Scrabble letter distributions

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.__NOTOC__

Afrikaans

Afrikaans editions use these 102 tiles:

*2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": E ×16, A ×9, I ×8, D ×6, N ×8, O ×6, R ×6, S ×6, T ×6
*"2 points": G ×4, H ×3, L ×3
*"3 points": K ×3, W ×3
*"4 points": M ×2, U ×2, Y ×2
*"5 points": P ×2, V ×2
*"8 points": B ×1, F ×1
*"10 points": J ×1

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 aren't used at all in Afrikaans, except for in a few loanwords.

Arabic

Arabic-language editions use the following 104 tiles:

*4 blank tiles scoring 0 points
*"1 point": ‎ﺍ‎ ×10, ‎ﻝ‎ ×6, ‎ﻭ‎ ×5, ‎ﻯ‎ ×5
*"2 points": ‎ﺏ‎ ×4, ‎ﻡ‎ ×4, ‎ﻥ‎ ×4, ‎ﺭ‎ ×4, ‎ﺕ‎ ×4, ‎ﺩ‎ ×3, ‎ﺝ‎ ×3, ‎ﻩ‎ ×3, ‎ﺡ‎ ×3, ‎ﺱ‎ ×3, ‎ﺓ‎ ×3, ‎ﺥ‎ ×2, ‎ﻍ‎ ×2, ‎ﺙ‎ ×1
*"3 points": ‎ﻉ‎ ×3, ‎ﻑ‎ ×3, ‎ﻕ‎ ×3, ‎ﺹ‎ ×2, ‎ﺵ‎ ×2, ‎ﺯ‎ ×2
*"4 points": ‎ﻙ‎ ×3, ‎ﻁ‎ ×2, ‎ﺫ‎ ×1
*"5 points": ‎ﺽ‎ ×1, ‎ﻅ‎ ×1
*"8 points": ‎ﺀ‎ ×2
*"10 points": ‎ﺃ‎ ×2, ‎ﺅ‎ ×2, ‎ﺉ‎ ×2

Bulgarian

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

*2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": А ×9, Е ×8, И ×8, Н ×4, О ×9, П ×4, Р ×4, С ×4, Т ×5
*"2 points": Б ×3, В ×4, Д ×4, К ×3, Л ×3, М ×4
*"3 points": Г ×3, Ъ ×2
*"4 points": Ж ×2, З ×2
*"5 points": Й ×1, У ×3, Х ×1, Ч ×2, Я ×2
*"8 points": Ц ×1, Ш ×1, Ю ×1
*"10 points": Ф ×1, Щ ×1, Ь ×1

Catalan

Catalan-language editions use these 100 tiles.

*2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": E ×13, A ×12, I ×8, R ×8, S ×8, N ×6, O ×5, T ×5, L ×4, U ×4
*"2 points": C ×3, D ×3, M ×3
*"3 points": B ×2, G ×2, P ×2
*"4 points": F ×1, V ×1
*"8 points": H ×1, J ×1, Q ×1, Z ×1
*"10 points": Ç ×1, L·L ×1, NY ×1, X ×1

Accents and diaereses are ignored; for example, "À" is played as "A". Nevertheless, there are special tiles for Catalan letters "Ç" ("ce trencada") and "L·L" ("ela geminada"), as well as the digraph "NY".

Croatian

Croatian-language Scrabble sets use the following 103 tiles:

*2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": A ×11, I ×10, E ×9, O ×9, N ×6, R ×5, S ×5, T ×5, J ×4, U ×4
*"2 points": K ×3, M ×3, P ×3, V ×3
*"3 points": D ×3, G ×2, L ×2, Z ×2, B ×1, Č ×1
*"4 points": C ×1, H ×1, LJ ×1, NJ ×1, Š ×1, Ž ×1
*"5 points": Ć ×1
*"8 points": F ×1
*"10 points": DŽ ×1, Ð ×1

Czech

Czech-language sets use the following 100 tiles:

*2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": O ×6, A ×5, E ×5, N ×5, I ×4, S ×4, T ×4, V ×4, D ×3, K ×3, L ×3, P ×3, R ×3,
*"2 points": C ×3, H ×3, Í ×3, M ×3, U ×3, Á ×2, J ×2, Y ×2, Z ×2
*"3 points": B ×2, É ×2, Ě ×2
*"4 points": Ř ×2, Š ×2, Ý ×2, Č ×1, Ů ×1, Ž ×1
*"5 points": F ×1, G ×1, Ú ×1
*"6 points": Ň ×1
*"7 points": Ó ×1, Ť ×1
*"8 points": Ď ×1
*"10 points": X ×1

Danish

Danish-language Scrabble sets use these 100 tiles.

