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5 Letter Words Starting With I

Looking for five-letter words that begin with I? There are 161 valid 5 letter words starting with I, and 21 of them are common everyday words. The most used is issue. Add your Wordle clues to the finder, or browse the lists below, sorted from most to least common. For every other letter, use our 5 letter word finder.

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    5 letter words starting with I at a glance

    Valid words
    161
    Common words
    21
    Most common
    issue
    Top Scrabble score (common)
    index 13 pts
    Top Scrabble score (all)
    izzat 23 pts
    Best Wordle guess in this set
    inert
    Most likely letter in each spot (common words)
    1·fixed
    2N52%
    3E14%
    4E24%
    5T24%
    • The 2nd letter is N in 52% of common words.
    • The 3rd letter is E in 14% of common words.
    • The 4th letter is E in 24% of common words.
    • The 5th letter is T in 24% of common words.

    Common 5 letter words starting with I (21)

    The words with 5 letters starting with I you're most likely to know, most used first.

    • issue5
    • image8
    • index13
    • inner5
    • ideal6
    • idiot6
    • input7
    • inter5
    • indie6
    • irony8
    • ivory11
    • imply12
    • intro5
    • icing8
    • inlet5
    • itchy13
    • incur7
    • ionic7
    • infer8
    • inept7
    • inert5

    How to find a five-letter word that starts with an I

    Looking for 5 letter words that start with I to solve a Wordle? The finder above already has I in the first green box; add your other clues.

    A real example from our word list: the answer is INDIE, and all you know is that it starts with I, which leaves 21 common words. Open with INERT, the guess that splits this set most evenly.

    Guess 1: INERT I and N are green and E is yellow, and the rest are grey. That leaves 2 possible answers: index and indie.

    Guess 2: INDEX I, N and D are green and E is yellow, and the rest are grey. That leaves 1 possible answer.

    Guess 3: INDIE All five letters are green. Solved in 3.

    What comes after I?

    In common words that start with I, the second letter is most often N (52%), M (10%) and D (10%). Only 5% have a vowel second, so I is usually followed by another consonant.

    Starts withNumber of common wordsExamples
    IN11index, inner, input, inter
    IM2image, imply
    ID2ideal, idiot
    IS1issue
    IR1irony
    IV1ivory

    What the most common ones mean

    issue
    verbprepare and issue for public distribution or sale
    image
    nounan iconic mental representation
    index
    nouna numerical scale used to compare variables with one another or with some reference number
    inner
    adjectivelocated inward
    ideal
    nounthe idea of something that is perfect
    idiot
    nouna person of subnormal intelligence
    input
    nounsignal going into an electronic system
    inter
    verbplace in a grave or tomb
    indie
    nouna pop group not affiliated with a major record company
    irony
    nounwitty language used to convey insults or scorn
    ivory
    nouna hard smooth ivory colored dentine that makes up most of the tusks of elephants and walruses
    imply
    verbexpress or state indirectly
    intro
    nounformally making a person known to another or to the public
    icing
    nounthe formation of frost or ice on a surface
    inlet
    nounan arm off of a larger body of water (often between rocky headlands)

    Definitions from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University.

    About 5 letter words starting with I

    I is not a common first letter for 5 letter words, which keeps this list short. Many I words begin with IN or IM, like input, inner, image and imply. Others start with ID or IR, as in ideal, idiot and irony. Because the list is small, a good guess can narrow it down very quickly once you know the first letter. In Wordle, an I that turns yellow in your opening guess is far more likely to belong in the second or third spot than the first, so only try it first when the middle positions are ruled out.

    I is one of the least common first letters for 5 letter words, ranking 23 out of 26.

    Word families that start with I

    I words are a short list, which makes them easier to learn. The IN and IM family covers about half of the common ones: incur, index, indie, inept, inert, infer and inlet. The rest are a mixed group: icing, issue, itchy and ivory. Endings include -ER (inner, inter), -AL (ideal) and -Y (irony, itchy, ivory). If you're stuck on an I word in Wordle, try N or M in the second spot first. For words where I sits in the middle, which is much more common, see 5 letter words with I. You can also use the 5 letter word finder to filter by any other letters you know.

