Today's NYT Wordle lands with puzzle #1808, and this Monday challenge serves up a spicy five-letter answer that rewards solid letter elimination over flashy guesses. Whether you're protecting a legendary streak or starting fresh, we've got the hints to guide you home.
The Basics (For New Players)
Wordle gives you six attempts to crack a five-letter word. After each guess, tiles change color: green means right letter, right spot; yellow signals right letter, wrong position; gray indicates the letter isn't in the word at all. One puzzle per day, shared by millions worldwide. That's the beauty of it.
Created by Josh Wardle in 2021 and now part of The New York Times Games family, Wordle has become a daily ritual for word lovers everywhere. Today's puzzle #1808 awaits.
The Letter Rundown
Today's puzzle breaks down like this:
Vowel Count: 2 (I and I)
Consonant Count: 3 (C, H, L)
Repeated Letters: Yes - the letter I appears twice, giving this word its distinctive rhythm
Letter Rarity: Mix of common and mid-tier letters. C is a solid opening consonant, H is slightly less frequent, and L is a workhorse. The double-I pattern is the real curveball here.
The Elimination Game (Progressive Hints)
We've designed these hints to reveal just enough at each level. Stop when you've got it figured out.
Level 1 (The Vibe): Think heat, spice, and comfort food. This word packs a punch in a small package.
Level 2 (The Category): This word is a noun. It's something you'd find in a kitchen or on a menu, often used in stews, soups, and condiments.
Level 3 (The Boundaries): Starts with C, ends with I.
Level 4 (The Structure): The vowel I appears in positions 2 and 5, creating a symmetrical vowel pattern with three consonants sandwiched between them.
Level 5 (The Giveaway): A spicy pepper, or the hearty stew named after it, often served with beans and meat.
Quick-Reference Clues
First Letter: C
Last Letter: I
Vowels Present: I
Double Letters: Yes, I appears twice
Rhymes With: SILLY, HILLY, DILLY
Today's Wordle Answer
Final warning: The answer is directly below. Scroll only if you're ready.
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The answer to Wordle #1808 is: CHILI
Word DNA: Breaking Down Today's Answer
CHILI noun. A small hot-tasting pod of a type of capsicum used in cooking, often dried or ground into powder. Also refers to the thick stew made with chili powder, meat, and typically beans.
Origins: Borrowed from Spanish chile, which itself comes from Nahuatl chilli, the language of the Aztecs. The word has been in English use since the 17th century, carried back by early explorers of the Americas.
Word Family: chili pepper, chili powder, chili con carne, chilies, chile
Fun Fact: "CHILI" is one of the few Wordle answers ending in I, a letter that closes only about 2% of all solution words. The double-I pattern is even rarer, appearing in fewer than 1% of Wordle answers.
The Streak Saver Rating
Difficulty: 3 / 5
Trap Factor: MEDIUM. The double I is the primary trap, many solvers guess CHILL (with a double L) or CHILE (with an E) before landing on CHILI. The uncommon final letter I also throws off players who expect standard endings.
Average Solve: 3.8 guesses (estimate based on difficulty)
This is a middle-of-the-road puzzle that punishes overthinking. Standard openers like CRANE or SLATE will catch the C and L but likely miss the double-I pattern. The real challenge is mental: resisting the urge to guess CHILL or CHILE after you've already locked in C-H-I-L. If you hit that fourth letter and still have two blanks, trust the pattern, it's CHILI.
What This Puzzle Teaches
Double letters are a Wordle staple, and today's puzzle proves that double vowels are just as dangerous as double consonants. Many players subconsciously default to double-L patterns (CHILL, DILLY, HILLY) because they're more common in English. CHILI forces you to consider that the repetition might be a vowel instead. If you're stuck with green C, yellow H and L, keep vowel-doubling on your radar.
Another lesson: don't ignore words ending in I. English speakers are conditioned to expect E, Y, T, or N at the end of a five-letter word. CHILI breaks that mold. When your letter elimination narrows the field and a standard ending doesn't fit, pivot to less common terminal letters, especially if you've confirmed a vowel-heavy pattern.
Tomorrow's Reset
Puzzle #1809 drops at midnight in your timezone. Did today's CHILI catch you off guard, or did you crack it in three? Either way, every Wordle sharpens your instincts for the next one.
See you at midnight for the next challenge.
