Scrabble letter distributions

A full English-language set of Scrabble tiles

Many editions of the word board game Scrabble vary in the letter distribution of the tiles, because the frequency of each letter of the alphabet is different for every language. As a general rule, the rarer the letter the more points it is worth.

Many languages use sets of 102 tiles, since the original distribution of one hundred tiles was later augmented with two blank tiles. In tournament play, while it is acceptable to pause the game to count the tiles remaining in the game, it is not acceptable to mention how many tiles are remaining at any time.[1] Several online tools exist for counting tiles during friendly play.[2]

Table of contents

English

 English Scrabble letter distribution
(Number of tiles across, point values down)
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×6 ×8 ×9 ×12
0 [blank]
1 L S U N R T O A I E
2 G D
3 B C M P
4 F H V W Y
5 K
8 J X
10 Q Z
Super Scrabble letter distribution
×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×8 ×10 ×13 ×15 ×16 ×24
0 [blank]
1 L U S I N R O T A E
2 G D
3 B P C M
4 V F W Y H
5 K
8 J X
10 Q Z

English-language editions of Scrabble contain 100 letter tiles, in the following distribution:

The total number of points is 187.

When Alfred Butts invented the game, he initially experimented with different distributions of letters.[3] A popular story claims that Butts created an elaborate chart by studying the front page of The New York Times to create his final choice of letter distributions.[4]

In 2004, Super Scrabble was launched. For international distribution outside the United States and Canada, and under license from Mattel, the game is manufactured by Leisure Tends' Tinderbox Games; and, for distribution within the United States and Canada, under license from Hasbro, the game is manufactured by Winning Moves. This set is composed of 200 tiles:

Afrikaans

 Afrikaans letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×6 ×8 ×9 ×16
0 [blank]
1 D O R S T I N A E
2 H L G
3 K W
4 M U Y
5 P V
8 B F
10 J

The Afrikaans editions use these 102 tiles:

Afrikaans uses the letters Z and X, but so infrequently that there are no tiles for them in the standard set. A blank can still be used as a Z or an X. There are also no tiles for C and Q as these letters are not used at all in Afrikaans, except for in a few loanwords. These letters, however, cannot be used even if with a blank.

Anglo-Saxon

 Anglo-Saxon letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×8 ×9 ×14
0 [blank]
1 G H I L D S O R A I N E
2 F M T W
3 Æ C U
4 Ð Þ Y
5 B
8 P
10 X

The Anglo-Saxon editions use these 100 tiles:[5]

Anglo-Saxon uses the letter K, but it only occurs in one word (kyning) and loanwords, so there is no tile for it. J, V, Q, and Z are only used in loanwords. Anglo-Saxon uses the letter Ƿ, but it was replaced by W in this set because it can be easily confused with P. Anglo-Saxon also uses the letter Ȝ, but it is a typographic variant of G, so it is not included. This version is hand-made and is not an official edition by Mattel.

Arabic

Arabic-language editions use the following 100 tiles:

Although Arabic letters have up to four forms, Scrabble tiles only make use of the isolated form. This pattern of composing words is also found in Arabic crosswords and is one of the rare situations when Arabic letters are not connected to each other.

Armenian

 Armenian letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×8 ×10 ×18
0 [blank]
1 Ս Կ Ն Ո Ե Ի Ա
2 Է Հ Մ Յ Պ Տ Ր Ւ
3 Վ Բ Գ Դ Ք Լ
4 Խ Շ Ռ
5 Թ Ծ Ղ Ց
6 Զ Ճ Չ Ջ
8 Ժ Ձ Փ Օ
10 Ը Ֆ

Armenian-language editions use the following 146 tiles.[6] The board is 17x17 instead of 15x15. This version is called ԲԱՌ ԽԱՂ (bar khagh, meaning words game) and is not an official edition by Mattel.

Notice that this distribution lacks և, another Armenian letter, because:

However, it can be formed as a ligature of ե/Ե and ւ/Ւ.

Bambara

 Bambara letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×15
0 [blank]
1 B M E Ɛ I K L N O A
2 R S Y U
3 D T Ɔ
4 F G W
8 C Ɲ J
10 H Ŋ P Z

Bambara-language Scrabble sets use these 106 tiles:[7]

Q , V, and X are absent because these letters are not used in Bambara. This version is hand-made and is not an official edition by Mattel.

Basque

 Basque letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×8 ×9 ×12 ×14
0 [blank]
1 O T U N I E A
2 K R
3 D
4 B Z
5 G H L S
8 J M P RR TS TX TZ
10 F X

Basque-language Scrabble sets use these 100 tiles.[8] Called Euskarbel, this is not an official edition by Mattel.

C, Ç, Ñ, Q, V, W and Y are absent because they are only used in loanwords. Digraphs can be formed with two tiles.[9]

Breton

 Breton letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×9 ×12 ×14
0 [blank]
1 I L T U O R N A E
2 D
3 H G S V
4 CH C'H B K M Z ZH
5 P
10 F J W Y

Breton-language Scrabble sets use these 100 tiles.[10]

C, Q, and X are absent because they are only used in loanwords or, in the case of C, the digraphs CH and C'H. Diacritical marks are ignored.

