Wordle Nihongo / Wordleにほんご (Asahi Shimbun 朝日新聞)

About Wordle Nihongo / Wordleにほんご (Asahi Shimbun 朝日新聞)

The Asahi Shimbun launched Asahi GAMES on 13 May 2026, a set of short, ad-free brain games built with Sega XD, and included Wordleにほんご, the first Japanese version of Wordle licensed by The New York Times.

The rules follow Wordle with Japanese characters. You enter any five-character Japanese word, and each character is coloured: grey if it is not in the answer, yellow if it is in the answer but in another position, green if it is in the right place. Because kana combine in many ways, you get ten guesses instead of six. Only one puzzle is set each day.

Asahi GAMES itself is free and has no ads, but Wordleにほんご, like the daily sudoku in the same section, is for paid Asahi Shimbun Digital members. You play it in a browser on a computer or phone, or in the Asahi Shimbun app under GAMES.

It suits Japanese readers and learners who already play Wordle in English and want the official version in their own script.

How to play Wordle Nihongo / Wordleにほんご (Asahi Shimbun 朝日新聞)

1. Sign in to Asahi Shimbun Digital as a paid member and open GAMES, then Wordleにほんご.
2. Type any five-character Japanese word and submit it.
3. Read the colours: grey is not in the word, yellow is in the word elsewhere, green is in the right place.
4. Use the hints to choose your next word.
5. Find the answer within ten guesses.

Tips

• Start with words that use common kana such as ん, い and う to find letters quickly.
• Remember that small kana like っ and ょ count as characters in the grid.
• Long vowels and voiced marks change a kana: try both forms when a guess is close.

Questions