Kids hangman words
95 young players words, each with a clue and a difficulty score computed from its spelling. 41 easy, 37 medium, 17 hard.
Average score
4.1
Across all 95 words
Hardest
duck
Scores 12.5
Easiest
tree
Scores -1.8
Every word here is short, common and something a young child has already met. The list is built so that a guesser opening with A, E and S will almost always get a letter on the board in the first two tries, which is what keeps a young player in the game.
Give more guesses, not easier words. Ten wrong guesses instead of six changes a child's experience far more than swapping one word for another, and it keeps the round long enough to be worth playing.
The best use of this list is spelling practice disguised as a game. Ask the child to say the word aloud and then write it out once they have solved it, and the round teaches twice.
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Easy young players words41
The usual opening guesses cover most of it, so it tends to fall quickly.
| Word | Clue | Letters | Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| balloon | You blow it up and it floats | 7 / 5 distinct | 3.0 | Easy |
| banana | Yellow, curved, and you peel it | 6 / 3 distinct | -0.8 | 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 |
| boots | For puddles and mud | 5 / 4 distinct | 1.2 | Easy |
| brother | Your boy sibling | 7 / 6 distinct | 3.1 | Easy |
| butter | Spread on the bread | 6 / 5 distinct | 3.2 | Easy |
| carrot | Long and orange, and rabbits love them | 6 / 5 distinct | 1.5 | Easy |
| cheese | Made from milk, and mice are keen | 6 / 4 distinct | 1.3 | Easy |
| coat | You put it on when it is cold | 4 / 4 distinct | 1.5 | Easy |
| cookie | Sweet, round and best warm | 6 / 5 distinct | 1.7 | Easy |
| door | You open it to come in | 4 / 3 distinct | 0.8 | Easy |
| grass | Green, and it needs cutting | 5 / 4 distinct | 2.8 | Easy |
| horse | You ride it, and it says neigh | 5 / 5 distinct | 1.8 | Easy |
| house | Where you live | 5 / 5 distinct | 2.2 | Easy |
| kite | Flies on a string when it is windy | 4 / 4 distinct | 3.0 | Easy |
| kitten | A very young cat | 6 / 5 distinct | 2.7 | Easy |
| lion | The one they call king of the jungle | 4 / 4 distinct | 1.5 | Easy |
| moon | Comes out at night and changes shape | 4 / 3 distinct | 0.8 | Easy |
| mouse | Small, grey and very quick | 5 / 5 distinct | 2.2 | Easy |
| orange | A fruit and a colour at the same time | 6 / 6 distinct | 0.7 | Easy |
| potato | Grows underground and becomes chips | 6 / 4 distinct | -0.3 | Easy |
| present | Wrapped up, with a bow | 7 / 6 distinct | 1.7 | Easy |
| rabbit | Long ears and a twitchy nose | 6 / 5 distinct | 3.2 | Easy |
| rain | Falls from the clouds | 4 / 4 distinct | -1.0 | Easy |
| robot | A machine that moves by itself | 5 / 4 distinct | 1.2 | Easy |
| sand | Gets everywhere at the seaside | 4 / 4 distinct | 3.5 | Easy |
| sheep | Woolly, and it says baa | 5 / 4 distinct | 3.2 | Easy |
| shirt | You wear it on the top half | 5 / 5 distinct | 3.4 | Easy |
| shoes | You put them on your feet | 5 / 4 distinct | 1.2 | Easy |
| sister | Your girl sibling | 6 / 5 distinct | -0.2 | Easy |
| snake | Long, has no legs, and hisses | 5 / 5 distinct | 3.0 | Easy |
| soap | Makes bubbles and cleans your hands | 4 / 4 distinct | 1.5 | Easy |
| star | Twinkles in the night sky | 4 / 4 distinct | 1.0 | Easy |
| story | Read at bedtime | 5 / 5 distinct | 3.4 | Easy |
| sweets | The treat you are allowed after dinner | 6 / 4 distinct | 2.5 | Easy |
| teacher | The one who helps you learn | 7 / 6 distinct | 2.0 | Easy |
| tiger | Orange with black stripes | 5 / 5 distinct | 1.8 | Easy |
| train | Runs on rails and goes choo choo | 5 / 5 distinct | -0.2 | Easy |
| tree | Has a trunk, branches and leaves | 4 / 3 distinct | -1.8 | Easy |
| water | You drink it and you swim in it | 5 / 5 distinct | 3.0 | Easy |
Medium young players words37
You will get a foothold, then have to work out the rest properly.
