Wordle #589 Answer – January 29, 2023
This page covers Wordle puzzle #589, played on Sunday, January 29, 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 #589
Hint 1: How many vowels?
The answer has 1 vowel (A, E, I, O, U).
Hint 2: First letter
It starts with the letter F.
Hint 3: Last letter
It ends with the letter Y.
Hint 4: Repeated letters?
No, all five letters are different.
Hint 5: Meaning
noun — A cold-blooded vertebrate animal that lives in water, moving with the help of fins and breathing with gills.
Wordle #589 Answer
The answer to Wordle #589 on January 29, 2023 was:
FISHY
FISHY has been the Wordle answer only once so far.
What Does FISHY Mean?
Fishy (noun): A cold-blooded vertebrate animal that lives in water, moving with the help of fins and breathing with gills.
Example: “Salmon is a fish.”
How Hard Was Wordle #589?
7.3/10Hard
90%harder than this share of all 1,963 Wordles
0look-alike answers
- Only 1 vowel, so the vowel pattern is hard to find early.
- Five different letters, which suits most guessing strategies.
- Less common letters (F, Y) 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 FISHY
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.
| Opener | Feedback | Answers left |
|---|---|---|
| SLATE | SLATE | 27 |
| CRANE | CRANE | 196 |
| TRACE | TRACE | 186 |
| STARE | STARE | 23 |
| RAISE | RAISE | 18 |
| AUDIO | AUDIO | 221 |
On this puzzle, RAISE was the most useful opener, leaving 18 possible answers. Read our guide to the best starting words →
How to Solve Wordle #589 Step by Step
Here is one efficient way to reach FISHY. 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.
| Guess | Feedback | Words still possible |
|---|---|---|
| 1. SLATE | SLATE | 38 |
| 2. MISSY | MISSY | 3 |
| 3. FISHY | FISHY | Solved |
Solved in 3 guesses. After SLATE, 38 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 FISHY
| Position | Letter | Appears in (all answers) | In this exact spot |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | F | 8.8% | 5.3% |
| 2nd | I | 27.8% | 8.3% |
| 3rd | S | 25.8% | 3.1% |
| 4th | H | 16.9% | 1.2% |
| 5th | Y | 16.5% | 14.3% |
On This Day in Wordle: January 29
Answers from the same date in other years:
Wordle #589 FAQ
What was the Wordle answer on January 29, 2023?
The answer to Wordle #589 on January 29, 2023 was FISHY.
Was Wordle #589 hard?
We rate it 7.3 out of 10 (Hard), harder than about 90% of all Wordle puzzles.
What was the best starting word for Wordle #589?
Of the popular openers, RAISE did best, leaving 18 possible answers after the first guess.