Q words that need no U
A Q is ten points and, most of the time, a problem. Drawing one without a U is the classic bad-luck moment in both games, and the difference between losing a turn to it and scoring with it is a list of 22 words. It is short enough to learn properly.
Start with two
If you remember nothing else from this page, remember QI and QAT. Between them they cover almost every stranded-Q situation you will meet, because they are short enough to fit almost anywhere on a board.
QI is the life force of Chinese philosophy and, at two letters, the only Q word that will squeeze into a tight gap. QAT is the shrub whose leaves are chewed as a mild stimulant across the Horn of Africa and the Arabian peninsula. Both are entirely legal and both surprise opponents.
A Q held for three turns has cost you more than exchanging it would have. Learn the eleven base words and it stops being a decision.
The complete list
All 22, shortest first, with what each one means and its Scrabble value on plain squares. Plurals are included because they are what you will actually be able to play once there is an S on your rack.
| Word | Letters | Scrabble | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| qi | 2 | 11 | Valid in both games; no public-domain entry |
| qat | 3 | 12 | Valid in both games; no public-domain entry |
| qaid | 4 | 14 | Valid in both games; no public-domain entry |
| qats | 4 | 13 | Valid in both games; no public-domain entry |
| qoph | 4 | 18 | Valid in both games; no public-domain entry |
| faqir | 5 | 17 | Valid in both games; no public-domain entry |
| qaids | 5 | 15 | Valid in both games; no public-domain entry |
| qanat | 5 | 14 | Valid in both games; no public-domain entry |
| qophs | 5 | 19 | Valid in both games; no public-domain entry |
| tranq | 5 | 14 | Valid in both games; no public-domain entry |
| faqirs | 6 | 18 | Valid in both games; no public-domain entry |
| qanats | 6 | 15 | Valid in both games; no public-domain entry |
| qindar | 6 | 16 | Valid in both games; no public-domain entry |
| qintar | 6 | 15 | Valid in both games; no public-domain entry |
| qwerty | 6 | 21 | Valid in both games; no public-domain entry |
| sheqel | 6 | 18 | Valid in both games; no public-domain entry |
| tranqs | 6 | 15 | Valid in both games; no public-domain entry |
| qindars | 7 | 17 | Valid in both games; no public-domain entry |
| qintars | 7 | 16 | Valid in both games; no public-domain entry |
| qwertys | 7 | 22 | Valid in both games; no public-domain entry |
| qindarka | 8 | 22 | Valid in both games; no public-domain entry |
| sheqalim | 8 | 22 | Valid in both games; no public-domain entry |
Playing a Q well
Get it onto a letter multiplier
Ten points doubled is twenty, and tripled is thirty, before any word multiplier touches it. A Q on a triple letter square inside a double word play is sixty points from one tile. Finding that square matters far more than finding a long word.
Do not hoard a U
Keeping a U back in case a Q arrives is a losing trade. There is one Q in the bag and four Us, so you are far more likely to be sitting on a wasted tile than to be rewarded. Play the U and deal with the Q if it comes.
Watch for a U on the board
Before you write off a Q, scan the board for an exposed U you could build in front of. QUA, QUAD, QUIT and QUIZ are all short, and a U sitting at the start of a word is often reachable.
The counting argument
There is exactly one Q in a hundred tiles. If you have it, nobody else does, and it is not coming back. That means the decision is simply whether you can play it in the next turn or two, and if the answer is no, exchanging costs you one turn instead of three.
QI is the whole reason this list matters
The Chinese concept of life force. At 2 letters and 11 points it fits where nothing else will, which is exactly what you need when the board has tightened up.
Questions
How many words have a Q without a U?
22 in our list, and that includes plurals. The base words are far fewer: QI, QAT, QAID, QOPH, QANAT, QINDAR, QINTAR, QWERTY, TRANQ, FAQIR, SHEQEL and QINDARKA, plus the plural forms.
For context, 2,504 words in the list contain a Q at all, so the U-less ones are about 0.9 percent of them. The Q really does want its U almost every time.
Is QI valid?
Yes, and it is the most important word on this page. QI is the Chinese concept of life force, also spelled chi. It was added to the tournament lists in 2014, is valid under Collins as well, and is worth 11 points on bare squares, which is a lot for two tiles.
It is also the only two-letter Q word, so it is the one that turns a stranded Q into a play when you have no U and nowhere to go.
What do these words actually mean?
Most are borrowings. QAT is a shrub whose leaves are chewed as a stimulant. A QANAT is an underground irrigation channel used in Iran. QOPH is a Hebrew letter. QINDAR and QINTAR are Albanian currency units, and QINDARKA is the plural of the first. A SHEQEL is Israeli currency, a FAQIR is a Muslim or Hindu ascetic, and a QAID is a North African chief.
TRANQ and QWERTY are the two ordinary English ones, which is why they are the easiest to remember and the easiest to forget to look for.
What if I have a Q and no U and none of these fit?
Then swap it. A Q you cannot play is ten points of dead weight that also blocks a seventh tile, so holding it for three turns hoping for a U costs more than losing one turn to exchange.
The exception is when there is a U already on the board that you can build off, which is worth checking before you give up on it.
Which of these is worth the most?
QINDARKA at 22 points is the highest here on bare squares, being the longest. But length is rarely the point with a Q: the value is in playing it at all, and ideally in landing the Q itself on a double or triple letter square, where ten becomes twenty or thirty before any word multiplier applies.
Next: all 107 two-letter words, or try a rack in the Scrabble word finder.