Wordle today: Here's the answer, hints for January 1 (2024)

Happy New Year!

If you like starting a new habit to get 2023 off in a good way, we here at Mashable’s Wordle Central have an idea: Gardening. Oh, and Wordle, of course! We’ll even give you tips and hints to help you along the way.

If you want to bypass the struggle, you can jump to the bottom of this article to get January 1's Wordle solution straight up. But if you prefer to work it out yourself, keep reading for a few clues, tips, and strategies to help you get there.

Where did Wordle come from?

While engineer Josh Wardle originally created Wordle for his partner, the word guessing game has since become a daily habit for thousands of players across the globe. In fact, Wordle became so popular that it was eventually purchased by the New York Times.

Wordle has also inspired numerous fanmade clones and alternate iterations, such as battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that have you trying to guess multiple words at once. It has also provided ample content for TikTok creators, because sometimes it's nice to just watch someone solve a problem rather than do it yourself.

Not the day you're after? Here's the Wordle answer for December 31.

What's the best Wordle starting word?

Like snowflakes, every Wordle starting word has its own unique beauty. However, if you prefer to be strategic with your choice, we have a few ideas to help you optimise your first move. Some helpful tips include choosing a word that has at least two different vowels in it, and making sure there are some common consonants like S, T, R, or N mixed in.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

In happier times, the entire archive of past Wordles was openly available for everybody to enjoy whenever they felt the urge for a word puzzle. Unfortunately this library has since been erased from the internet, with the website's creator saying its removal was at the New York Times' request.

Is Wordle getting harder?

Though it may feel as though solving Wordle's puzzles is more of a struggle than it used to be, the game isn't getting any harder. You are able to make it more difficult though, as Wordle has a Hard Mode you can enable.

Why are there two different Wordle answers some days?

While conventional wisdom states there should only be one Wordle solution on any given day, there are rare days where two different answers will be deemed acceptable. This is because the New York Times made changes to Wordle after acquiring it, swapping out some answers for new ones.

The Times has since added its own updated word list, so this should happen even less frequently than before. To avoid any confusion, it's a good idea to refresh your browser before getting stuck into a new puzzle.

Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

But I don’t WANT to give you a hint. I want to go home.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

Nope.

Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that ends with...

Today's Wordle ends with the letter E.

What's the answer to Wordle today?

Lock in your final answers, because it's time to reveal the answer to today's Wordle.

Drum roll, please!

The solution to Wordle #561 is...

WHINE.

Don't be discouraged if you didn't guess it this time! There will be a new Wordle puzzle for you to try tomorrow, and we'll be back again with more tips and tricks to help you out.