Wordle puzzle
Wordle puzzle

The New York Times' Wordle puzzle for Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, rewards players who know their jewelry. The puzzle is game No. 1,972 of the popular daily word game, and its answer is linked to gold and precious metals.

Players get six attempts to guess a five-letter word. After each guess, the game shows which letters are correct and in the right place (green), which appear in the word but in the wrong spot (yellow), and which are not in the word at all (gray).

Several puzzle guides rated Thursday's word as moderately challenging. It is familiar to most players, but it has an uncommon starting letter.

Hints for Wordle No. 1,972

For players who want help without spoiling the answer, here are progressive hints:

Hint 1: The word is a noun often used when talking about jewelry. Hint 2: The answer is related to gold. Hint 3: The word contains two vowels, and one letter appears twice. Hint 4: The word starts with the letter K. Hint 5: It is an alternative spelling of a word more commonly used to describe the weight of diamonds.

Only 19 of the 1,972 Wordle answers before Thursday began with the letter K, according to puzzle tracker Nerds Chalk. That makes the starting letter one of the trickier parts of the puzzle.

Spoiler warning: The answer is below.

Today's Wordle answer

The answer to Wordle No. 1,972 for Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, is KARAT.

A karat is a unit that measures the purity of gold. Pure gold is rated at 24 karats, and lower numbers indicate that gold has been mixed with other metals. For example, 18-karat gold is 75% gold.

The word is often confused with "carat," a unit used to measure the weight of gemstones such as diamonds. One carat equals 200 milligrams. In British English, "carat" is commonly used for both meanings, while American usage generally separates the two.

How players can approach puzzles like this

Thursday's answer shows how a common pattern can trap players. Words ending in "-RAT" or "-ARAT" can lead solvers through several possibilities before they land on the correct first letter.

Puzzle experts suggest several strategies:

Start with common letters. Opening words that contain frequently used letters such as R, A, T, E and S can quickly narrow the field. Watch for repeated letters. Thursday's answer uses the letter A twice. Many players forget that letters can repeat. Consider uncommon starting letters. When several letters are confirmed but the first remains unknown, players should consider less common letters such as K, J or Q. Use hard mode wisely. Hard mode requires players to use confirmed letters in later guesses. This can help focus guesses, but it can also cost turns when several words share a pattern.

Recent Wordle answers

The New York Times began reintroducing older answers into Wordle on Feb. 2, 2026, meaning past solutions can now appear again. Before that change, the game used a unique word each day.

The last 10 Wordle answers before Thursday were:

Nov. 11: BLESS Nov. 10: TRUCE Nov. 9: LOAMY Nov. 8: FIRST Nov. 7: PRATE Nov. 6: DRECK Nov. 5: PARCH Nov. 4: NUTTY Nov. 3: POUCH Nov. 2: SCOOT

Wednesday's answer, BLESS, also included a repeated letter, with two S's at the end of the word.

About Wordle

Wordle was created by software engineer Josh Wardle as a game for his partner. It became a global sensation in late 2021, and The New York Times bought the game in early 2022.

The first Wordle answer was "CIGAR," which appeared in June 2021.

Wordle remains one of the most popular titles in The New York Times Games lineup, alongside Connections, Strands, Spelling Bee and the Mini Crossword. A new puzzle is released each day at midnight local time.

Players can share their results on social media using the game's grid of colored squares, which shows how they performed without revealing the answer. Many fans track long winning streaks, which reset if a player fails to solve the puzzle or misses a day.

The New York Times also offers WordleBot, a tool that analyzes each player's guesses and shows how efficiently they solved the puzzle compared with an ideal approach.

A new Wordle puzzle, No. 1,973, will be available on Friday, Nov. 13.