Listed below in playrank order are the top 31 most commonly played "Q not U" words; QI is the most often played word of the bunch, QIS is the second most often played, and so on down the list.
1. qi
2. qis
3. qat
4. qats
5. suq
6. qadi
7. qaid
8. tranq
9. qadis
10. qanat
11. faqir
12. suqs
13. qoph
14. qaids
15. qintar
16. tranqs
17. umiaq
18. qindar
19. faqirs
20. qanats
21. qiviut
22. qophs
23. burqa
24. qintars
25. qindars
26. qiviuts
27. umiaqs
28. qwerty
29. sheqel
30. qabala
31. burqas
There are 31 words in the list because after word 31 there is a large drop in how often the next word gets played. Two of the words not listed here were so uncommonly used that they did not appear once in over 100,000 games. Why bother memorizing a word you will never have the opportunity to play?
This article represents original research from ScrabbleGuru.com. Come visit us for more!
***
P.S. We were trying to save you from yourself, but if you really must know all the "Q without U" words, here are the rest of them:
32. qwertys
33. sheqels
34. qabalas
35. qabalah
36. buqsha
37. qindarka
38. qabalahs
39. buqshas
40. sheqalim
--. mbaqanga
--. mbaqangas
The last two words in the list are so rarely played that they did not appear even once in a database of over 100,000 games! Most of the remaining words are "-S" versions of words that already appeared in the primary list.