Every Scrabble player has been there. You draw the Q — 10 glorious points. But there’s no U on your rack, and no U on the board. You’re about to exchange tiles and waste a turn… unless you know this list.
The complete list of Q-without-U words
All of the following are legal in Scrabble TWL and almost all are legal in Words With Friends 2:
2-letter
- QI — Chinese life-force or spiritual energy (pronounced “chee”). Your single most important Q-word.
3-letter
- QIS — plural of QI
- QAT — variant of KHAT, a leafy shrub chewed as a stimulant
4-letter
- QATS — plural of QAT
- QADI — a Muslim judge
- QOPH — the 19th letter of the Hebrew alphabet
5-letter
- QADIS — plural of QADI
- QANAT — an underground water channel used in Persian architecture
- QOPHS — plural of QOPH
6-letter
- QANATS — plural of QANAT
- QINDAR — an Albanian monetary unit (1/100 of a lek)
- QINTAR — alternate spelling of QINDAR
7-letter
- QWERTY — the standard English keyboard layout
- QINDARS — plural of QINDAR
- QINTARS — plural of QINTAR
Longer
- SHEQEL (6), SHEQELS (7) — variant spelling of SHEKEL (Israeli currency); Q doesn’t need a following U
- FAQIR (5), FAQIRS (6) — variant of FAKIR (a holy man)
- QABALA (6), QABALAH (7) — variant of CABBALA
Why memorise this list?
The Q has the worst utility-to-value ratio in Scrabble. It’s worth 10 points but:
- Needs a U to play most words (there are only 4 Us in the Scrabble bag)
- Is often drawn late in the game when the bag is thin on Us
- Is a rack-crippler — holding Q on an unplayable turn means you’ve effectively played with 6 tiles, not 7
Knowing the Q-without-U list turns a dead 10-point tile into a playable one. QI alone is responsible for more emergency Q plays than every other option combined — it’s the single highest-value word to memorise in Scrabble.
High-value Q-without-U plays
With the Q on a double- or triple-letter square, these words score big:
| Play | Base | Double letter | Triple letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| QI | 11 | 21 | 31 |
| QAT | 12 | 22 | 32 |
| QOPH | 16 | 26 | 36 |
| QINTAR | 16 | 26 | 36 |
| QANAT | 13 | 23 | 33 |
QI on a triple-letter with the full word on a double-word square scores 62 points for two tiles. That’s the “Q premium” you’re paying for when you hold the letter.
When the Q is truly unplayable
If the board has no premium squares near a playable letter AND your rack is vowel-poor, exchanging is still the right move. The Q generally costs you roughly 5 points per turn it sits on your rack — after 3 turns, exchanging becomes profitable.
A shorthand rule: if you’ve held the Q for 2 turns and there’s still no good play, dump it. Use the exchange turn to pull a U or vowels.
What about Scrabble’s “word challenge” system?
In tournament Scrabble, an opponent can challenge any word. QI, QAT, and QADI are all in the dictionary, so challenging them fails — and the challenger loses their turn (in TWL). If you’re comfortable that the word is legal, play confidently. The uncertainty discount tournament players price into obscure words is why knowing the list cold matters.
Put it into practice
Drop your rack into the Scrabble Cheat with the Q — it’ll return every legal play with the Q, including all of the above, ranked by point value. If the top play is QI on a premium square, that’s almost always your move.