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Two Letter Words
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 AI |
 XU |
 OM |
That's ok, most people don't. In fact, there are over 100 two letter words allowed in Scrabble, and I'm going to teach you ALL of them!
Although the list might look a bit daunting when you're just starting out, with repetition you'll soon get to know them. Especially when you start using them to beat up your friends and family!
But let's start with three very good reasons why learning these words definitely will get you winning more games right away...
- A perfect knowledge of the two letter words can make it very easy to score well with the middle-to-high-scoring tiles (F, H, Y, J, X, etc.). By double-crossing an F on a triple letter square to form EF and FA, for example, you can score an easy 26 points with a single tile. Doing the same with an X to form XI and XU can score 50 points in a single stroke! To do this though, you have to know that EF, FA, XI, and XU are valid Scrabble words!
- The two letter words are critical for making parallel plays. After all, there is no point being able to form a lovely bingo on your rack, if you can't place it on the board because you don't know that AL is allowed. Not to mention all those extra points you'll get for each word formed in the overlap. Here's a great example from a real Scrabble tournament...
- If you make the extra effort to learn the meanings, inflections, and variant spellings of the two letter words, you learn several hundred more words at the same time!
Convinced? Good. Let's get on with it.
All 2 Letter Words Allowed in Scrabble
Here is a list of all the two letter words allowed in Scrabble. Along with each word, I've included the word's part of speech (in italics) followed by its meaning, inflections, and variant spellings (if it has any, of course).
Since it's always important to know which two letter words take an S, each word is also followed by a lower case s if the word does take an S, or a dash (-) if it doesn't take an S.
- NOTE — In the list below, all the two letter words allowed in North American Scrabble are colored BLACK. The additional BLUE words are also allowed if you are using the international Scrabble dictionary, which is used in most countries outside of North America.
AB s noun short ABDOMINAL muscle
AD s noun short ADVERTISEMENT
AE - adj Scot one also YAE
AG s noun short AGRICULTURE
AH s verb express surprise or joy AHING AHED
AI s noun Tupi three-toed sloth
AL s noun E. Indian shrub also AAL
AM - infl BE verb exist
AN - adj indefinite article
AR s noun letter ‘R’
AS s noun Norse god AESIR noun gravel ridge ASAR
AT - prep denoting place or time
AW - intj expressing sympathy
AX - verb chop or cut down AXED AXES AXING also AXE
AY s noun affirmative vote also AYE
BA s noun Anc Egypt soul
BE s verb exist BES noun Hebrew letter
BI s noun short BISEXUAL
BO s noun pal or buddy
BY s noun pass to the next round also BYE
CH - prn obs dial ‘I’
DA s noun heavy Burmese knife
DE - prep from, as used in names
DI s pl DEUS noun L god also DEI DIS verb dismiss or put down
DO s noun musical note DOS verb act DOES DOING DID DIDST DONE
EA s noun dial river
ED s noun short EDUCATION
EE - noun Scot eye EEN
EF s noun letter ‘F’
EH s verb say 'eh' EHING EHED
EL s noun letter ‘L’
EM s noun letter ‘M’
EN s noun letter ‘N’
ER s intj expressing hesitation ERS noun bitter vetch
ES s noun letter ‘S’ ESES also ESS
ET - infl EAT verb consume food
EX - verb cross out EXING EXED EXES
FA s noun musical note also FAH
FE s noun Hebrew letter also FEH
FY - intj expressing reproach
GI s noun judo or karate costume
GO s noun turn verb move GOES GOING WENT GONE
GU s noun old Shetland violin also GUE GJU
HA s intj expressing surprise
HE s noun male
HI s intj calling attention
HM - intj expressing hesitation also HMM
HO s verb halt HOING HOED also HOH HOA
ID s noun self
IF s noun condition
IN s verb gather in harvest INNING INNED
IO s noun cry expressing triumph
IS - infl BE verb exist
IT s prn neuter of he, she, him, or her
JA - intj Ger yes
JO - noun Scot loved one JOES
KA s verb serve KAING KAED also KAE
KI s noun Jap spirit of martial art
KO s noun Maori digging-stick
KY - noun cattle
LA s noun musical note also LAH
LI s noun Chin unit of distance
LO s intj see or look LOS intj arch expressing praise
MA s noun coll mother
ME s noun musical note also MI
MI s noun musical note also ME
MM - intj expressing agreement
MO s noun short MOMENT
MU s noun Greek letter
MY - adj of or belonging to me
NA s intj Scot no, not at all NAS adv obs has not, or was not
NE - adj masc born with the name of
NO s noun negative response NOES
NU s noun Greek letter
NY s verb approach NYES NYING NYED also NYE NIE
OB s noun short OBJECTION
OD s noun mystical force
OE s noun Scot grandchild also OY OYE
OF - prep belonging to
OH s verb express surprise OHING OHED
OI - intj attracting attention
OM s noun intoned Hindu symbol
ON s verb go on with ONNING ONNED
OO s noun Scot wool
OP s noun short OPERATION
OR s noun heraldic colour, gold
OS - noun L bone OSSA noun mouth-like opening ORA
OU s noun SAf bloke
OW - intj expressing pain
OX - noun bovine animal OXEN noun clumsy person OXES
OY s noun Scot grandchild also OE OYE
PA s noun father
PE s noun Hebrew letter also PEH
PI s noun Greek letter verb confuse PIED PIING also PIE PYE
PO s noun short CHAMBERPOT
QI s noun Chin physical life-force
RE s noun musical note
SH - intj requesting silence also SHA SHH
SI s noun musical note
SO s noun musical note also SOH SOL
ST - intj requesting silence
TA s noun expression of thanks
TE s noun musical note also TI
TI s noun musical note also TE
TO - prep in the direction of
UG s verb dread or loathe UGGING UGGED
UH - intj expressing surprise
UM - intj expressing doubt or hesitation also UMM
UN s noun dial one
UP s verb move up UPPING UPPED
UR - intj expressing hesitation
US - prn we
UT s noun musical note
WE - prn group that includes me
WO s noun misery also WOE
XI s noun Greek letter
XU - noun money Vietnam
YA - prn you
YE s prn arch you
YO s noun call for attention
YU s noun Chin precious jade
ZA s noun short PIZZA
ZO s noun Tibetan yak also DZO ZHO DZHO DSO
Well, that's great thanks Word Buff, BUT...
How Do I Remember Them All?
By reviewing this list over and over again, and playing lots of Scrabble games, you'll be amazed how quickly the two letter words start to stick in your brain. To help your memory along, try weaving the words into a memorable story. Or even a song...
But don't stop at the two letter words! Before you go, make sure you grab a copy of this cool freebie...
Word Buff's FREE Downloadable Mini Scrabble Dictionary
As part of my effort to compile a free library of Scrabble cheats, I've put together a 39 page mini online Scrabble dictionary containing all the short Scrabble words. As I explain in the book's introduction, the short words are by far the most important ones to learn first.
I've carefully highlighted which words are from which dictionaries to help you avoid learning phonies. Just click the image below to download it right now...
Then visit Word Buff's NEW Scrabble site!