Bulgarian

 Bulgarian letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×8 ×9
0 [blank]
1 Н П Р С Т Е И А О
2 Б К Л В Д М
3 Ъ Г
4 Ж З
5 Й Х Ч Я У
8 Ц Ш Ю
10 Ф Щ Ь

Bulgarian-language Scrabble sets, which use Cyrillic letters, use the following 102 tiles:

Catalan

 Catalan letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×8 ×12 ×13
0 [blank]
1 L U O T N I R S A E
2 C D M
3 B G P
4 F V
8 H J Q Z
10 Ç L·L NY X
Catalan letter distribution (super clone)
×1 ×2 ×3 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×8 ×10 ×12 ×16 ×17 ×18 ×25 ×27
0 [blank]
1 U L O T N R I S A E
2 C D M
3 B G P
4 F V
8 H J QU Z
10 NY X
12 Ç
15 L·L
A full Catalan-language set.

Catalan-language editions use these 100 tiles.

Accents and diaereses are ignored; for example, À is played as A. Nevertheless, there are special tiles for the C with cedilla Ç (ce trencada), the ligature L·L representing the geminated ell (ela geminada), as well as the digraph NY. Playing an N tile followed by a blank tile to form the digraph NY is not allowed. Official rules treat the Q tile as just one letter, but usually Catalan players use the Q tile like the QU digraph and all Catalan Scrabble Clubs use this de facto rule.[11] (Catalan) K, W, and Y are absent because they are only used in loanwords or, in the case of Y, the digraph NY. Blanks cannot be used to represent K, W, or Y.

There is a Catalan Scrabble clone which uses the same 21x21 board as Super Scrabble.[12] [13] It includes the following 200 tiles, with the Q tile replaced with the QU digraph, because Q in Catalan is never without a U after it, and with two of the special tiles, Ç and L·L, increased in value:

Croatian

 Croatian letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×9 ×10 ×11
0 [blank]
1 J U R S T N E O I A
2 K M P V
3 B Č G L Z D
4 C H LJ NJ Š Ž
5 Ć
8 F
10 DŽ Đ

Croatian-language Scrabble sets use the following 103 tiles:

Q, W, X and Y are not included, as Croatian does not use those letters. Arguably neither does F, but it is included as it is used in loanwords.

Czech

 Czech letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6
0 [blank]
1 D K L P R I S T V A E N O
2 Á J Y Z C H Í M U
3 B É Ě
4 Č Ů Ž Ř Š Ý
5 F G Ú
6 Ň
7 Ó Ť
8 Ď
10 X

Czech-language sets use the following 100 tiles:

Q and W are absent because they are only used in loanwords, though W can be played with a blank.[14] Arguably X does not exist in Czech either, but the manufacturer decided to include it, so that loanwords can be played.

 Czech letter distribution (old)
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7
0 [blank]
1 N P T V Y I K L R E S A O
2 Á B D Í J M U
3 C H Š Z
4 Č CH Ř Ž
5 É Ů Ý Ě
6 Ň Ť Ú
8 Ď F G
10 Ó

The old Czech distribution was as follows:[15]

Note that this distribution had no X tile because it was only used in loanwords. This distribution had a CH tile. Now this is played as C followed by H.

Dakelh

 Dakelh letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×7 ×8 ×10
0 [blank]
1 A I L O T ' N H U
2 E S
3 Z D
4 K
5 G Y
7 W
8 B
10 C J M

Dakelh-language Scrabble sets use these 100 tiles.[16]

F, P, Q, R, V, and X are absent because these letters are not used in Dakelh.

Danish

 Danish letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×9
0 [blank]
1 N R A E
2 D L O S T
3 F G M U V B I K
4 H J P Y Æ Ø Å
8 X Z C

Danish-language Scrabble sets use these 100 tiles.

This distribution lacks Q and W, which are rare in the Danish language. Arguably C, X, and Z do not exist in Danish either, but they are included as they are sometimes used in borrowed words.

Dutch

 Dutch letter distribution #1
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×10 ×18
0 [blank]
1 I A O N E
2 D R S T
3 B P G K L M
4 F H J V Z U
5 C W
8 X Y
10 Q
Dutch letter distribution #1 (old)
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×10 ×18
0 [blank]
1 I A O N E
2 G S D R T
3 B P K L M
4 F H IJ J V Z U
5 C W
8 X Y
10 Q
Dutch letter distribution #2
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×8 ×16
0 [blank]
1 I A O N E
2 D R S T
3 B G K L M P
4 F H IJ J V Z U
5 C W
8 X
10 Q

Dutch-language editions consist of the following 102 tiles:

Prior to March 1998, there was a difference between the Dutch and the Flemish version: the Dutch version had 2 IJ tiles with a value of 4 points. Furthermore, it had only 1 F and only 4 S tiles; and the face value of the G was only 2 points. The Flemish version never had IJ tiles, it was as described above. The Dutch version is now in line with the Flemish one. Instead of the IJ letter a combination of the I and J is now used.

Another Dutch version prior to March 1998 consisted of these 100 tiles:

Esperanto

 Esperanto letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×6 ×8
0 [blank]
1 L T U N R S A E I O
2 D J P K M
3 F G Ĝ V
4 C Ŝ B Ĉ
5 Z
8 H Ŭ
10 Ĥ Ĵ

Esperanto Scrabble exists as an Internet game (Rules for Esperanto scrabble) and as a commercially produced custom set.[17]

Esperanto-language sets use these 100 tiles:

Q, W, X, and Y are not present, since Esperanto does not use those letters.

