Knowledge of three letter words is helpful in a variety of word games. For jumble puzzles like Wordscapes, you may find yourself with the time-consuming task of searching for a vexing three-letter answer. Getting the short words into the grid will make it easier to puzzle out the longer answers.
Say YES! to ZIP, ZAP and ZAX. Say WOW! to MIX, WAX and MAX. 3 letter words are fundamental tools in games like Scrabble and Words with Friends. These shorter words will come in handy as you try to clear unhelpful letters from your rack. As the game board fills with tiles, smaller words will fit into tight spaces. If those words happen to earn you a bonus space, it is even better.
It is difficult to write a paragraph without at least a few words with three letters. You probably say or write some of the most common three letter words in English every day.
Three-letter pronouns and determiners: ANY, ALL, FEW, THE, YOU. These words help define the subject or object they modify.
Three-letter verbs: ARE, CAN, HAD. You CAN probably think of countless situations where these words ARE appropriate.
Three-letter conjunctions: AND, BUT, YET. These linking words show up with great frequency, BUT they are not in every sentence.
Three-letter adverb: NOT. A negative person is NOT positive.
With 26 letters, there are a limited number of possible three-letter combinations. The OCTWL lists 1,065 acceptable three-letter words. Players will recognize many of them right away, words like CAR, DOG, RAT and TWO. However, there are some unusual combinations with interesting origins. For example, the Welsh word for a type of mountain valley, CWM, is a valid Scrabble move with no vowels.
Almost any two consonants with a vowel will give you a valid answer. If you are going to spend time learning valuable three letter words in English, you will want to pay attention to more obscure words. These words will include letters like Q, X and Z that can be a challenge to place. Some unusual words with a q include QUA, QUO, QAT and SUQ. PYX, VEX and VOX will help remove a difficult X from your rack. You can try ZAP, ZED and ZEN to get free from a Z.
The advantage of playing a short word with difficult letters is that you can bring new tiles that increase the possibility of scoring a bingo. When you have the letters to use all seven tiles in a single turn, it earns you 50 extra points in Scrabble and 35 in Words with Friends.
The highest scoring words are those with the highest value letters. The best 3 letter word in our list is ZAX at 19 points. WUZ and ZEK are not far behind with 16 points each.