Every Q-without-U word in Scrabble (and how to use them)

The Q is the most punishing tile in Scrabble. It's worth 10 points — second-highest after the Z — but unlike every other tile, the Q is only useful in English if you also have a U. There are exactly four U tiles in the bag (plus two blanks that can stand in), and tournament players know that getting stuck with a Q at the end of the game costs you 20+ points: 10 for the unplayed Q, plus the swing of having to pass or trade.

There are, however, 28 valid Scrabble words containing a Q without a U. Memorizing them is one of the highest-return investments a Scrabble player can make. This guide lists all 28, explains where they come from (mostly Chinese, Hebrew, and Arabic borrowings), and covers the rack-management strategy for getting an unwanted Q off your rack quickly.

All 28 Q-without-U words, by length

2-letter words (1 word)

• QI — vital life force in Chinese philosophy and traditional Chinese medicine. Pronounced "chee." Added to TWL in 2006. This single word is the most important word in this entire article — it lets you play a Q for ~11 base points on a near-empty board, or 30+ with a bonus square.

3-letter words (2 words)

• QAT — a flowering plant chewed as a stimulant in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Also spelled KHAT. Added to TWL in 2006.
• QIS — plural of QI. Doubles your QI flexibility when you have multiple I tiles or an S available.

4-letter words (5 words)

• QADI — a Muslim judge, especially one who rules in religious law.
• QAID — a Muslim leader or chief.
• QATS — plural of QAT.
• QOPH — the 19th letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
• WAQF — an Islamic charitable endowment. Particularly valuable: places Q on the board for 13+ points with no U or I needed.

5-letter words (6 words)

• QADIS — plural of QADI.
• QAIDS — plural of QAID.
• QANAT — an underground irrigation canal, originating in ancient Persia.
• QOPHS — plural of QOPH.
• TRANQ — a tranquilizer (informal).
• WAQFS — plural of WAQF.

6-letter words (8 words)

• FAQIR — variant of FAKIR, a Muslim or Hindu ascetic.
• QANATS — plural of QANAT.
• QIBLAS — plural of QIBLA, the direction of Mecca for Islamic prayer.
• QIGONG — a Chinese system of breathing and movement exercises.
• SHEQEL — a monetary unit of Israel.
• TRANQS — plural of TRANQ.
• UMIAQS — plural of UMIAQ (an Inuit boat).
• FIQHS — Islamic jurisprudence (CSW only, not TWL — included here for completeness).

7-letter words (5 words)

• FAQIRS — plural of FAQIR.
• QIGONGS — plural of QIGONG.
• QINTARS — plural of QINTAR (a monetary unit of Albania).
• QWERTYS — plural of QWERTY (the standard keyboard layout).
• SHEQELS — plural of SHEQEL.

Longer words (1 word)

• SHEQALIM — alternative plural of SHEQEL. Eight letters, no U. A near-mythical bingo opportunity if you ever pull it off.

Where these words come from

The pattern in the list is hard to miss: these words come from languages that don't share English's phonological constraints. English requires Q to be followed by U because every native English word containing Q descends from Latin or French, where QU was already a fixed digraph. The languages that have given us Q-without-U words use Q (or its romanization) as a standalone consonant:

• Chinese (Mandarin): QI, QIS, QIGONG, QIGONGS. The Q in pinyin romanization represents the consonant sound /tɕ/.
• Hebrew: QOPH, QOPHS, SHEQEL, SHEQELS, SHEQALIM. The Q romanizes the Hebrew letter ק (qof).
• Arabic: QADI, QADIS, QAID, QAIDS, QIBLAS, WAQF, WAQFS. The Q romanizes the Arabic letter ق (qaf).
• Persian: QANAT, QANATS. From Persian قنات.
• East African languages: QAT, QATS. From Arabic قات.
• Albanian: QINTAR, QINTARS.
• Inuit: UMIAQ, UMIAQS.

Knowing the etymology helps you remember the words: if you can place the Q-word in its source language, you'll retain it. QI is Chinese (you've probably seen it in tai chi contexts). QOPH is Hebrew (you've probably seen it in the Aleph-Bet). QADI is Arabic (you may have seen it in coverage of Islamic law).

Strategy for an unwanted Q

Drawing a Q is rarely a good thing. The strategic question is always: how quickly can I get it off my rack, and at what cost?

Priority order for unloading a Q

1. Play QI with an I in your rack. If you have both a Q and an I, find a way to play QI on the board this turn, even for as little as 11-12 points. The flexibility you regain is worth more than another 5-10 points of immediate scoring.
2. Play a longer Q-word if the board permits. QAT, QADI, QANAT, QIBLA, etc. — these score 18-30 points and clear the Q without needing a U.
3. Play with a U. Standard QU words: QUEEN, QUICK, QUIET, QUOTE, QUILT, QUOTA, etc. Score is usually 20-40 points.
4. Set up a future Q play. If you can't play the Q this turn, play around it — choose a play that maximizes the chance of drawing an I, U, or A next turn while preserving the Q.
5. Trade. If you've held the Q for more than 2 turns with no playable option, trade it. Better to lose a turn than to lose the endgame with a Q still in your hand.

Defensive Q strategy

If your opponent is sitting on a Q (you can count it because you can see all the other tiles), you can deliberately close off Q-opportunities on the board. Specifically:

• Don't open new I-rich rows; QI is your opponent's easiest escape.
• Avoid placing U tiles in open positions; without a U on the board, QU-words become impossible.
• If you can play through every I on the board (by extending an I-ending word), do it; this denies QI placements.

The Q endgame

In tournament Scrabble, the bag eventually empties. Whoever ends the game with an unplayed Q loses 20 points: 10 for the Q value and an additional 10 for the rule that doubles the trailing player's tile values. The math is brutal: a 15-point lead with a Q in your hand becomes a 5-point loss after the endgame penalty.

For this reason, in the last 4-5 turns of a close tournament game, a Q in your rack should be your single highest priority. Score 6 points playing QI for an awkward parallel — still a win. The opponent's QU-word that they were planning becomes irrelevant if you've already cleared yours.

How to memorize the list

You don't need to memorize all 28 words equally. Practical priority order:

1. Day 1: QI, QIS. These two alone solve 80% of Q problems.
2. Day 2: QAT, QATS, QADI, QADIS, QAID, QAIDS.
3. Day 3: QOPH, QOPHS, QANAT, QANATS, TRANQ, TRANQS.
4. Day 4: The 6- and 7-letter words. These rarely come up but are worth a single read-through.
5. Day 5: Drill yourself. Have a friend (or an app) randomly call out Q-without-U lengths; you supply the words.

After about a week of casual exposure, the list becomes automatic. You'll see a Q in your rack and your brain will immediately scan for a co-occurring I, A, or O — the three vowels that combine most often with Q-without-U.

Final notes on word validity

The Q-without-U list has grown over the years. QI was added in 2006 (joined by ZA, MOJO, FE, KA, and others in the same TWL update). QIGONG was added later. The current 28-word list is stable as of the 2014 TWL revision, but Hasbro and Merriam-Webster periodically update the official OSPD/OWL dictionaries, and Q-without-U candidates from underrepresented languages remain a popular addition target. Check the NASPA word list for the current canonical version.

The Q is the single tile in Scrabble that most rewards specific preparation. Most players know QI; very few know all 28. The gap between those two states is roughly 8-15 points per game played at a competitive level — and across a 7-game tournament, that's the gap between finishing in the top three and finishing out of the prizes.