Estonian

 Estonian letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×4 ×5 ×7 ×8 ×9 ×10
0 [blank]
1 K L O U T S E I A
2 R D M N
3 G V
4 B H J P Õ
5 Ä Ü
6 Ö
8 F
10 Š Z Ž

Estonian-language editions consist of the following 102 tiles:

The distribution lacks C, Q, W, X, and Y, since they are used in foreign words. Arguably F, Š, Z, and Ž do not exist in Estonian either, but they are included as they are used for borrowed words.

Faroese

 Faroese letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×8 ×10 ×11
0 [blank]
1 S U E T N R I A
2 G K L M V
3 F H Ð O
4 B D
5 Í J P Y
6 Á Ó Ø
8 Æ Ú
10 Ý

Faroese-language editions consist of the following 106 tiles:[18]

The distribution lacks C, Q, W, X, and Z, since these letters are not used in Faroese. This version is hand-made and is not an official edition by Mattel.

Finnish

 Finnish letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×7 ×8 ×9 ×10
0 [blank]
1 S E N T A I
2 K L O Ä
3 M U
4 H J P R V Y
7 D Ö
8 B F G
10 C

Finnish-language sets use these 100 tiles:

This distribution lacks Q, Š, W, X, Z, Ž, and Å, since they are virtually absent in Finnish. Arguably B, C, F, and G (outside the digraph NG) do not exist in Finnish either, but they are included as they are used for borrowed words, and F in some western dialects.

French

 French letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×5 ×6 ×8 ×9 ×15
0 [blank]
1 L N O R S T U I A E
2 G D M
3 B C P
4 F H V
8 J Q
10 K W X Y Z
A complete French Scrabble set

French-language editions of Scrabble contain these 102 tiles:

Diacritical marks are ignored.

German

 German letter distribution (current)
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×9 ×15
0 [blank]
1 D A I R T U S N E
2 G L O H
3 W Z B M
4 P C F K
6 Ä J Ü V
8 Ö X
10 Q Y
German letter distribution (former)
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×8 ×9 ×10 ×16
0 [blank]
1 A D U R S I N E
2 W G C L O H T
3 B K Z F M
4 P V
5 Ü
6 Ä J
8 Ö X
10 Q Y
German letter distribution (Selchow and Righter)
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×8 ×12
0 [blank]
1 O U R T A S N I E
2 Ä Ö Ü G L C D H
3 B F K P M
4 V W Z
8 J
10 Q X Y
German letter distribution (super)
×2 ×4 ×6 ×8 ×10 ×11 x12 ×14 ×17 ×29
0 [blank]
1 D A I R T U S N E
2 G L O H
3 W Z B M
4 P C F K
6 Ä J Ü V
8 Ö X
10 Q Y

German-language editions of Scrabble contain 102 letter tiles, in the following distribution:

Note that the letter ß (Eszett) is not used. This is due to the fact that it does not exist as a capital letter in German. While a majuscule ß (see Capital ß) has been established in the context of computing (Unicode), ß is replaced by SS when capitalizing, according to German orthography (e. g. Straße [street]: STRASSE). However, the umlauts Ä, Ö and Ü must not be replaced by AE, OE or UE when playing (as would usually be done in German crosswords where ß is also replaced by SS). Other diacritics which may occur in some foreign words are ignored (é = E, œ = OE etc.)[19]

Complete Set of old German Scrabble Tiles

Before 1989–1990, German sets had 119 tiles. Players had eight tiles at a time on their racks, as opposed to the standard seven today. The old letter distribution was:

A third blank was included in the set, but not included in the game. It was just used so that the tiles could be packaged in equal sized rows.

German sets sold in North America by Selchow and Righter in the 1970s and 80s had 100 tiles, with a distribution as follows:

In 2008, a German edition of the Mattel-licensed product, Super Scrabble, was released by the game publisher Piatnik. The set is composed of the following 200 tiles:

The underlines indicate the distribution contains one tile fewer for the letter than would be if the 102 tiles of the current language set were simply doubled. Arguably Y does not exist in German, but it is included as it is used for loanwords.

Greek

 Greek letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×8 ×9 ×12
0 [blank]
1 Ν Η Σ Ε Ι Τ Ο Α
2 Κ Π Υ Ρ
3 Λ Μ Ω
4 Γ Δ
8 Β Φ Χ
10 Ζ Θ Ξ Ψ

Greek-language editions of Scrabble contain 104 tiles.

Haitian Creole

 Haitian Creole letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×6 ×8 ×9
0 [blank]
1 I E A N
2 È K L M O OU P S T Y
3 D
4 CH F G J Ò R V W B
7 Z
8 À UI
10 H

Haitian Creole-language editions of Scrabble contain these 100 tiles:[20]

Q and X have no tiles as they are not used in Haitian Creole, while C is only used in the digraph CH, and U in OU and UI. This version is made for educational purposes and is not an official edition by Mattel.

Hawaiian

 Hawaiian letter distribution
×1 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×8 ×11 ×20 ×21
0 [blank]
1 A
2 O K
3 I N
4 E
5 U
6 H
7 L
8 M P
9 W

There is no official Hawaiian-language edition of Scrabble, but one suggested fan version made for educational purposes contains these 100 tiles:[21] Also, diacritical marks and the 'okina are ignored.

B, C, D, F, G, J, Q, R, S, T, V, X, Y, and Z have no tiles as they are not used in Hawaiian. For the sake of the geocache this is connected to, the distribution had to be modified a bit. For example, there should be 30 A's and 11 K's.