*2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": E ×9, A ×7, N ×6, R ×6
*"2 points": D ×5, L ×5, O ×5, S ×5, T ×5
*"3 points": B ×4, K ×4, I ×4, F ×3, G ×3, M ×3, U ×3, V ×3
*"4 points": H ×2, J ×2, P ×2, Y ×2, Æ ×2, Ø ×2, Å ×2
*"8 points": C ×2, X ×1, Z ×1

This distribution lacks "Q" and "W", which are rare in the Danish language.

Dutch

Dutch-language editions consist of the following 102 tiles:

*2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": E ×18, N ×10, A ×6, O ×6, I ×4, R ×5
*"2 points": D ×5, S ×5, T ×5
*"3 points": G ×3, K ×3, L ×3, M ×3, B ×2, P ×2
*"4 points": U ×3, H ×2, J ×2, V ×2, Z ×2, F ×2
*"5 points": C ×2, W ×2
*"8 points": X ×1, Y ×1
*"10 points": Q ×1

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.

English

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

*2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": E ×12, A ×9, I ×9, O ×8, N ×6, R ×6, T ×6, L ×4, S ×4, U ×4
*"2 points": D ×4, G ×3
*"3 points": B ×2, C ×2, M ×2, P ×2
*"4 points": F ×2, H ×2, V ×2, W ×2, Y ×2
*"5 points": K ×1
*"8 points": J ×1, X ×1
*"10 points": Q ×1, Z ×1

This distribution of letters has not changed since Alfred Mosher Butts invented the game in 1938.

A new Mattel-licensed product, Super Scrabble, was launched in 2004. This set comprises 200 tiles, in this distribution:

*4 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": E ×24, A ×16, O ×15, T ×15, I ×13, N ×13, R ×13, S ×10, L ×7, U ×7
*"2 points": D ×8, G ×5
*"3 points": C ×6, M ×6, B ×4, P ×4
*"4 points": H ×5, F ×4, W ×4, Y ×4, V ×3
*"5 points": K ×2
*"8 points": J ×2, X ×2
*"10 points": Q ×2, Z ×2

Finnish

Finnish-language sets use these 100 tiles:

*2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": A ×10, I ×10, N ×9, S ×7, T ×9, E ×8
*"2 points": K ×5, L ×5, O ×5, Ä ×5
*"3 points": U ×4, M ×3
*"4 points": H ×2, J ×2, P ×2, R ×2, V ×2, Y ×2
*"7 points": D ×1, Ö ×1
*"8 points": B ×1, F ×1, G ×1
*"10 points": C ×1

French

French-language editions of Scrabble contain these 102 tiles:

*2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": E ×15, A ×9, I ×8, N ×6, O ×6, R ×6, S ×6, T ×6, U ×6, L ×5
*"2 points": D ×3, G ×2, M ×3
*"3 points": B ×2, C ×2, P ×2
*"4 points": F ×2, H ×2, V ×2
*"8 points": J ×1, Q ×1
*"10 points": K ×1, W ×1, X ×1, Y ×1, Z ×1

Diacritical marks are ignored.

ee also

*Francophone Scrabble

German

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

* 2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": E ×15, N ×9, S ×7, I ×6, R ×6, T ×6, U ×6, A ×5, D ×4
*"2 points": H ×4, G ×3, L ×3, O ×3
*"3 points": M ×4, B ×2, W ×1, Z ×1
*"4 points": C ×2, F ×2, K ×2, P ×1
*"6 points": Ä ×1, J ×1, Ü ×1, V ×1
*"8 points": Ö ×1, X ×1
*"10 points": Q ×1, Y ×1

Before 1989–1990, German sets had 119 tiles. Eight tiles were played at a time, as opposed to the standard seven today. The old letter distribution was:

* 2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": E ×16, N ×10, I ×9, S ×8, R ×7, A ×6, U ×6, D ×6
*"2 points": H ×5, T ×5, C ×4, L ×4, O ×4, G ×3, W ×2
*"3 points": M ×4, F ×3, B ×2, Z ×2, K ×2
*"4 points": P ×1, V ×1
*"5 points": Ü ×1
*"6 points": Ä ×1, J ×1
*"8 points": Ö ×1, X ×1
*"10 points": Q ×1, Y ×1

Neither the old nor the new distribution contain the letter Eszett (ß) as it does not exist as a capital letter. Words with ß can be played, however, by using two S (e. g. STRASSE for Straße). Contrary to crosswords, the umlauts Ä, Ö, Ü must not be represented by AE, OE or UE respectively.

