Every 2-Letter Word in Scrabble (And Why Pros Memorize All 107)

Why 2-Letter Words Are the Secret Weapon

In competitive Scrabble, the players who win consistently aren't the ones who know the longest words. They're the ones who know every valid 2-letter word. And here's why:

• Parallel plays: Place a word parallel to an existing word and create multiple 2-letter crosswords simultaneously, scoring for each one
• Opening up the board: Play a 2-letter word to reach premium squares that longer words can't access
• Vowel/consonant dumping: Dump problem tiles (too many vowels or duplicate consonants) without wasting your turn
• Hook opportunities: Extend existing words by adding a single letter to create valid 2-letter crosswords

Our 2-letter words database indexes every valid 2-letter combination across three dictionaries. The differences between them can cost you a game if you're not careful. I know because it happened to me: I played OI in a WWF game, thinking it was valid everywhere. It isn't.

Complete 2-Letter Word List (OTCWL / Scrabble US)

These 107 words are valid in official North American Scrabble tournaments sanctioned by the North American Scrabble Players Association (NASPA):

View the full interactive list with dictionary filters on our 2-letter words page.

SOWPODS-Only 2-Letter Words

The SOWPODS dictionary used in international Scrabble tournaments (UK, Australia, and most countries outside North America) includes all 107 OTCWL words plus 20 additional ones. If you play internationally or online on platforms that default to SOWPODS, these extra words open up significant scoring opportunities:

Notice that several SOWPODS-only words are high-value: JA (9 points), ZO (11 points), CH (7 points), and PH (7 points). ZO is particularly notable because it ties with QI and ZA for the highest base score of any 2-letter word. If you play on international platforms, learning these 20 extra words gives you a meaningful advantage over opponents who only know the OTCWL list.

Words That Trip People Up

Some valid 2-letter words surprise even experienced players:

• QI: the only 2-letter Q word. Means "vital force" in Chinese philosophy.
• ZA: slang for pizza. Valid in OTCWL and WWF.
• XU: a Vietnamese monetary unit. Worth 9 points.
• JO: a Scottish term of endearment. Worth 9 points.
• KA: the Egyptian concept of spirit. Worth 6 points.
• AA: a type of rough lava. Yes, double-A is valid.
• OE: a whirlwind off the Faeroe Islands.
• FE: a variant of "feh" (an exclamation). Added to OTCWL in recent editions.

When I first saw AA on a word list, I was sure it was a typo. Nope. It's a geological term for a type of lava, and it's worth 2 points. Not glamorous, but handy when you've got double A's clogging up your rack.

The Art of Parallel Plays

Parallel plays are the single most powerful technique that 2-letter words make possible. Instead of playing a word that crosses one existing word at a single intersection, you place a word directly alongside an existing word so that every adjacent letter pair forms a valid 2-letter word. The result is that you score for your main word plus every crossword you create, often doubling or tripling your point total for the turn.

Step-by-Step Example

Imagine the word HATE is already on the board running horizontally. You have the letters S, O, N, E on your rack. Let me show you how a parallel play works:

Step 1: You notice that placing SONE directly below HATE would create four 2-letter crosswords reading downward:

Step 2: Check each 2-letter crossword. Reading down each column: SH (valid, 5 pts), AO (not valid!). This means SONE can't be placed directly beneath HATE. You need to reconsider your letters.

Step 3: Try rearranging. Instead, play ONE below ATE (offset by one column):

Now the crosswords read: AO, still not valid. Let's try positioning ONE so it overlaps more carefully. Place HOSE beneath HATE:

Crosswords: HO (valid, 5 pts), AN (valid, 2 pts), TE (valid in SOWPODS, 2 pts), ES (valid, 2 pts). In a SOWPODS game, this parallel play scores: the main word ONES plus all four crosswords. That's five scoring words from a single play.

Step 4: Always verify every crossword is valid in your dictionary before committing. One invalid pair disqualifies the entire play. Use our Scrabble Word Finder to double-check crosswords before you place your tiles.

The key insight is that parallel plays grow exponentially in value the longer the adjacent overlap is. A 5-letter word placed alongside another 5-letter word can generate five crosswords, each one scoring independently. This is why experts say: "2-letter words are the glue of Scrabble."

Memorization Strategy

Don't try to memorize all 107 at once. Use this tiered approach:

Week 1: The High-Value Words (9+ points)

AX, EX, JO, OX, QI, XI, XU, ZA. Just 8 words that'll immediately improve your scoring.