Hebrew

 Hebrew letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×6 ×8 ×9 ×10 ×12
0 [blank]
1 ה ר ת י ו
2 א ל מ ש
3 ד נ
4 ח פ ק ב
5 ג כ ע
8 ז ט ס צ

Hebrew sets use these 104 tiles:

In the set, the final form letters ך, ם, ן, ף and ץ are not available and the normal form is used.

Hungarian

 Hungarian letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6
0 [blank]
1 I M O S Á L N R T A E K
2 B D G Ó
3 H SZ V É
4 F GY J Ö P U Ü Z
5 C Í NY
7 CS Ő Ú Ű
8 LY ZS
10 TY

Hungarian-language sets use these 100 tiles:

DZ and DZS, which are fairly rare in Hungarian, have no tiles, nor do Q, W, X and Y, which are only used in loanwords, as part of the extended Hungarian alphabet.

Icelandic

 Icelandic letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×8 ×10
0 [blank]
1 T E S U R I N A
2 K L M G Ð
3 H V F O
4 Á D Í Þ
5 J Æ
6 B É Ó
7 Y Ö
8 P Ú
9 Ý
10 X

Icelandic-language sets use these 104 tiles:

Indonesian

 Indonesian letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×8 ×9 ×19
0 [blank]
1 O S R T U E I N A
2 K M
3 G D
4 H P L
5 F W Y B
8 V C
10 J Z

Indonesian-language sets use these 100 tiles:

Q, and X, are absent because they are only present in loanwords.

IPA English

 IPA English letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7
0 [blank]
1 ɛ z d i m k ɹ ɪ l s t ə n
2 b oʊ p ɑ æ
3 aɪ eɪ f ɡ ɔ v
4 h ŋ ʃ u w
5 dʒ j tʃ
8 aʊ ɔɪ θ ʊ
10 ð ʒ

IPA sets use these 104 tiles:[22]

ɒ and a are not included as they are allophones of ɑ. e is an allophone of eɪ. ɫ is an allophone of l. ɱ is an allophone of m. o is an allophone of oʊ. ɾ and r are allophones of ɹ. ʌ is an allophone of ə. ʍ is an allophone of w. ʔ is not considered a phoneme in English. The affricates ts and dz do not have their own tiles, and so must be formed with two. The sounds ɐ, β, ʙ, ɓ, c, cʼ, ɕ, ç, ɗ, ɖ, ɘ, ɣ, ɤ, ɠ, ɢ, ʛ, ħ, ʜ, ɦ, ɥ, ɧ, ɨ, ɟ, ʄ, ʝ, kʼ, ɭ, ɬ, ɮ, ʟ, ɯ, ɰ, ɲ, ɳ, ɴ, ø, ɵ, œ, ɶ, pʼ, q, qʼ, ɻ, ɽ, ɺ, ʀ, ʁ, ʂ, tʼ, ʈ, ʉ, ʋ, ⱱ, x, χ, y, ʏ, ʎ, ʐ, ʑ, ʡ, ʕ, and ʢ, ǀ, ǁ, ǃ, ʘ, and ǂ are not used in English. An extended version has 1 ʙ worth 14, 1 ʛ worth 12, 1 ħ worth 9, 1 kʼ worth 11, 1 ɮ worth 11, 1 ɲ worth 13, 1 ʉ worth 11, 1 ⱱ worth 11, 1 ǃ worth 16, and 1 ʘ worth 18. This version is made for educational purposes and is not an official edition by Mattel.

Irish

 Irish letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×6 ×7 ×10 ×13
0 [blank]
1 E S N R H I A
2 G U C D L O T
4 Á F Í M
8 É Ó Ú
10 B P
Irish letter distribution (Scrabble3D)
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×8 ×11
0 [blank]
1 E O S Á Í L N R I A
2 C Ċ D G M Ó T Ú
3 B Ḃ É Ṫ U
4 Ḋ F Ġ
5 Ṁ
8 P Ṡ
10 Ḟ Ṗ

Irish-language sets use these 100 tiles:

J, K, Q, V, W, X, Y, and Z are absent since they are rarely used in the Irish language.

An alternate set, used by Scrabble3D along with the official set,[23] has these 100 tiles:

Note that H is not in this set because it is only used at the beginning of the words starting with vowels, which is against the rules there. Note: This set uses the old orthography. In the new orthography, the dotted letters are replaced by the digraph of the letter without the dot followed by H.

Italian

 Italian letter distribution #1
×1 ×2 ×3 ×5 ×6 ×11 ×12 ×14 ×15
0 [blank]
1 E I A O
2 C R S T
3 L M N U
5 B D F P V
8 G H Z
10 Q
Italian letter distribution #2
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×13
0 [blank]
1 A E I O
2 N R S T
3 L M U
4 C V
5 B D G P
8 F H Z
10 Q
Scarabeo letter distribution
×2 ×4 ×6 ×7 ×12
0 [blank]
1 C R S T A E I O
2 L M N
3 P
4 B D F G U V
8 H Z
10 Q

Italian-language sets use these 120 tiles:

Diacritic marks are ignored. The letters J, K, W, X, and Y are absent since these letters do not exist in Italian and are only used in loanwords. Another set uses these 120 tiles:

Scarabeo is an Italian variant of Scrabble that is much more popular in its native country than the original game. It is played with a 17×17 board, and uses these 130 tiles.[24]

Japanese Romaji

Japanese Romaji letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×10 ×11 ×12
0 [blank]
1 N O I A U
2 H R T E K S
3 - M
4 G Y
5 B D
6 J Z
8 F P W
10 C

Japanese Romaji Scrabble sets use these 102 tiles:[25]

L, Q and X are absent as they do not exist in Japanese. V does not exist though, created to be used in loanwords, is absent because of its rare frequency, can be used for a blank with 20 points reward for each play. - represents long vowel. Romaji scrabble games consist of all 3 scripts used in Japanese language - Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji in romanized form.

