NYT Spelling Bee Answers & Hints — July 12, 2026
- 33Total words
- 163Total points
- 114Genius
- 3Pangrams
The pangram for July 12, 2026
Every letter used at least once — worth a bonus 7 points on top of the length score.
Letter by letter
9 letters · tap any tile to reveal just that letter.
Spelling Bee hints for July 12, 2026
Three levels of help, gentlest first — take only as much as you need. Skip straight to the answers →
Words per starting letter
The gentlest nudge — which letters do the heavy lifting today.
Two-letter tally
How many words start with each pair — if a pair isn't here, nothing starts with it.
- ak1
- aw4
- ek1
- ga2
- ge2
- in1
- ke2
- ki5
- kn3
- na1
- wa4
- we4
- wi3
Word length grid
The most specific spoiler-free hint — hunt a missing word by its length.
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | 5 |
| E | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| G | 2 | – | – | 2 | – | – | 4 |
| I | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
| K | 6 | – | – | 4 | – | – | 10 |
| N | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | 1 |
| W | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| Σ | 14 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 33 |
Spelling Bee answers for July 12, 2026
The full word list, grouped by length — pangram first, then longest to shortest. Tap a group to reveal.
P
- awakening16
- weakening16
- wakening15
7
- awaking7
- gawking7
- geeking7
- keening7
- kinging7
- kinking7
- kneeing7
- nankeen7
- winking7
6
- awaken6
- inking6
- waking6
- weaken6
5
- awake5
- eking5
- waken5
4
- akin1
- gawk1
- geek1
- keen1
- king1
- kink1
- kiwi1
- knee1
- knew1
- wake1
- weak1
- week1
- wiki1
- wink1
Today's puzzle by the numbers
Difficulty, rank thresholds, pangram etymology and what makes today unusual.
Difficulty
6/ 10
A moderately challenging puzzle that rewards solvers who can stack suffixes confidently. With only 33 words against a historical average of roughly 46, the answer list is notably lean, which means fewer easy footholds — but the three pangrams are all closely related forms of the same root concept, so finding one should unlock the others. The trickiest corner is a small cluster of less common words, including a fabric term and a few gerunds built on short, easy-to-overlook roots. Four-letter words are plentiful and should pad the score early, but climbing to Genius will require committing to the longer -ING chains.
Points per rank
| Rank | Points | % |
|---|---|---|
| Queen Bee 👑 | 163 | 100% |
| Genius | 114 | 70% |
| Amazing | 82 | 50% |
| Great | 65 | 40% |
| Nice | 41 | 25% |
| Solid | 24 | 15% |
| Good | 13 | 8% |
| Moving Up | 8 | 5% |
| Good Start | 3 | 2% |
| Beginner | 0 | 0% |
About the pangram
awakening16 pts
From Old English āwæcnan ('to awaken, to arise from sleep'), formed with the prefix ā- marking the inception of a new state and wæcnan ('to wake'); the noun sense of a spiritual or intellectual rousing gained particular force in 18th-century religious revival movements such as the Great Awakening.
Puzzle facts
- Longest word9 letters
- 4-letter words14 of 33
- Pangram bonus+7 points
- Puzzles archived85
Try another puzzle
Two more NazoKai hints, ready when you are.