The Q tile is worth 10 points, but it's notorious for getting stuck on your rack with no U to pair it. Fortunately, the NWL word list includes several valid Q-without-U words borrowed from Arabic, Hebrew, and other languages.
Learning these words isn't just a party trick — it can be the difference between dumping your Q for a small gain or landing a massive play.
Q-without-U words by length
How to play them
QI (the life force in Chinese philosophy) is the most useful — just Q and I, worth 11 points. It hooks onto many common words, and QIS (the plural) is also valid.
QOPH (also spelled KOPH) is a Hebrew letter and one of the highest-scoring Q-without-U plays at 18 base points. QADI (a Muslim judge) and QANAT (an irrigation tunnel) are strong mid-game dumps for the Q.
Study tip: Memorise QI and QOPH first — they're the two you'll need most often. Add QADI and QANAT once those are automatic.
What about QIS and TRANQ?
QIS (plural of QI) is valid in both NWL and CSW — useful when the board already has an I you can hook. TRANQ (to tranquilize) gives the Q a useful consonant cluster and scores a solid 14 points.