Klingon

 Klingon letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×8 ×10
0 [blank]
1 H o u e ɪ ʼ a
2 D v j m
3 b ch gh n q S l
4 p t
5 w y
6 Q r
8 tlh
10 ng

Klingon-language sets use these 100 tiles:[26]

The letter tiles may show Klingon symbols (pIqaD), their renderings in the English alphabet, or both. This is not an official version of the game, although Hasbro did create their own licensed "Star Trek Scrabble" game in which players can receive bonus points by playing Klingon words. "Star Trek Scrabble" uses standard English-language tiles.[27]

Latin

 Latin letter distribution (Toronto)ɪ
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×7 ×8 ×9 ×12
1 O R S T A I V E
2 D L C M N
3 Q
4 B G P X
8 F H
Latin letter distribution (Cambridge)
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×8 ×9 ×11
0 [blank]
1 N T U S A R E I
2 C M O
3 D
4 L P
5 B V
6 F G X
10 H Q
Latin letter distribution (Curculio)
×0 ×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×8 ×9 ×10 ×12
0 [blank]
1 L M O N R S T A V E I
2 D P
3 B C
4 F G H Q
8 X
10 Y (when used for blank)
15 Z (when used for blank)
20 K (when used for blank)

There are three kinds of Latin-language Scrabble sets developed by three authorities in the language.

The first distribution, developed by the Centre for Medieval Studies of the University of Toronto, uses these 100 tiles:

The second distribution below was made "in conjunction with scholars from the University of Cambridge and elsewhere, together with the Cambridge Schools Classics Project." This distribution distinguishes U from V, with the semi-vocalic V scoring five times the points. Y is absent in both sets because it is rare in Latin, but is in an extended version of the first distribution, and is worth 10 points there. K and Z are also absent in both sets because they are rare in Latin, while J is not considered separate from I. W is also absent in both sets because it did not exist in ancient times, and is used only in modern borrowed words.

The third distribution is as follows:[28]

Notice that Y, Z, and K are not included in any of the sets. This is because they do not exist in Latin. However, with this set, according to the rules, if a blank is used as a Y it is worth 10 points, if a blank is used as a Z it is worth 15 points, and if a blank is used as a K it is worth 20 points. Each of those letters are so high in points, because they are used only in borrowed words. The score of 20 for a K is the highest known point value for any letter in any Scrabble score distribution worldwide.

Latvian

 Latvian letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×8 ×9 ×11
0 [blank]
1 R U E T S I A
2 L P Ā K M N
3 Z D O V
4 Ē Ī J
5 B C G
6 Ņ Š Ū
8 Ļ Ž
10 Č F Ģ H Ķ

Latvian-language sets use these 104 tiles:[29]

The letters Q, W, X and Y are absent, because they are used in foreign words. Arguably F and H do not exist in Latvian either, but they are included as they are sometimes used for borrowed words.

L33t

 L33t Scrabble letter distribution
(Number of tiles across, point values down)
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6
0 *
1 S T A I L O U E N R
2 G Z 7 D 0 1 4 3
3 B C M P X
4 F H V W Y
5 K
6 J
10 Q

L33t editions of Scrabble contain 103 letter tiles, in the following distribution:[30]

Lithuanian

 Lithuanian letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×9 ×11
0 [blank]
1 Ą N O T U E L S A R I
2 Ę B G D M P K
3 Ų Ė Š
4 Į V Ž J
5 Ū Z
6 Y
7 C Č
10 F H

Lithuanian-language sets (known as KrisKros Klasik) use these 104 tiles:

The letters Q, W and X are absent, because they are used in foreign words. Arguably F and H do not exist in Lithuanian either, but they are included as they are sometimes used for borrowed words.

Lojban

 Lojban letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4
0 [blank]
1 A C E M S T 'A 'E 'I L N U I R
2 O Y CI KA LA LI MA NA RA RI SE B D G J K P 'O 'U
3 F V X Z BA CA DA GA JI KU MI NI NU PA RE RU SA SI TA TE TI XA
4 BI CE CU DE DI DU FA GU JA JU KE KI LE LU MU NE NO PE PI RO SU TO TU VA VI
5 BE BO BU CY DY FE FI FU GE GI JE JY KO KY LO ME MO NY PO PU RY SO SY TY VE XE ZA ZU ZY
6 BY CO DO FO FY GY LY MY PY VO VY XI XU
7 JO ZE
8 XY ZI
10 GO VU

Lojban-language sets use these 160 tiles:[31]

The combination XO is absent as it is only used in 7 words (binxo, ganxo, jerxo, sirxo, xogji, xotli, and xo'u). The combination ZO is absent as it is only used in 7 words (brazo, kinzo, zo'a, zo'e, zo'i, zo'o, and zo'u). The combination ['Y] is absent as it is only used in 1 word (.y'y). The letter . occurs in Lojban, but it is so infrequent that it has no tile. Blanks can be used to represent any of the above letters (including .) and digrams(including XO, ZO, and ['Y]). The letter ['] occurs in Lojban, but only in digrams and never as one letter. The letters H, Q, and W are absent, because these letters are not used in Lojban.

