The short answer
Put a ? or * in “Letters to unscramble” for one unknown tile.
Open the free toolCount the missing tile as a letter
Put a ? or * in “Letters to unscramble” for one unknown tile. The blank supplies a missing letter, not a space between two words. Keep known repeated letters: two printed L tiles require two L characters. If the puzzle needs exactly five letters, count the blank among those five. The examples here describe possible searches rather than a promise that every puzzle answer exists in the vocabulary.
The blank does not pin a position
A blank belongs to the pool of available letters. It does not mean that the missing letter must occupy the position where you typed the question mark. A rack written pl?nt can therefore be rearranged. If the printed puzzle fixes letters in particular boxes, compare each candidate with those boxes yourself. This tool has beginning, ending and contained-text filters, but no separate positional crossword grid.
Choose the vocabulary before narrowing the list
“Word language” selects English, German, French, Spanish or Italian word lists. The interface remains English when you switch vocabulary. Choose the language of the puzzle rather than the language of this guide. A familiar-looking sequence might be valid in one language and irrelevant in another. For a multilingual exercise, make the selected vocabulary explicit before comparing suggestions with another person's answers.
Use all tiles only when the task demands it
“Find words” permits some or all available letters. “Exact anagrams” requires the whole rack, including the blank. A five-box answer with five supplied tiles generally calls for the latter. If you only want possible short words from a larger rack, use the former. A wrong mode can produce plausible candidates of the wrong length, so check both the word and the rule that produced it.
Add the certain clues, leave doubtful ones open
Open “Fine-tune your search” and set the minimum and maximum length when the answer length is fixed. “Starts with” and “Ends with” accept a known beginning or ending; “Contains” requires a known consecutive fragment. These filters do not add extra tiles to the rack. If a fragment was guessed rather than established, leave it out for the first search so a wrong clue does not hide the answer.
Read candidates as suggestions rather than verdicts
“Explore the extended vocabulary” includes rarer forms and variants. A result still needs a meaning that fits the puzzle's clue. The list is not an official tournament dictionary or a definition service. “Match accented letters with their base letter” changes matching, so decide whether the printed accents must be exact. Copy a chosen result only after checking spelling, length and the original clue together.
A short example with a readable trail
For example, suppose the available English tiles are P, L, N, T and one unknown letter. Enter plnt?, select English and “Exact anagrams”, and restrict the length to five. A candidate still has to fit the clue and any fixed boxes; do not treat the location of ? in the input as a fixed box. Note which letter the accepted candidate needs from the blank. If nothing fits, remove an uncertain prefix or suffix before adding another wildcard. A puzzle with one unknown tile should not silently become a search with two.
If the answer seems to be missing
Recount the physical tiles and compare every repeated letter with the input. Check the selected language, then reset doubtful filters one at a time. Try the extended list only after the basic search is correct. The tool accepts at most two blank tiles and between two and twenty letters including them. A missing result can reflect the curated vocabulary as well as the settings; it does not establish that the puzzle or a known word is wrong.
When two plausible answers survive
Suppose a clue requires an everyday object and two candidates use exactly the available letters. The letter search has done its job; the remaining decision concerns the clue. Read its grammatical form and singular or plural wording before selecting an answer. A verb and a noun may fit the same rack but cannot necessarily fit the same sentence. Put the candidates beside the complete clue in your own notes, including the unknown tile assignment. That makes the unresolved choice visible instead of turning the first result into an assumed solution.
Now change just one constraint as a deliberate diagnostic. If the publisher specifies a five-letter answer, set both length limits to five. If an established crossing confirms the beginning, enter that prefix. Do not invent a crossing merely to eliminate a candidate you dislike. If the correct answer still fails to appear, remove a possibly mistaken filter and check the vocabulary language. The absence can reflect vocabulary coverage rather than an impossible word. A general word list cannot certify the publisher's intended answer. Keep the clue, original letters and confirmed crossings together when seeking another explanation, so the next person can see which constraints are evidence and which were only guesses.
Questions you might still have
Does ? fix the unknown letter's position?
No. It supplies an unknown tile in a rearrangeable pool. Position constraints printed in a puzzle still need checking against the candidate. Use the beginning or ending filters for established edge fragments, and compare any other fixed boxes yourself.
Can I use three missing letters?
The tool accepts at most two blank tiles. Do not remove known letters to make a larger incomplete puzzle look like a supported rack. Narrow the question to a set that genuinely contains no more than two unknown tiles, or use another approach suited to the puzzle.
Why is a shorter word appearing?
“Find words” allows a subset of the rack. Use “Exact anagrams” when every supplied tile must be used and set the required length. Read the mode after changing filters so an old search configuration does not silently change the question.
Does a result prove a word is valid in my game?
No. The vocabulary is a general curated list, with optional rarer forms. A named game or competition can use another accepted-word list. Check its rules and the clue's meaning before treating a copied suggestion as the final answer.
Do I need to translate the controls for another word list?
The controls stay English; “Word language” changes the searched vocabulary. The German, French, Spanish and Italian lists do not turn the workspace into those interface languages. Select the puzzle's vocabulary first, then inspect the spelling of the actual result.
What should I reset when there are no matches?
Begin with uncertain filters, not another invented tile. Recheck the language, duplicated letters and exact answer length. The extended vocabulary can reveal uncommon forms, but an empty result can also reflect list curation rather than an impossible word.
Sources & useful details
These guides are written from the current LoschaZ tools and the sources listed above. Examples are illustrations, not tests on every device or promises of an identical result.
