Every Two-Letter Scrabble Word (TWL & SOWPODS)
The complete list of valid two-letter words in Scrabble — TWL for North America, SOWPODS for international play. Definitions included for the obscure ones.
Two-letter words are the foundation of expert Scrabble play. They let you make parallel plays, hook onto existing words, and squeeze points out of a locked board. Here's the full list for both major dictionaries.
Why Two-Letter Words Matter
A parallel play happens when your word runs alongside an existing word, creating two-letter words at every intersection. A single parallel play with four touching tiles can score 40–60 points — without touching a single premium square. None of that works unless you know what two-letter words are valid.
TWL Two-Letter Words (North America)
These 107 words are valid in North American Scrabble tournaments (TWL / OSPD):
| Word | Pts | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| AA | 2 | Rough lava |
| AB | 4 | An abdominal muscle |
| AD | 3 | Advertisement |
| AE | 2 | One (Scottish) |
| AG | 3 | Agriculture |
| AH | 5 | Exclamation |
| AI | 2 | Three-toed sloth |
| AL | 2 | East Indian tree |
| AM | 4 | First-person present of be |
| AN | 2 | Indefinite article |
| AR | 2 | Letter R |
| AS | 2 | To the same degree |
| AT | 2 | Preposition |
| AW | 5 | Exclamation of mild protest |
| AX | 9 | Chopping tool |
| AY | 5 | Expression of distress |
| BA | 4 | The eternal soul (Egyptian) |
| BE | 4 | To exist |
| BI | 4 | Bisexual |
| BO | 4 | A pal |
| BY | 7 | Near; secondary matter |
| DA | 3 | Father (informal) |
| DE | 3 | Of (from French/Spanish) |
| DO | 3 | Musical note; to perform |
| ED | 3 | Editor |
| EF | 5 | Letter F |
| EH | 5 | Questioning exclamation |
| EL | 2 | Elevated railway |
| EM | 4 | Typographic unit |
| EN | 2 | Half an em |
| ER | 2 | Hesitation sound |
| ES | 2 | Plural of E |
| ET | 2 | Past tense of eat (dialectal) |
| EX | 9 | Former partner; letter X |
| FA | 5 | Musical note |
| FE | 5 | Hebrew letter |
| GI | 3 | Martial arts uniform |
| GO | 3 | To move; board game |
| GU | 3 | A type of violin (Shetland) |
| HA | 5 | Exclamation of triumph |
| HE | 5 | Third-person pronoun |
| HI | 5 | Greeting |
| HM | 7 | Sound of consideration |
| HO | 5 | Exclamation |
| ID | 3 | Freudian psyche component |
| IF | 5 | Conditional |
| IN | 2 | Preposition; inside |
| IS | 2 | Third-person singular of be |
| IT | 2 | Third-person neuter pronoun |
| JO | 9 | A sweetheart (Scottish) |
| KA | 6 | The spirit in Egyptian belief |
| KI | 6 | The vital force (variant of QI) |
| LA | 2 | Musical note |
| LI | 2 | Chinese unit of distance |
| LO | 2 | Look! Behold! |
| MA | 4 | Mother |
| ME | 4 | First-person object pronoun |
| MI | 4 | Musical note |
| MM | 6 | Sound of agreement |
| MO | 4 | A moment |
| MU | 4 | Greek letter |
| MY | 7 | Possessive pronoun |
| NA | 2 | No (Scottish) |
| NE | 2 | Born as; formerly known as |
| NO | 2 | Negative |
| NU | 2 | Greek letter |
| OD | 3 | Hypothetical force; to overdose |
| OE | 2 | Whirlwind off Faeroe Islands |
| OF | 5 | Preposition |
| OH | 5 | Exclamation |
| OI | 2 | Variant of oy |
| OM | 4 | Sacred syllable |
| ON | 2 | Preposition; active state |
| OP | 4 | Operation; op-art |
| OR | 2 | Conjunction; gold (heraldry) |
| OS | 2 | Bone; esker |
| OW | 5 | Exclamation of pain |
| OX | 9 | Castrated bull |
| OY | 5 | Exclamation of dismay |
| PA | 4 | Father |
| PE | 4 | Hebrew letter |
| PI | 4 | Greek letter; ratio of circumference to diameter |
| PO | 4 | Chamber pot |
| QI | 11 | Vital life force (Chinese) |
| RE | 2 | Musical note; regarding |
| SH | 5 | Command to be quiet |
| SI | 2 | Variant of ti (musical note) |
| SO | 2 | Musical note; therefore |
| TA | 2 | Thank you (British informal) |
| TE | 2 | Variant of ti (musical note) |
| TI | 2 | Musical note; ti plant |
| TO | 2 | Preposition |
| UH | 5 | Hesitation sound |
| UM | 4 | Hesitation sound |
| UN | 2 | One (dialectal) |
| UP | 4 | Upward; to increase |
| UR | 2 | Primitive; earliest |
| US | 2 | First-person plural object |
| UT | 2 | Musical note (archaic do) |
| WE | 5 | First-person plural subject |
| WO | 5 | Variant of woe |
| XI | 9 | Greek letter |
| XU | 9 | Vietnamese monetary unit |
| YA | 5 | You (informal) |
| YE | 5 | Archaic plural of you |
| YO | 5 | Exclamation |
| ZA | 11 | Pizza (slang) |
SOWPODS-Only Two-Letter Words
Playing international rules? SOWPODS adds these valid two-letter words not found in TWL:
- DA — father (also in TWL)
- DI — plural of deus (gods)
- GI — martial arts uniform (also in TWL)
- IO — a cry of joy
- JA — yes (South African)
- KO — to knock out
- OB — objection
- PHO — Vietnamese soup (3 letters, but valid in SOWPODS)
- ST — hush!
- ZO — a Himalayan cattle hybrid
The 10 Highest-Scoring Two-Letter Words
These are your go-to plays when premium squares are in range:
- ZA — 11 points (on a DLS = 22, on a TLS = 33)
- QI — 11 points
- XI — 9 points
- XU — 9 points
- OX — 9 points
- AX — 9 points
- EX — 9 points
- JO — 9 points
- BY — 7 points
- MY — 7 points
How to Memorize Them
Don't try to memorize all 107 at once. Start with the vowel-heavy ones (AA, AE, AI, OE, OI, OU) — they rescue terrible racks. Then learn the high-scorers (ZA, QI, XI, XU, OX, AX, JO). Then the unusual ones that hook everywhere (EL, EM, EN, ET, EF). You'll have 80% of the game value in 30 words.
Use the two-letter words list on this site to filter and practice. The unscrambler also shows you which two-letter plays are valid in each dictionary.