Greek

Greek-language editions of Scrabble contain 104 tiles.

*2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": Α ×12, Ο ×9, Ε ×8, Ι ×8, Τ ×8, Η ×7, Σ ×7, Ν ×6
*"2 points": Ρ ×5, Κ ×4, Π ×4, Υ ×4
*"3 points": Λ ×3, Μ ×3, Ω ×3
*"4 points": Γ ×2, Δ ×2
*"8 points": Β ×1, Φ ×1, Χ ×1
*"10 points": Ζ ×1, Θ ×1, Ξ ×1, Ψ ×1

Hebrew

Hebrew sets use these 104 tiles:

*2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
* "1 point": ‎ו‎ ×12, ‎י‎ ×10, ‎ת‎ ×9, ‎ה‎ ×8, ‎ר‎ ×8
* "2 points": ‎א‎ ×6, ‎ל‎ ×6, ‎מ‎ ×6, ‎ש‎ ×6
* "3 points": ‎ד‎ ×4, ‎נ‎ ×4
* "4 points": ‎ב‎ ×4, ‎ח‎ ×3, ‎פ‎ ×3, ‎ק‎ ×3
* "5 points": ‎ג‎ ×2, ‎כ‎ ×2, ‎ע‎ ×2
* "8 points": ‎ז‎ ×1, ‎ט‎ ×1, ‎ס‎ ×1, ‎צ‎ ×1

It is good to note that in the set, the final form letters ך, ‎ם‎, ‎ן‎, ‎ף‎ and ץ‎‎ are not available and the normal form is used.

Hungarian

Hungarian-language uses these 100 tiles:

*2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points).
*"1 point": A ×6, E ×6, K ×6, T ×5, Á ×4, L ×4, N ×4, R ×4, I ×3, M ×3, O ×3, S ×3
*"2 points": B ×3, D ×3, G ×3, Ó ×3
*"3 points": É ×3, H ×2, SZ ×2, V ×2
*"4 points": F ×2, GY ×2, J ×2, Ö ×2, P ×2, U ×2, Ü ×2, Z ×2
*"5 points": C ×1, Í ×1, NY ×1
*"7 points": CS ×1, Ő ×1, Ú ×1, Ű ×1
*"8 points": LY ×1, ZS ×1
*"10 points": TY ×1

"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-language sets use these 104 tiles:

*2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": A ×10, I ×8, N ×8, R ×7, E ×6, S ×6, T ×6, U ×6
*"2 points": Ð ×5, G ×4, K ×3, L ×3, M ×3
*"3 points": F ×3, O ×3, H ×2, V ×2
*"4 points": D ×2, Á ×2, Í ×2, Þ ×1
*"5 points": J ×1, Æ ×1
*"6 points": B ×1, É ×1, Ó ×1
*"7 points": Y ×1, Ö ×1
*"8 points": P ×1, Ú ×1
*"9 points": Ý ×1
*"10 points": X ×1

Italian

Italian-language sets use these 120 tiles:

*2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": O ×15, A ×14, I ×12, E ×11
*"2 points": C ×6, R ×6, S ×6, T ×6
*"3 points": L ×5, M ×5, N ×5, U ×5
*"5 points": B ×3, D ×3, F ×3, P ×3, V ×3
*"8 points": G ×2, H ×2, Z ×2
*"10 points": Q ×1

Malaysian

Malaysian-language sets use these 100 tiles:

*2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": A ×19, N ×8, E ×7, I ×7, K ×6, U ×6, M ×5, R ×5, T ×5
*"2 points": L ×4, S ×4
*"3 points": G ×4, B ×3, D ×3
*"4 points": H ×2, O ×2, P ×2
*"5 points": J ×1, Y ×1
*"8 points": C ×1, W ×1
*"10 points": F ×1, Z ×1

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

Norwegian

Norwegian-language editions of Scrabble use these 100 tiles.