Malagasy

 Malagasy letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×11 ×13 ×14 ×20
0 [blank]
1 E S Y K T I N O A
2 F M V
3 D L
4 B P
6 H J R Z
10 G

Malagasy-language sets use these 102 tiles:[7]

C, Q, U, W, and X are absent because these letters are not used in Malagasy. Diacritical marks are ignored.

Malaysian

 Malaysian letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×8 ×19
0 [blank]
1 M R T K U E I N A
2 L S
3 B D G
4 H O P
5 J Y
8 C W
10 F Z

Malaysian-language sets use these 100 tiles:

Q, V and X are absent because they are only present in loanwords.

Māori

 Māori letter distribution
×3 ×6 ×10 ×12 ×15 ×20 ×25
0 [blank]
1 U A I O
2 K N W E R T
3 H M P
4 NG
5 WH

Māori-language sets use these 225 tiles:

G is absent because this letter is only used in the NG digraph in Māori. B, C, D, F, J, L, Q, S, V, X, Y, and Z are absent because these letters are not used in Māori.

Norwegian

 Norwegian letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×9
0 [blank]
1 D I L N R S T A E
2 M F G K O
3 H
4 Å J P B U V
5 Ø
6 Æ Y
8 W
10 C

Norwegian-language editions of Scrabble use these 100 tiles.

The letters Q, X and Z are absent since these letters are rarely used in Norwegian. These letters and the foreign letters "Ä", "Ö" and "Ü", which are used in a few Norwegian words, can be played with a blank.

Nuxalk

 Nuxalk letter distribution
×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×8 ×9 ×10 ×12 x20 ×25
1 TS U LH M I K T S A
2 TLʼ X Q Qʼ Y L N
3 AA C CW Kʼ KW P Tʼ TSʼ XW
4 UU QW KWʼ W
5 II QWʼ
7 Pʼ
9 H
11 7

The Nuxalk-language edition uses these 213 tiles.[32]

This is a handmade set. The letters B, D, E, F, G, J, O, R, V and Z are not used in Nuxalk and therefore have no tiles. The 7 is included in the set because it is an actual letter in Nuxualk. It is used to replace ' if you don't have a tile ending with '. This is not an official version by Mattel.

Polish

 Polish letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×8 ×9
0 [blank]
1 R S W N Z O E I A
2 C D K L M P T Y
3 B G H J Ł U
5 Ą Ę F Ó Ś Ż
6 Ć
7 Ń
9 Ź
Polish letter distribution (old)
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×8
0 [blank]
1 R S W N Z O E A I
2 C D K L M P T Y
3 B G H J Ł U
4 F
5 Ą Ę Ó Ś Ż
6 Ć
7 Ń Ź

Polish-language editions of Scrabble use these 100 tiles.

This set has been used since 2000. Before that year, a slightly different configuration was used: Ź was worth 7 points, F was worth 4 points, and there were 2 Fs, and 8 As. The letters Q, V and X have always been absent (since they are used in foreign words), and blank tiles cannot be used to represent these.

Portuguese

 Portuguese letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×8 ×10 ×11 ×14
0 [blank]
1 T M R U S I O E A
2 C P D L
3 Ç B N
4 F G H V
5 J
6 Q
8 X Z

Portuguese-language editions of Scrabble contain 120 tiles.

While Ç is a separate tile, other diacritical marks are ignored. K, W, and Y are absent, since they are only present in loanwords in Portuguese.

Romanian

 Romanian letter distribution (current)
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×9 ×10 ×11
0 [blank]
1 C L O U N R S T E A I
2 P
3 D
4 F V M
6 G
8 H Z B
10 J X
Romanian letter distribution (original)
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×9 ×10 ×11
0 [blank]
1 L C O S N U R T E A I
2 D P
4 M
8 F V
9 B G
10 H J X Z

Romanian-language editions of Scrabble use these 100 tiles.[33]

The original (1982) distribution used the following 100 tiles:

Diacritical marks are ignored, so for example à and  are played as A. Both distributions lack K, Q, W and Y, since they are only used in foreign words. Arguably X does not exist in Romanian either, but it is included as it is used for borrowed words.

Russian

 Russian letter distribution (current)
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×8 ×10
0 [blank]
1 В И Н Р С Т А Е О
2 М Д К Л П У
3 Ë Б Г Ь Я
4 Й Ы
5 Ж Х Ц Ч З
8 Ш Э Ю
10 Ф Щ Ъ
Russian letter distribution (original)
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×9 ×10 ×11
0 [blank]
1 В С Н Р Т А Е И О
2 Д К Л М П У
3 Ь Б Г Ë Я
4 Й Ы
5 Х Ц Ч Ж З
8 Ш Э Ю
10 Ф Щ Ъ

Russian-language Scrabble sets, which use Cyrillic letters, contain 104 tiles using this distribution:

The former Soviet distribution had 126 tiles and was as follows:

Scottish Gaelic

 Scottish Gaelic letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×10 ×11 ×15
0 [blank]
1 PH SH N O R S E I A
2 BH U CH D DH L
3 B M C G T TH
4 NN
5 À F FH GH MH
6 È Ì Ò P Ù
8 LL RR

Scottish Gaelic-language sets use these 100 tiles:[34]

H is absent because it is only used in the digraphs above. J, K, Q, V, W, X, Y, Z, and vowels with acute accent are also absent since they are rarely used in the Scottish Gaelic language. This version is used by Scrabble3D and is not an official edition by Mattel.