| Word | Clue | Letters | Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| apple | Red or green, and grows on a tree | 5 / 4 distinct | 5.2 | Medium |
| beach | Sand, sea and buckets | 5 / 5 distinct | 5.8 | Medium |
| bike | Two wheels and pedals | 4 / 4 distinct | 5.5 | Medium |
| bird | Has feathers and usually flies | 4 / 4 distinct | 6.0 | Medium |
| birthday | Cake, candles and presents | 8 / 8 distinct | 6.0 | Medium |
| blanket | Keeps you warm in bed | 7 / 7 distinct | 5.9 | Medium |
| bread | Flour and water, baked | 5 / 5 distinct | 3.8 | Medium |
| cake | Candles go on top for a birthday | 4 / 4 distinct | 5.5 | Medium |
| chair | You sit on it | 5 / 5 distinct | 3.8 | Medium |
| dance | Moving to the music | 5 / 5 distinct | 3.8 | Medium |
| dream | Happens while you are asleep | 5 / 5 distinct | 3.8 | Medium |
| father | The other one of your parents | 6 / 6 distinct | 3.7 | Medium |
| fish | Lives in water and has fins | 4 / 4 distinct | 6.0 | Medium |
| flower | Colourful, and grows in the garden | 6 / 6 distinct | 6.3 | Medium |
| friend | Someone you like to play with | 6 / 6 distinct | 3.7 | Medium |
| frog | Green, jumps, and starts as a tadpole | 4 / 4 distinct | 6.0 | Medium |
| garden | Where the flowers and the grass are | 6 / 6 distinct | 3.7 | Medium |
| gloves | Keep your hands warm | 6 / 6 distinct | 6.3 | Medium |
| grapes | Little round fruit that grow in a bunch | 6 / 6 distinct | 3.7 | Medium |
| hat | Goes on your head | 3 / 3 distinct | 3.7 | Medium |
| honey | Sweet and sticky, made by bees | 5 / 5 distinct | 3.8 | Medium |
| monkey | Swings through the trees | 6 / 6 distinct | 6.3 | Medium |
| mother | One of your parents | 6 / 6 distinct | 3.7 | Medium |
| music | You listen to it and dance | 5 / 5 distinct | 5.8 | Medium |
| party | Games, food and lots of noise | 5 / 5 distinct | 5.4 | Medium |
| plane | Flies in the sky | 5 / 5 distinct | 3.8 | Medium |
| rocket | Goes up into space | 6 / 6 distinct | 4.7 | Medium |
| scarf | Wraps around your neck | 5 / 5 distinct | 5.4 | Medium |
| school | Where you go to learn | 6 / 5 distinct | 4.8 | Medium |
| slide | You go down it in the park | 5 / 5 distinct | 3.8 | Medium |
| snow | White, cold and good for snowmen | 4 / 4 distinct | 5.0 | Medium |
| socks | Go on before the shoes | 5 / 4 distinct | 6.3 | Medium |
| spider | Eight legs and a web | 6 / 6 distinct | 3.7 | Medium |
| sun | Shines in the day and keeps us warm | 3 / 3 distinct | 3.7 | Medium |
| table | You eat your dinner at it | 5 / 5 distinct | 3.8 | Medium |
| towel | Dries you after a bath | 5 / 5 distinct | 5.0 | Medium |
| window | You look out of it | 6 / 5 distinct | 6.0 | Medium |
Hard young players words17
Rare letters, few vowels, or almost no repetition for a guesser to lean on.
| Word | Clue | Letters | Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ball | You throw it, kick it or bounce it | 4 / 3 distinct | 7.8 | Hard |
| bed | Where you sleep | 3 / 3 distinct | 7.0 | Hard |
| brush | For your hair or your teeth | 5 / 5 distinct | 7.4 | Hard |
| bus | Big, and it stops for everyone | 3 / 3 distinct | 7.0 | Hard |
| chicken | Lays eggs and clucks | 7 / 6 distinct | 7.0 | Hard |
| cloud | White and fluffy, up in the sky | 5 / 5 distinct | 7.8 | Hard |
| duck | Swims on the pond and quacks | 4 / 4 distinct | 12.5 | Hard |
| family | The people you live with | 6 / 6 distinct | 7.0 | Hard |
| milk | White drink that comes from a cow | 4 / 4 distinct | 10.0 | Hard |
| pillow | Soft, and your head goes on it | 6 / 5 distinct | 7.7 | Hard |
| puppy | A very young dog | 5 / 3 distinct | 10.2 | Hard |
| puzzle | Lots of pieces that make a picture | 6 / 5 distinct | 9.4 | Hard |
| shell | You find it on the beach | 5 / 4 distinct | 6.8 | Hard |
| swing | You go backwards and forwards on it | 5 / 5 distinct | 6.6 | Hard |
| teddy | A soft bear you take to bed | 5 / 4 distinct | 6.8 | Hard |
| truck | Carries heavy things on the road | 5 / 5 distinct | 8.6 | Hard |
| wind | You cannot see it but it moves the trees | 4 / 4 distinct | 7.5 | Hard |
Questions
What are good young players words for hangman?
The ones that survive a normal opening. A guesser starts with E, A, R and the other common letters, so a good word is one those letters barely touch. On this page that is the score: 95 young players words are listed and 17 of them rate hard.
How many young players words are on this list?
95, deduplicated, each with a clue and a computed difficulty score. They split into 41 easy, 37 medium and 17 hard.
What is the hardest word in this category?
DUCK, at 12.5. The easiest is TREE at -1.8. Both numbers come from the same formula, which is published in full at hangmanwords.net/how-difficulty-is-scored/.
Can I play these words rather than read them?
Yes. The play link on this page loads a game that draws only from this kids list, so every word you get is one of the 95 below.