Scrabble letter distributions

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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.

Table of contents

English
Afrikaans
Arabic
Catalan
Croatian
Czech
Danish
Dutch
Finnish

French
German
Greek
Hebrew
Hungarian
Icelandic
Italian
Malaysian
Norwegian
Polish

Portuguese
Romanian
Russian
Slovak
Slovenian
Spanish
Swedish
Turkish
Welsh
References

Table of contents
English Afrikaans Arabic Catalan Croatian Czech Danish Dutch Finnish	French German Greek Hebrew Hungarian Icelandic Italian Malaysian Norwegian Polish	Portuguese Romanian Russian Slovak Slovenian Spanish Swedish Turkish Welsh References

English

A full English-language set.

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, R ×6, N ×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.

Afrikaans

Afrikaans-language 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 letter Z but so infrequently that there is no tile for it in the standard set. A blank can still be used as a Z.

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, ‎ﺝ‎ ×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

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

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

Croatian

Croatian 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 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 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
2 points: D ×5, R ×5, T ×5, S ×4
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, IJ ×2, F ×1
5 points: C ×2, W ×2
8 points: X ×1, Y ×1
10 points: Q ×1

Finnish

Finnish 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.

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

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

Hungarian

Hungarian uses these 100 tiles:

2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points).
1 points: 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, as do Q, W, X and Y, which are only used in loanwords, as part of the extended Hungarian alphabet.

Icelandic

Icelandic uses these 104 tiles:

2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
1 point: A ×10, I ×8, N ×8, R ×7, E ×6, S ×6, T ×5, 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 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 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

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

Portuguese

Portuguese-language editions of Scrabble contains 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 124 tiles. That 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

Slovak

Slovak sets use these 100 tiles:

2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
1 point: A ×9, O ×9, E ×8, I ×5, N ×5, T ×1, R ×4, S ×4, V ×4
2 points: M ×4, K ×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, Ź ×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

Slovenian

Slovenian 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

Spanish

Spanish-language versions 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 and CH 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. However, Spanish-language sets sold in North America (known as Scrabble - Edición en Español) include one K tile and one W tile per set, each worth 8 points.

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)].

Swedish

A full Swedish Scrabble set.

Swedish Scrabble sets (also known in Sweden as Alfapet) 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, Z ×1

Note that the letters Ä, Ö, and Å have separate tiles. Also, the letters Q and W, rare in Swedish, are absent.

Turkish

Turkish sets use these tiles:

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

Welsh

Welsh Scrabble sets use these 103 following 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.

References

[Spreadsheet] issued by Spear's.

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