Longer words may get more attention, but two-letter Scrabble words are absolutely essential to any winning Scrabble strategy. They are literally the building blocks from which you can capitalize on big-scoring opportunities. Is JE a valid Scrabble word? Deciding which two-letter words are allowed in Scrabble depends on which official word list you want to use. We cover the NWL, OSPD and CSW here.
107 Two-Letter Scrabble Words in NWL and OSPD
This list of 2 letter Scrabble words is based on the NASPA Word List 2020 (NWL 2020). It is the official Scrabble dictionary used for competitive play in the United States and Canada. This Scrabble tournament word list (TWL) is curated by the North American Scrabble Players Association (NASPA).
While there are some other differences, this set of 107 two-letter Scrabble words is identical to the valid words listed in the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary (OSPD6, updated in 2018). We’ve included the number of 2-letter Scrabble words starting with each letter of the alphabet for your reference as well.
Starting With A (16): AA AB AD AE AG AH AI AL AM AN AR AS AT AW AX AY
Starting With B (5): BA BE BI BO BY
Starting With C (0): There are no valid 2-letter Scrabble words starting with C.
Starting With D (3): DA DE DO
Starting With E (11): ED EF EH EL EM EN ER ES ET EW EX
Starting With F (2): FA FE
Starting With G (2): GI GO
Starting With H (5): HA HE HI HM HO
Starting With I (5): ID IF IN IS IT
Starting With J (1): JO
Starting With K (2): KA KI
Starting With L (3): LA LI LO
Starting With M (7): MA ME MI MM MO MU MY
Starting With N (4): NA NE NO NU
Starting With O (14): OD OE OF OH OI OK OM ON OP OR OS OW OX OY
Starting With P (4): PA PE PI PO
Starting With Q (1): QI
Starting With R (1): RE
Starting With S (3): SH SI SO
Starting With T (4): TA TE TI TO
Starting With U (6): UH UM UN UP US UT
Starting With V (0): There are no valid 2-letter Scrabble words starting with V.
Starting With W (2): WE WO
Starting With X (2): XI XU
Starting With Y (3): YA YE YO
Starting With Z (1): ZA
20 More Two-Letter Scrabble Words in CSW
In your adventures as a Scrabble word finder, you may also encounter a different list of 2 letter Scrabble words. For play outside of Canada and the United States, Collins Scrabble Words (CSW, formerly SOWPODS) is the universal standard. Collins Scrabble Words 2019 (CSW19) includes all 107 words from the NWL and OSPD above, plus 20 more two-letter words you can play in Scrabble.
Starting With C (1): CH
Starting With D (1): DI
Starting With E (2): EA EE
Starting With F (1): FY
Starting With G (1): GU
Starting With I (1): IO
Starting With J (1): JA
Starting With K (2): KO KY
Starting With N (1): NY
Starting With O (3): OB OO OU
Starting With S (1): ST
Starting With U (2): UG UR
Starting With Y (1): YU
Starting With Z (2): ZE ZO
Complete list of 2 letter words
Two-Letter Words You Can’t Play in Scrabble
Particularly for their value when playing hooks, two-letter words in Scrabble are arguably even more valuable than seven-letter words. You may be tempted to play some questionable two-letter words to make it work, but these words just won’t do.
Tapping Two-Letter Words With Q for Scrabble
Seeing how the letter Q is worth a cool 10 points in Scrabble, it makes sense that you’d look to maximize your scoring potential with that letter tile. That’s a big reason why QI is such a popular and powerful play in Scrabble.
But, as eager as you might be to find other two-letter Q words to play in Scrabble, there aren’t any. Neither QA nor IQ are valid 2-letter Scrabble words. It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with a list of Q words without U, though. You might not always have a U tile handy when you need it!
Playing Scrabble With J Words Too
While JO is a valid Scrabble word in the NWL and OSPD, and CSW adds JA to the list of playable Scrabble words, neither the US nor the UK-based Scrabble word lists allow for JE, JI, or JU. You can play JE in Words With Friends, in case you were wondering.
Winning Word Lists for Every Word Game
The best way to get good at word games is with plenty of practice, ideally against opponents on or slightly above your level. As you get in more games, look for chances to play some of the best short words for Scrabble. It’s not just two letter words you need. Three-, four- and five-letter words are vital for your shot at victory. If you prefer Words With Friends, we’ve got a Words With Friends cheat for unscrambling letters and finding playable words too.
Michael Kwan is a professional writer and editor with over 16 years of experience. Fueled by caffeine and WiFi, he's no stranger to word games and dad jokes.