Week 2: The Vowel Dumps

AA, AE, AI, OE, OI. 5 words for when your rack is vowel-heavy. See our vowel dumping guide.

Week 3: The Common Pairs

Words everyone should know: AN, AT, BE, DO, GO, HE, IF, IN, IS, IT, ME, NO, OF, ON, OR, SO, TO, UP, WE.

Week 4: The Oddities

Words that feel wrong but are valid: BI, DA, EF, EH, EM, EN, ER, ES, ET, HM, KA, KI, LI, MU, NU, OD, OP, OU, PE, SH, SI, TA, TI, UH, UM, UT, YA, YO.

I went through this exact 4-week process myself. By week 3, I was spotting parallel play opportunities I'd been missing for months. It's the single biggest return-on-investment for Scrabble improvement time.

How to Use Them in Practice

The real power of 2-letter words comes from parallel plays. Instead of just playing one word, you place a word parallel and adjacent to an existing word, creating multiple 2-letter crosswords at the same time. Each crossword scores independently, and the total often exceeds what a longer single word would earn.

Practice spotting these opportunities on every turn. Use our Scrabble Word Finder to verify that all your crosswords are valid before committing to a play.

2-Letter Words in Words With Friends

Words With Friends (WWF) uses its own proprietary dictionary, which differs from both OTCWL and SOWPODS. While most common 2-letter words overlap, important differences can catch players off guard, especially those who switch between Scrabble and WWF regularly.

Key differences to be aware of:

• Tile values differ: WWF assigns different point values to many letters. For example, J is worth 10 points in WWF versus 8 in Scrabble. This means the "best" 2-letter words shift slightly between the two games.
• Board layout differs: The premium square positions on the WWF board are different from Scrabble, which changes the strategic value of 2-letter placements. Triple Letter and Triple Word squares are in different locations, so the optimal spots for playing QI or ZA change entirely.
• Some words valid in Scrabble are rejected in WWF (and vice versa). Always verify using a WWF-compatible checker when playing online.
• DA, GI, and FE are among words that have historically differed in acceptance between the two dictionaries. Check our Words With Friends word finder for the current accepted list.

The safest approach is to learn the core OTCWL list first, since the vast majority of those words are also valid in WWF. Then learn the handful of exceptions specific to each platform. Our 2-letter words page lets you filter by dictionary so you can see exactly which words are valid where.

The History of 2-Letter Words in Scrabble

The official list of valid 2-letter words hasn't remained static since Scrabble was first commercialized in the 1950s. Understanding how it evolved helps explain why differences exist between dictionaries, and why the list continues to be a source of debate among competitive players.

In the early decades of Scrabble, there was no standardized word list at all. Players relied on whatever dictionary was handy, leading to constant disputes. The first Official Scrabble Players Dictionary (OSPD) was published in 1978, and it formalized the 2-letter word list for North American play. At that point, the list was significantly shorter than today's 107 words.

Over subsequent editions, the dictionary expanded. Some notable additions over the years:

• QI: Added to the OSPD in 2006 (Fourth Edition). Before that, there was no valid 2-letter Q word, and the Q tile was feared as a rack-killer.
• ZA: Also added in 2006. Its inclusion gave players a much-needed outlet for the Z tile beyond words like ZAP and ZONE.
• FE: A relatively recent addition, giving players another F-word option for tight board positions.
• EW: Added to the Official Tournament and Club Word List (now called NWL) in later editions, reflecting evolving acceptance of informal exclamations.
• OK: Added in 2014 to the OSPD Fifth Edition. Its addition was controversial. Many players felt it was too informal. Regardless, OK quickly became a useful 6-point play.

The SOWPODS dictionary, which combines the North American and UK word lists, has always been larger. It includes words from Chambers Dictionary and Collins English Dictionary in addition to OSPD sources, which is why it contains 20 more 2-letter words than OTCWL. The international Scrabble community has traditionally been more permissive in accepting dialect words, archaic forms, and borrowings from other languages.

Discussions within NASPA and the World English-Language Scrabble Players Association (WESPA) continue about whether to add or remove specific words. The 2-letter word list remains one of the most closely watched aspects of competitive Scrabble because even a single addition or removal can reshape game strategy for every player worldwide. Consult the official Hasbro Scrabble page for the latest on rule updates and dictionary changes.