*2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": E ×9, A ×7, N ×6, R ×6, S ×6, T ×6, D ×5, I ×5, L ×5
*"2 points": F ×4, G ×4, K ×4, M ×3, O ×4
*"3 points": H ×3
*"4 points": B ×3, U ×3, V ×3, J ×2, P ×2, Å ×2
*"5 points": Ø ×2
*"6 points": Y ×1, Æ ×1
*"8 points": W ×1
*"10 points": C ×1

The letters "Q", "X" and "Z" are absent since these letters are rarely used in Norwegian.

Polish

Polish-language editions of Scrabble use these 100 tiles.

*2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": A ×9, I ×8, E ×7, O ×6, N ×5, Z ×5, R ×4, S ×4, W ×4
*"2 points": Y ×4, C ×3, D ×3, K ×3, L ×3, M ×3, P ×3, T ×3
*"3 points": B ×2, G ×2, H ×2, J ×2, Ł ×2, U ×2
*"5 points": Ą ×1, Ę ×1, F ×1, Ó ×1, Ś ×1, Ż ×1
*"6 points": Ć ×1
*"7 points": Ń ×1
*"9 points": Ź ×1

This set is used since 2000. Previously slightly different was used: Ź was worth 7 points, F was worth 4 points. There were 2 F's, and 8 A's.

Q, V and X letters are absent, blank tiles cannot be used to represent these.

Portuguese

Portuguese-language editions of Scrabble contain 120 tiles.

*3 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": A ×14, E ×11, I ×10, O ×10, S ×8, U ×7, M ×6, R ×6, T ×5,
*"2 points": D ×5, L ×5, C ×4, P ×4
*"3 points": N ×4, B ×3, Ç ×2
*"4 points": F ×2, G ×2, H ×2, V ×2
*"5 points": J ×2
*"6 points": Q ×1
*"8 points": X ×1, Z ×1

Diacritical marks are ignored, but "Ç" is a separate tile.

Romanian

Romanian-language editions of Scrabble use these 100 tiles.

*2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": A ×11, I ×10, E ×9, R ×7, T ×7, N ×6, U ×6, C ×5, O ×5, S ×5, L ×4
*"2 points": D ×4, P ×4
*"4 points": M ×3
*"8 points": F ×2, V ×2
*"9 points": B ×2, G ×2
*"10 points": H ×1, J ×1, X ×1, Z ×1

Diacritical marks are ignored, so for example "Ă" and "Â" are played as "A".

Russian

Russian-language Scrabble sets, which use Cyrillic letters, used to have 126 tiles. The number was reduced in 1990 to 104, using this distribution:

*2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": О ×10, А ×8, Е ×8, И ×5, Н ×5, Р ×5, С ×5, Т ×5, В ×4
*"2 points": Д ×4, К ×4, Л ×4, П ×4, У ×4, М ×3
*"3 points": Б ×2, Г ×2, Ь ×2, Я ×2, Ë ×1
*"4 points": Ы ×2, Й ×1
*"5 points": З ×2, Ж ×1, Х ×1, Ц ×1, Ч ×1
*"8 points": Ш ×1, Э ×1, Ю ×1
*"10 points": Ф ×1, Щ ×1, Ъ ×1

The old Russian distribution was as follows:
*2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": О ×11, Е ×10, И ×10, Н ×6, А ×9, Р ×6, Т ×6, С ×5, В ×5
*"2 points": Д ×4, К ×4, Л ×4, М ×4, П ×4, У ×4
*"3 points": Я ×4, Б ×3, Г ×3, Ë ×3, Ь ×2
*"4 points": Ы ×2, Й ×2
*"5 points": Ж ×2, З ×2, Х ×1, Ц ×1, Ч ×1
*"8 points": Ш ×1, Э ×1, Ю ×1
*"10 points": Ф ×1, Щ ×1, Ъ ×1

lovak

Slovak-language sets use these 100 tiles:

*2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": A ×9, O ×9, E ×8, I ×5, N ×5, T ×4, R ×4, S ×4, V ×4
*"2 points": M ×4, K ×3, L ×3, D ×3, P ×3
*"3 points": J ×2, U ×2
*"4 points": B ×2, H ×1, Y ×1, Z ×1, Á ×1, C ×1
*"5 points": Č ×1, Ž ×1, Š ×1, Í ×1, Ý ×1
*"7 points": Ľ ×1, Ť ×1, É ×1, Ú ×1
*"8 points": Ď ×1, F ×1, G ×1, Ň ×1, Ô ×1
*"10 points": Ĺ ×1, Ŕ ×1, X ×1, Ä ×1, Ó ×1

lovenian

Slovenian-language sets use these 100 tiles:

