4 distinct | 5.0 | Medium |
| skin | The largest organ of all | 4 / 4 distinct | 5.0 | Medium |
| mole | Velvet-coated tunneller with shovel-shaped hands | 4 / 4 distinct | 4.0 | Medium |
| peru | Where the Inca built Machu Picchu | 4 / 4 distinct | 4.0 | Medium |
| cape | Fastened at the neck and entirely impractical | 4 / 4 distinct | 4.0 | Medium |
| utah | Salt flats, canyons and five national parks | 4 / 4 distinct | 4.0 | Medium |
| lime | Sharp bright green | 4 / 4 distinct | 4.0 | Medium |
| fern | Older than flowers, and unfurls as it grows | 4 / 4 distinct | 3.5 | Easy |
| sand | Gets everywhere at the seaside | 4 / 4 distinct | 3.5 | Easy |
| toys | The whole point, if you are seven | 4 / 4 distinct | 3.5 | Easy |
| bats | Leaving the belfry at dusk | 4 / 4 distinct | 3.5 | Easy |
| shin | The front of it, and the one you bang | 4 / 4 distinct | 3.5 | Easy |
| mars | Red, dusty, and thoroughly explored by robots | 4 / 4 distinct | 3.5 | Easy |
| mint | Very pale green | 4 / 4 distinct | 3.5 | Easy |
| rust | What iron turns when neglected | 4 / 4 distinct | 3.5 | Easy |
| tram | Rails, in the street | 4 / 4 distinct | 3.5 | Easy |
| polo | Played on horseback with long mallets | 4 / 3 distinct | 3.3 | Easy |
| hood | Up, and casting a shadow | 4 / 3 distinct | 3.3 | Easy |
| heel | The back of the foot, and Achilles' problem | 4 / 3 distinct | 3.3 | Easy |
| taxi | Available except when raining | 4 / 4 distinct | 3.0 | Easy |
| visa | Permission, granted in advance | 4 / 4 distinct | 3.0 | Easy |
| kite | Flies on a string when it is windy | 4 / 4 distinct | 3.0 | Easy |
| vein | Carries it back | 4 / 4 distinct | 3.0 | Easy |
| moss | Grows where it is damp and does not mind shade | 4 / 3 distinct | 2.8 | Easy |
| knee | The largest joint in the body | 4 / 3 distinct | 2.8 | Easy |
| orca | Black and white hunter, largest of the dolphins | 4 / 4 distinct | 1.5 | Easy |
| toad | Warty, drier cousin of the frog | 4 / 4 distinct | 1.5 | Easy |
| oman | Arabian country of forts and frankincense | 4 / 4 distinct | 1.5 | Easy |
| bear | Big, furry, and sleeps all winter | 4 / 4 distinct | 1.5 | Easy |
| boat | Floats on the water | 4 / 4 distinct | 1.5 | Easy |
| coat | You put it on when it is cold | 4 / 4 distinct | 1.5 | Easy |
| lion | The one they call king of the jungle | 4 / 4 distinct | 1.5 | Easy |
| soap | Makes bubbles and cleans your hands | 4 / 4 distinct | 1.5 | Easy |
| pore | A very small opening in the skin | 4 / 4 distinct | 1.5 | Easy |
| sole | The bottom of the foot | 4 / 4 distinct | 1.5 | Easy |
| sage | Grey-green, from the herb | 4 / 4 distinct | 1.5 | Easy |
| teal | Deeper than turquoise, named after a duck | 4 / 4 distinct | 1.5 | Easy |
| star | Twinkles in the night sky | 4 / 4 distinct | 1.0 | Easy |
| iowa | Four letters, three of them vowels | 4 / 4 distinct | 1.0 | Easy |
| reel | How film used to be measured | 4 / 3 distinct | 0.8 | Easy |
| door | You open it to come in | 4 / 3 distinct | 0.8 | Easy |
| moon | Comes out at night and changes shape | 4 / 3 distinct | 0.8 | Easy |
| tent | Poles, fabric and optimism | 4 / 3 distinct | 0.3 | Easy |
| tint | The colour with white added | 4 / 3 distinct | 0.3 | Easy |
| rain | Falls from the clouds | 4 / 4 distinct | -1.0 | Easy |
| rose | Pink, with the flower in mind | 4 / 4 distinct | -1.0 | Easy |
| oboe | Double reed, and the orchestra tunes to it | 4 / 3 distinct | -1.3 | Easy |
| ohio | Four letters and three different vowels | 4 / 3 distinct | -1.3 | Easy |
| tree | Has a trunk, branches and leaves | 4 / 3 distinct | -1.8 | Easy |
| iris | The coloured ring around it | 4 / 3 distinct | -1.8 | Easy |
Questions
What are some 4 letter words for hangman?
There are 87 on this site, every one with a clue and a difficulty score. The hardest is DUCK at 12.5 and the easiest is IRIS at -1.8.
Are 4 letter words hard in hangman?
On average they score 4.6, against 3.7 across every word here, so they are harder than the site average. Short words are generally harder than people expect, because a long word reveals more of the board with every correct guess.
How do I guess a 4 letter word?
Start with E and A, then move to consonants rather than clearing the remaining vowels. At 4 letters the number of blanks is itself a strong clue, and once two or three positions are filled the pattern usually narrows the field faster than frequency does.
Can the solver work from just the length?
Yes. Set the length, leave every box empty and mark the letters you have already missed, and it will return every 4 letter word that still fits along with the best letter to try next.