Wordle #689 Answer – May 9, 2023

This page covers Wordle puzzle #689, played on Tuesday, May 9, 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 #689

Hint 1: How many vowels?

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

Hint 2: First letter

It starts with the letter C.

Hint 3: Last letter

It ends with the letter A.

Hint 4: Repeated letters?

Yes, one letter appears more than once.

Wordle #689 Answer

The answer to Wordle #689 on May 9, 2023 was:

COCOA

COCOA has been the Wordle answer only once so far.

How Hard Was Wordle #689?

5.8/10Medium-Hard
66%harder than this share of all 1,962 Wordles
0look-alike answers
  • 3 vowels, which a typical starting word uncovers quickly.
  • A repeated letter, which most players do not test until late.
  • Only common letters, with nothing unusual to find.
  • 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 COCOA

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
SLATESLATE106
CRANECRANE8
TRACETRACE28
STARESTARE105
RAISERAISE80
AUDIOAUDIO61

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

How to Solve Wordle #689 Step by Step

Here is one efficient way to reach COCOA. 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. SLATESLATE131
2. MANORMANOR1
3. COCOACOCOASolved

Solved in 3 guesses. After SLATE, 131 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 COCOA

PositionLetterAppears in (all answers)In this exact spot
1stC19.1%8.6%
2ndO30%12.6%
3rdC19.1%2.6%
4thO30%5.3%
5thA39.6%2.8%

On This Day in Wordle: May 9

Answers from the same date in other years:

YearPuzzleAnswer
2026#1785SATIN
2025#1420TRIPE
2024#1055JERKY
2022#324SHINE

Wordle #689 FAQ

What was the Wordle answer on May 9, 2023?

The answer to Wordle #689 on May 9, 2023 was COCOA.

Was Wordle #689 hard?

We rate it 5.8 out of 10 (Medium-Hard), harder than about 66% of all Wordle puzzles.

What was the best starting word for Wordle #689?

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