*2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": E ×11, A ×10, I ×9, O ×8, N ×7, R ×6, S ×6, J ×4, L ×4,T ×4
*"2 points": D ×4, V ×4
*"3 points": K ×3, M ×2, P ×2, U ×2
*"4 points": B ×2, G ×2, Z ×2
*"5 points": Č ×1, H ×1
*"6 points": Š ×1
*"8 points": C ×1
*"10 points": F ×1, Ž ×1

panish

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

*2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": A ×12, E ×12, O ×9, I ×6, S ×6, N ×5, L ×4, R ×5, U ×5, T ×4
*"2 points": D ×5, G ×2
*"3 points": C ×4, B ×2, M ×2, P ×2
*"4 points": H ×2, F ×1, V ×1, Y ×1
*"5 points": CH ×1, Q ×1
*"8 points": J ×1, LL ×1, Ñ ×1, RR ×1, X ×1
*"10 points": Z ×1

The distribution remains unchanged despite the spelling reforms in Spanish that have split "LL", "CH", and "RR" into separate letters. Stress accents are disregarded. The letters "K" and "W" are absent since these two letters are rarely used in Spanish words. 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 [http://scrabbel.org.uy/fise/reglamento.htm (see rules in Spanish provided by the FISE)] .

Spanish-language sets sold within North America (known as "Scrabble - Edición en Español") use these 103 tiles:

* 2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": A ×11, E ×11, O ×8, S ×7, I ×6, U ×6, N ×5, L ×4, R ×4, T ×4
*"2 points": C ×4, D ×4, G ×2
*"3 points": M ×3, B ×3, P ×2
*"4 points": F ×2, H ×2, V ×2, Y ×1
*"6 points": J ×2
*"8 points": K ×1, LL ×1, Ñ ×1, Q ×1, RR ×1, W ×1, X ×1
*"10 points": Z ×1

wedish

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

*2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": A ×8, R ×8, S ×8, T ×8, E ×7, N ×6, D ×5, I ×5, L ×5
*"2 points": O ×5, G ×3, K ×3, M ×3, H ×2
*"3 points": Ä ×2, F ×2, V ×2
*"4 points": U ×3, B ×2, Ö ×2, P ×2, Å ×2
*"7 points": J ×1, Y ×1
*"8 points": C ×1, X ×1
*"10 points": Z ×1

Note that the letters "Ä", "Ö", and "Å" have separate tiles. Diacritical marks are ignored, such as for "É". Also, the letters "Q" and "W", rare in Swedish, are absent, but can be played with a blank.

Turkish

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

*2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": A ×12, E ×8, İ ×7, K ×7, L ×7, R ×6, N ×5, T ×5
*"2 points": I ×4, M ×4, O ×3, S ×3, U ×3
*"3 points": B ×2, D ×2, Y ×2, Ü ×2
*"4 points": C ×2, Ş ×2, Z ×2, Ç ×2
*"5 points": H ×1, P ×1, G ×1
*"7 points": F ×1, V ×1, Ö ×1
*"8 points": Ğ ×1
*"10 points": J ×1

[http://www.angelfire.com/de/kok/esk/ (see a completed Turkish Scrabble board)] .

Welsh

Welsh-language Scrabble sets use these 103 tiles:

*2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
*"1 point": A ×10, E ×8, N ×8, I ×7, R ×7, Y ×7, D ×6, O ×6, W ×5, DD ×4
*"2 points": F ×3, G ×3, L ×3, U ×3
*"3 points": S ×3, B ×2, M ×2, T ×2
*"4 points": C ×2, FF ×2, H ×2, TH ×2
*"5 points": CH ×1, LL ×1, P ×1
*"8 points": J ×1
*"10 points": NG ×1, RH ×1

Since there are specific tiles for several of the common digraphs (such as "DD"), it is not permissible to use the individual letters to spell these out.

Omissions: the digraph "PH" exists in Welsh, but is used almost exclusively in mutated words, which the rules disallow; "K", "Q", "V", "X" and "Z" 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.

References

* [http://www.gtoal.com/wordgames/langdist.html Spreadsheet] issued by Spear's.
*More information on Scrabble in these languages can be found at the [http://www.gtoal.com/wordgames/details/ Wordgame Programmers] site.