Don't worry if Wordle isn't going your way today, because everything you need to win is on this page. Give yourself a gentle push towards the winning word with a clue for the January 28 (953) puzzle, read how to make the most of every guess with our tips, or simply click through to the Wordle answer.

Today's game wasn't much to write home about in terms of speed, but I did have a lot of fun coaxing the answer out of the yellows I'd uncovered. I had a wonderful moment where I was sure I'd found the Wordle answer—only to end up one letter off. Somehow, it felt like an epic plot twist, just for me.

Wordle today: A hint

Wordle today: A hint for Sunday, January 28

These surviving pieces of coal or wood will still glow red-hot even after a fire's flickering flames have died down. 

Is there a double letter in Wordle today? 

Yes, a letter is used twice in today's puzzle. 

Wordle help: 3 tips for beating Wordle every day 

Anyone can pick up and play Wordle, but if you want to do it well and make all of your guesses count, these quick tips will help get you started on your Wordle winning streak: 

• Choose an opener with a balanced mix of unique vowels and consonants. 
• The answer may contain the same letter, multiple times.
• Try not to use guesses that contain letters you’ve already eliminated. 

Thankfully, there's no time limit beyond ensuring it's done by midnight. So there's no reason not to treat the game like a casual newspaper crossword and come back to it later if you're coming up blank. Sometimes stepping away for a while means you can come back with a fresh perspective. 

Wordle today: The answer

What is today's Wordle answer?

Need a hand? The answer to the January 28 (953) Wordle is EMBER.

Previous Wordle answers

The last 10 Wordle answers 

Past Wordle answers can give you some excellent ideas for fun starting words that keep your daily puzzle-solving fresh. They are also a good way to eliminate guesses for today's Wordle, as the answer is unlikely to be repeated. 

Here are some recent Wordle solutions:

• January 27: SNAKE
• January 26: ALOOF
• January 25: BLOCK
• January 24: RELIC
• January 23: STILL
• January 22: TWEAK
• January 21: NORTH
• January 20: LARGE
• January 19: THING
• January 18: STOLE

Learn more about Wordle 

Wordle gives you six rows of five boxes each day, and you'll need to work out which secret five-letter word is hiding inside them to keep up your winning streak.

You should start with a strong word like ARISE, or any other word that contains a good mix of common consonants and multiple vowels. You'll also want to avoid starting words with repeating letters, as you're wasting the chance to potentially eliminate or confirm an extra letter. Once you hit Enter, you'll see which ones you've got right or wrong. If a box turns ⬛️, it means that letter isn't in the secret word at all. 🟨 means the letter is in the word, but not in that position. 🟩 means you've got the right letter in the right spot.

You'll want your next guess to compliment the first, using another “good” word to cover any common letters you might have missed last time while also trying to avoid any letter you now know for a fact isn't present in today's answer. After that, it's simply a case of using what you've learned to narrow your guesses down to the correct word. You have six tries in total and can only use real words and don't forget letters can repeat too (eg: BOOKS).

If you need any further advice feel free to check out our Wordle tips, and if you'd like to find out which words have already been used you can scroll to the relevant section above. 

Originally, Wordle was dreamed up by software engineer Josh Wardle, as a surprise for his partner who loves word games. From there it spread to his family, and finally got released to the public. The word puzzle game has since inspired tons of games like Wordle, refocusing the daily gimmick around music or math or geography. It wasn't long before Wordle became so popular it was sold to the New York Times for seven figures. Surely it's only a matter of time before we all solely communicate in tricolor boxes.