Slovak

 Slovak letter distribution (original)
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×8 ×9
0 [blank]
1 R S T V I N E A O
2 D K L P M
3 J U
4 Á C H Y Z B
5 Č Í Š Ý Ž
7 É Ľ Ť Ú
8 Ď F G Ň Ô
10 Ä Ĺ Ó Ŕ X
Slovak letter distribution (current)
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×8 ×9 ×10
0 [blank]
1 T N S V I E A O
2 Á B J Y Z D M P U K L R
3 C Č É H Í Š Ú Ý Ž
4 Ť
5 Ľ
6 F G
7 Ň Ô
8 Ä Ď Ó
9 Ĺ Ŕ X
10 Q W

Slovak-language sets use these 100 tiles:

Q and W are absent because they are only used in loanwords. Arguably X does not exist in Slovak either, but the designer included it as it is used in loanwords.

Since 2013, a new 112-tile set was introduced:

Arguably the Q,W, and X tiles should still not be included, but the manufacturer decided to, so that loanwords can be played. In the tournament rules for accepted words, however, there are only 11 words with W (not including their inflections) and no word with Q, since it is always spelled as KV in Slovak.[35] Some players play these two just as two more blanks, or they just remove them from the set altogether.

Slovenian

 Slovenian letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×6 ×7 ×8 ×9 ×10 ×11
0 [blank]
1 J L T R S N O I A E
2 D V
3 M P U K
4 B G Z
5 Č H
6 Š
8 C
10 F Ž

Slovenian-language sets use these 100 tiles:

Q, W, X and Y are absent, because Slovenian does not use those letters. Arguably neither does Slovenian use F, but it is included so that loanwords can still be played.

Spanish

 Spanish letter distribution (international)
×1 ×2 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×9 ×12
0 [blank]
1 L T N R U I S O A E
2 G D
3 B M P C
4 F V Y H
5 CH Q
8 J LL Ñ RR X
10 Z
Spanish letter distribution (North America)
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×8 ×11
0 [blank]
1 L R T N I U S O A E
2 G C D
3 B M P
4 Y F H V
6 J
8 K LL Ñ Q RR W X
10 Z
Complete tileset in Spanish Scrabble outside North America.
A Spanish Scrabble game completed.

Spanish-language sets sold outside North America use these 100 tiles:

Stress accents are disregarded. The letters K and W are absent since these two letters are rarely used. According to FISE (Federación Internacional de Scrabble en Español) rules, a blank cannot be used to represent K or W.

Using one C and one H tile in place of the CH tile, two L tiles for the LL tile, or two R tiles for the RR tile is also not allowed in Spanish Scrabble (see rules in Spanish provided by the FISE).

Spanish-language sets sold within North America (known as Scrabble – Edición en Español) use - including "K" and "W" but without "CH" - these 103 tiles:

Stress accents are still disregarded. Arguably the K and W tiles should not be included in this Scrabble set, but they are anyways, so that loanwords can be played.

Swedish

 Swedish letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×8
0 [blank]
1 D I L N E A R S T
2 H G K M O
3 F V Ä
4 B P Ö Å U
7 J Y
8 C X
10 Z
A full Swedish Scrabble set.
 Alfapet letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×8 ×9
0 [blank]
1 I D L N T E S A R
2 G O
3 H K M P U
4 B F V Ä Ö Å
8 J C Y
10 Q X Z

Swedish-language Scrabble sets (for a long time sold in Sweden as Alfapet, but that is now a different game) use these 100 tiles:

Å, Ä and Ö have separate tiles; other diacritics like that on É are ignored (except Ü). Q and W, found only in loanwords, are absent but can be played with a blank. Ü and Æ require a blank, and as of 2010 only occur in one and three playable words respectively: müsli and three forms of Laestadianism (læstadianism in Swedish).

The Alfapet distribution contains these 120 tiles, with Q but not W:

The black tile may be put in front of a word to create another word adjacent to the black tile and thus diagonally away from the original word. The arrows stop one word and start another one, and are always placed under letters. Anyways, Q and X do not exist in Swedish, but they are used in loanwords, so they are included.

Turkish

 Turkish letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×8 ×12
0 [blank]
1 N T R İ K L E A
2 O S U I M
3 B D Ü Y
4 C Ç Ş Z
5 G H P
7 F Ö V
8 Ğ
10 J

Turkish-language sets use these 100 tiles (including distinct dotted and dotless I tiles):

The letters Q, W, and X are not used in Turkish and therefore do not appear in the set. Blanks may not represent these letters, meaning loanwords that may use them may not appear in the game at all.

(See a completed Turkish Scrabble board:)

Tuvan

 Tuvan letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×8 ×12
0 - [blank]
1 И У Г К Т Д Е Л Н Р Ы А
2 Ш М О П С Ү Ч
3 АА Б З Й Ң Э
4 В Ж Ө Х ЭЭ
5 ОО УУ ЫЫ Я
6 ИИ ӨӨ ҮҮ
8 Ъ
10 Ё Ю

Tuvan-language Scrabble sets, which use Cyrillic letters, use these 125 tiles:[36]

This version is made for educational purposes and is not an official edition by Mattel.

