Today’s New York Times Wordle for January 7, 2026 is puzzle #1663. If you’re close and want a nudge rather than a full spoiler, start with the lighter clues below and move down only when you need more help.
Core facts about today’s Wordle (#1663)
Basic structure
- Five-letter English word
- Part of speech: noun
- Vowels: 2
- Consonants: 3
- All letters are unique (no duplicates)
Letter pattern hints
- The word starts with P.
- The word ends with N.
- If you play CRANE as a starting word, four of its letters appear in today’s answer, but all in different positions (they would show in yellow).
Meaning hint
- The word names a type of nut that often shows up in desserts and baked goods.
Deeper clue for today’s Wordle
If “a nut that starts with P and ends with N” still feels too broad, narrow it this way:
- The nut is closely associated with pies, especially in North American baking.
- Its kernel has a distinctive ridged, “brain-like” surface similar to a walnut, but the flavor is sweeter and more buttery.
At this point, most food-related guesses should converge on a single option.
Today’s Wordle answer for January 7, 2026
If you only want the solution, here it is.
Today’s Wordle answer (#1663) is: PECAN
What “PECAN” means
PECAN is a noun for a specific tree nut and, by extension, the tree that produces it.
- The nut is smooth-shelled, usually oblong or olive-shaped.
- The edible kernel is rich in oil and has a sweet, buttery taste.
- Pecans are widely used in pies, pralines, ice cream, and snack mixes.
On the difficulty scale, PECAN is relatively fair for Wordle: it uses common letters, includes two standard vowels, and doesn’t repeat any characters, which keeps the branching space manageable once you lock in a couple of positions.
How to approach a word like PECAN in Wordle
Step 1: Open the official Wordle game at the New York Times Games site by going to nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html.
Step 2: Start with a strong opener that covers several common consonants and multiple vowels, such as a word that includes A and E. This usually tells you quickly whether you’re dealing with a two-vowel solution like PECAN.
Step 3: On the second guess, aim to place or rule out remaining high-frequency consonants (for example, C, L, N, S) while respecting any green or yellow feedback you already have.
Step 4: Once you see that you have A and E present and at least one of them is not in the first or last slot, think through familiar food and everyday nouns that fit the pattern. With P and N emerging, PECAN becomes one of the cleanest fits.
Note: Words with two different vowels and no repeated consonants reward systematic vowel placement. Cycling A and E through the middle slots while keeping a mental list of common endings (-AN, -EN, -IN) makes it much easier to land on PECAN within six guesses.
If PECAN cost you a streak today, it’s a good reminder to keep food-related nouns in your mental Wordle toolbox. Tomorrow’s puzzle will pull from the same general vocabulary pool, so the pattern work you did here still pays off.
