Word List
2 letter words
128 words found — showing page 1 of 1.
About this list
Our dictionary holds 128 2 letter words, all exactly 2 letters long. The highest-scoring of them is QI, worth 11 points in Scrabble.
More of these words begin with A than any other letter — 17 of them, about 13% of the list.
126 appear in the 20,000 most common English words (98%), including of, to, in, is, on; the remaining 2 are rarer finds that still count as valid plays.
2 letter words
Sorted by everyday frequency — the most common words first.
2 letter words(128)
- of5
- to2
- in2
- is2
- on2
- by7
- it2
- or2
- be4
- at2
- as2
- an2
- we5
- us2
- if5
- my7
- do3
- no2
- he5
- up4
- so2
- am4
- me4
- re2
- go3
- de3
- uk6
- la2
- al2
- id3
- et2
- st2
- en2
- oh5
- ad3
- ny5
- hi5
- pa4
- el2
- ma4
- mm6
- ed3
- un2
- mi4
- na2
- os2
- ex9
- po4
- di3
- ar2
- mo4
- da3
- em4
- ne2
- es2
- aa2
- ch7
- op4
- ab4
- ha5
- ea2
- ky9
- lo2
- ut2
- si2
- ag3
- ba4
- ee2
- er2
- li2
- ya5
- te2
- fe5
- ah5
- ja9
- bi4
- ta2
- gi3
- ho5
- sh5
- ae2
- pi4
- ai2
- pe4
- fy8
- ef5
- ti2
- oo2
- um4
- ye5
- yo5
- fa5
- jo9
- oe2
- ur2
- nu2
- ou2
- xi9
- za11
- yu5
- om4
- ka6
- eh5
- uh5
- bo4
- io2
- mu4
- ko6
- aw5
- ob4
- hm7
- sj9
- ua2
- od3
- ao2
- ki6
- ax9
- ug3
- gu3
- ay5
- wo5
- oi2
- ow5
- ox9
- xu9
- qi11
- oy5
- zo11
The two-letter list is the one to memorise
Competitive Scrabble players learn the two-letter words before anything else, and it is not because those words score well. A two-letter word is worth almost nothing on its own. What it does is let you play parallel to an existing word, forming several short words at once, and that is where the points hide.
The list is small enough to actually memorise — around a hundred entries depending on the dictionary — and it is the highest-return study any player can do. Most casual players know maybe thirty of them, which means the other seventy are free points sitting on the board every game.
The ones people refuse to believe
QI and ZA are the two that end arguments at kitchen tables. Both are valid in current tournament dictionaries, and both dump a ten-point tile onto a premium square for a score that looks absurd for a two-letter play. XI and XU do the same job with the X.
The vowel-only entries — AA, AE, AI, OE, OI — are the other half of the surprise. They matter for a practical reason beyond scoring: when your rack is clogged with vowels, these are how you dump two of them without giving up your turn.
Playing parallel
The reason to know this list is a move type, not a word. Lay a word alongside an existing one so that every adjacent letter pair forms a valid two-letter word, and the board pays you for each of them. A five-tile parallel play can score four or five words at once.
This is also why the two-letter list is worth more than the three-letter list for a beginner, even though three-letter words are more useful conversationally. The short list is the mechanical key to a scoring technique, and the technique is what separates a 250-point game from a 400-point one.
Frequently asked questions
How many two-letter words are there?
It depends on the dictionary. Tournament word lists used in North America and in international play differ by a dozen or so entries, and both change on revision. The list here reflects the dictionary this site uses; check your game's own word list before relying on an unusual entry in a rated match.
Is QI really allowed?
Yes, in current tournament dictionaries for both Scrabble and Words With Friends. It is the single most valuable two-letter word in the game because it places a ten-point tile, and on a triple-letter square it routinely scores more than a carefully built seven-letter word.
Why do two-letter words matter more than they look like they should?
Because of parallel plays. Placing a word alongside an existing one forms a two-letter word at every point of contact, and each of those counts. Knowing the list is what makes those multi-word plays visible to you in the first place.