Ukrainian

 Ukrainian letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×8 ×9
0 [blank]
1 В Е І Т И Н А О
2 К Р С
3 Д Л М У
4 З Я Ь П
5 Х Б Г Ч
8 Є Ї Й Ж Ц Ш Ю
10 Ґ Ф Щ '

An optimum Ukrainian-language Scrabble sets, which use Cyrillic letters, contain 102 tiles using this distribution:

The apostrophe sign is also included, even though it is not a letter in the Ukrainian alphabet.

Welsh

 Welsh letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×6 ×7 ×8 ×10
0 [blank]
1 DD W D O I R Y E N A
2 F G L U
3 B M T S
4 C FF H TH
5 CH LL P
8 J
10 NG RH
The box for Welsh-language Scrabble sets.

Welsh-language Scrabble sets use these 105 tiles:

Since there are specific tiles for the digraphs that are considered to be separate letters in Welsh orthography (such as DD), it is not permissible to use the individual letters to spell these out. Diacritics on letters are ignored.

The digraph PH exists in Welsh, but is omitted because it is used almost exclusively in mutated words, which the rules disallow. K, Q, V, X and Z also do not exist in Welsh. Arguably J does not exist in Welsh either, but it is included as it is sometimes used for borrowed words.

Zhuyin

 Zhuyin letter distribution
×1 ×2 ×3 ×4 ×5 ×8 ×10 ×13
0 [blank]
1 ㄨ ㄧ
4 ㄜ ㄢ ㄥ ㄉ
5 ㄣ ㄐ ㄚ ㄠ
6 ㄅ ㄒ ㄓ ㄩ ㄟ ㄤ ㄊ ㄌ ㄏ ㄕ
7 ㄞ ㄍ ㄛ ㄡ
8 ㄇ ㄋ ㄑ ㄖ ㄗ ㄝ

Zhuyin Chinese-language editions of Scrabble use these 100 tiles.[37]

The letter ㄙ (S) has no tile as it is almost exclusively used in the letter ㄕ (SH) in this edition. The letters ㄘ (C), ㄔ (CH), ㄈ (F), ㄎ (K), and ㄆ (P) are used in Zhuyin, but so infrequently that they have no tiles.

References

  1. ↑ "Official Scrabble Association tournament rules for counting tiles".
  2. ↑ "Scrabble tile counter". wordfind.com.
  3. ↑ Whitehill, Bruce. "Scrabble". The Big Game Hunter.
  4. ↑ "The story behind Scrabble's tile distributions".
  5. ↑ "The Old English Scrabble Project". Wicked Day. Retrieved 11-8-2015. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  6. ↑ "Armenian Scrabble at BoardGameGeek". Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  7. 1 2 "Eliot Scrabble Dictionaries". Eliot- OpenSource Scrabble Software. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
  8. ↑ "The Basque letter set".
  9. ↑ http://aldizkaria.ikastola.net/sites/default/files/styles/colorbox_big/public/article/argazki_bilduma/DSCF4428.jpg?itok=9EzNqEOS
  10. ↑ "Diwan Breizh". Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  11. ↑ http://scrabble3mundial.wordpress.com/normes-generals/
  12. ↑ http://blocs.xtec.cat/crpesplugues/files/2012/01/scrabble.jpg
  13. ↑ esqueimada, "Superscrabble...en diferido", Club de Scrabble(R) Queimada en Castellano, May 22, 2008, 11:49:00 AM, http://scrabblequeimada.blogspot.com/2008_05_01_archive.html
  14. ↑ http://www.gtoal.com/wordgames/details/czech/slovnik-8bit.html
  15. ↑ "Czech Scrabble". Archived from the original on April 21, 1999. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  16. ↑ http://www.ydli.org/dakinfo/carscrab.htm
  17. ↑ http://www.creativetrophies.ca/index.php?id=49
  18. ↑ "Faroese Scrabble Set". Photobucket. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  19. ↑ Official German Scrabble rules
  20. ↑ "Create Scrabble-Like Game Tiles". Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  21. ↑ "Hawaiian Scrabble". Geocaching.com. Retrieved 11-9-15. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  22. ↑ All Things Linguistic http://allthingslinguistic.com/post/116416236538/these-ipa-scrabble-pictures-are-courtesy-of-tom. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  23. ↑ "Scrabble3D". Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  24. ↑ http://cineclap.free.fr/_divers/scarabeo-variante-italienne-du-scrabble.jpeg
  25. ↑ Japanese Romaji Scrabble
  26. ↑ "Klingon Scrabble".
  27. ↑ "Star Trek Scrabble".
  28. ↑ "Curculio".
  29. ↑ LATVIAN srabble tiles (Scrabble Latviski)
  30. ↑ "L33t $(rabbl3". WonderHowTo. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  31. ↑ "Lojban Scrabble". Lojban.org. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  32. ↑ http://imgur.com/gallery/xiSAx
  33. ↑ http://mosgerila.com/scrabble/ini/distributia_scrabble2.htm
  34. ↑ "Scrabble3D". Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  35. ↑ http://hramescrabble.sk/pravidla/sutpor-aktualny.htm#povslova. W-words are: alweg, bowle, jáw, jawa, lawrencium, show, swing, twist, waltz, watt and weber.
  36. ↑ Voinov, Vitaly (2010). Words Should Be fun: Scrabble as a tool for language preservation in Tuvan and to other local languages. University of Hawai'i press. pp. 213–230.
  37. ↑ "Zhuyin Scrabble". Jasonkb Scrabble.
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