January 16, 2026

NYT Spelling Bee Answers — January 16, 2026

Margaret Chen Verified

Senior Editor · Spelling Bee solver since 2018

Below you will find every answer to the New York Times Spelling Bee for January 16, 2026 (Friday). The honeycomb shows the seven letters; the pangram is highlighted in yellow.

Words45
Max Points178
Pangram1
Genius125

4 letter answers 18 words

ACAIACMECAFECALFCALLCALMCAMECAMICELLCLAMCLEFFACELACELAICLICEMACEMICAMICE

5 letter answers 14 words

CALLACAMELCELLICILIACLAIMCLIFFCLIMEEMCEEFECALILIACLILACMALICMECCAMIMIC

6 letter answers 9 words

ACACIACELIACEFFACEFACIALFACILEFLEECEICICLELAICALMALICE

7 letter answers 3 words

ACCLAIMICEFALLMALEFIC

8 letter answers 1 word

CAMELLIA

Common questions

How many answers in the January 16, 2026 Spelling Bee?

45 valid answers worth 178 points, including 1 pangram. Genius requires 125 points.

What is the pangram?

The pangram is MALEFIC. Pangrams use all seven letters and earn 7 bonus points.

What is the center letter?

The required center letter is C. Every valid answer must contain this letter.

How does scoring work?

4-letter words: 1 point. Longer words: 1 point per letter. Pangrams: +7 bonus. Genius is 70% of the maximum.