    Vowels in 5 letter words starting with I

    I is the most common vowel here, appearing in 100% of the common words, followed by E (52%) and O (24%). The least common is A (10%).

    10% have just one vowel, like imply and itchy. At the other end, issue, image and ideal have three or more.

    Nouns, verbs and adjectives

    By main meaning (WordNet), there are 11 nouns, 5 verbs and 5 adjectives.

    Nouns include image, index and ideal. Verbs include issue, inter and imply. Adjectives include inner, itchy and ionic.

    Best Wordle guesses that start with I

    Top guesses, with the average number of the 21 common words each leaves: INERT (1.4), INTER (1.6), INLET (1.8), INFER (2.0) and INEPT (2.0).

    29% repeat a letter, and 2 have a double letter, like issue and inner.

    Highest-scoring 5 letter words starting with I in Scrabble

    Top common words: index (13), itchy (13) and imply (12). All valid words: izzat (23), immix (16) and izard (15). 4 words reach 15 points or more.

    All 161 valid 5 letter words starting with I140 rarer words accepted in Scrabble and Wordle, not shown above. Plurals are marked.
    • india6
    • ideas6plural
    • items7plural
    • intel5
    • icons7plural
    • isles5plural
    • inbox14
    • idols6plural
    • intra5
    • irons5plural
    • inked10
    • idiom8
    • iliad6
    • infra8
    • inset5
    • imams9plural
    • irate5
    • islet5
    • irked10
    • innit5
    • inane5
    • inlay8
    • igloo6
    • infos8plural
    • ident6
    • idyll9
    • imbue9
    • ingle6
    • ingot6
    • iliac7
    • impel9
    • imago8
    • idler6
    • issei5
    • ilium7
    • iftar8
    • idled7
    • idles6plural
    • izzat23
    • ileum7
    • izard15
    • inure5
    • ivies8
    • imari7
    • infix15
    • imine7
    • ichor10
    • inker9
    • indri6
    • incus7
    • icily10
    • ileal5
    • iller5
    • ileus5
    • ippon9
    • ither8
    • inapt7
    • iroko9
    • icers7plural
    • ihram10
    • ictus7
    • ictal7
    • imbed10
    • ickle11
    • ingan6
    • inkle9
    • idola6
    • imide8
    • incog8
    • indol6
    • ikons9plural
    • idees6plural
    • invar8
    • iotas5plural
    • imino7
    • iambs9plural
    • iring6
    • impis9plural
    • inula5
    • ixora12
    • icier7
    • inion5
    • intil5
    • indue6
    • isnae5
    • iambi9
    • ibrik11
    • iched11
    • iches10plural
    • icker11
    • ictic9
    • idant6
    • idyls9plural
    • igapo8
    • igged8
    • iglus6plural
    • ikans9plural
    • ikats9plural
    • ileac7
    • ilial5
    • illth8
    • imaum9
    • imbar9
    • imido8
    • imids8plural
    • immew12
    • immit9
    • immix16
    • imped10
    • impot9
    • imshi10
    • imshy13
    • inarm7
    • inbye10
    • incle7
    • incut7
    • indew9
    • indow9
    • inerm7
    • inned6
    • inorb7
    • inrun5
    • intis5plural
    • inurn5
    • inust5
    • inwit8
    • iodic8
    • iodid7
    • iodin6
    • irade6
    • irids6plural
    • irone5
    • isbas7plural
    • ishes8plural
    • isled6
    • istle5
    • ivied9
    • ixias12plural
    • ixtle12
    • izars14plural

    Questions people ask

    How many 5 letter words starting with I are there?

    161 valid words; 21 of them are common everyday words.

    What is a five-letter word that starts with an I?

    The most common is issue. Other everyday examples are image, index and inner.

    What is the best Wordle guess that starts with I?

    inert, leaving about 1.4 possible answers on average.

    Which 5 letter word starting with I scores the most in Scrabble?

    Among common words, index scores 13 points. Among all valid words, izzat scores 23.

    What 5 letter words start with I and end with T?

    T is the most common last letter for these words (5 of the common words). Examples: idiot, input, inlet and inept.

    Do more 5 letter words start with I or end with I?

    161 valid 5 letter words start with I, compared with 260 that end with it. See 5 letter words ending in I.

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