Wordle #574 Answer – January 14, 2023

This page covers Wordle puzzle #574, played on Saturday, January 14, 2023. If you are playing it in the NYT Wordle archive, start with the hints. The answer comes after them, along with what the word means, how hard it was, and how the most popular starting words would have done.

Hints for Wordle #574

Hint 1: How many vowels?

The answer has 3 vowels (A, E, I, O, U).

Hint 2: First letter

It starts with the letter K.

Hint 3: Last letter

It ends with the letter A.

Hint 4: Repeated letters?

Yes, one letter appears more than once.

Hint 5: Meaning

noun — A tree-dwelling marsupial, Phascolarctos cinereus, that resembles a small bear with a broad head, large ears and sharp claws, mainly found in eastern Australia.

Wordle #574 Answer

The answer to Wordle #574 on January 14, 2023 was:

KOALA

KOALA has been the Wordle answer only once so far.

What Does KOALA Mean?

Koala (noun): A tree-dwelling marsupial, Phascolarctos cinereus, that resembles a small bear with a broad head, large ears and sharp claws, mainly found in eastern Australia.

How Hard Was Wordle #574?

5.6/10Medium-Hard
63%harder than this share of all 1,963 Wordles
0look-alike answers
  • 3 vowels, which a typical starting word uncovers quickly.
  • A repeated letter, which most players do not test until late.
  • Less common letters (K) that starting words rarely test.
  • No other answers share four of its five letter spots, so it falls fast once the letters are found.

How Popular Starting Words Did Against KOALA

Here is the color feedback each well-known opener would have given on this puzzle, and how many past Wordle answers would still fit after that one guess. Fewer is better.

OpenerFeedbackAnswers left
SLATESLATE8
CRANECRANE43
TRACETRACE43
STARESTARE33
RAISERAISE80
AUDIOAUDIO61

On this puzzle, SLATE was the most useful opener, leaving 8 possible answers. Read our guide to the best starting words →

How to Solve Wordle #574 Step by Step

Here is one efficient way to reach KOALA. We open with SLATE, then each next guess is the word, from those still possible, that leaves the fewest options on average. Every guess fits all the clues so far, so this path is also legal in Hard Mode.

GuessFeedbackWords still possible
1. SLATESLATE9
2. CRAWLCRAWL2
3. KOALAKOALASolved

Solved in 3 guesses. After SLATE, 9 everyday words still fit. Try your own guesses in our Wordle solver to see which words were left at each step.

Letter-by-Letter Breakdown of KOALA

PositionLetterAppears in (all answers)In this exact spot
1stK8.6%1%
2ndO30%12.6%
3rdA39.6%14.1%
4thL28%6.9%
5thA39.6%2.8%

On This Day in Wordle: January 14

Answers from the same date in other years:

YearPuzzleAnswer
2026#1670AVOID
2025#1305FANCY
2024#939DOING
2022#209TANGY

Wordle #574 FAQ

What was the Wordle answer on January 14, 2023?

The answer to Wordle #574 on January 14, 2023 was KOALA.

Was Wordle #574 hard?

We rate it 5.6 out of 10 (Medium-Hard), harder than about 63% of all Wordle puzzles.

What was the best starting word for Wordle #574?

Of the popular openers, SLATE did best, leaving 8 possible answers after the first guess.