ZU Words: One of English's Rarest Openings
ZU- is about as obscure as English word beginnings get. The entire family consists of around nine words, and most of them trace back to a single root: ZUCCHINI (from Italian, meaning "small squash"). Beyond the zucchini family, you'll find ZUZ and ZUZIM — ancient Hebrew coins mentioned in the Bible. That's the full extent of common ZU- vocabulary. The scarcity makes sense when you consider that Z already appears in fewer English words than any letter except Q and X, and pairing it with U narrows things even further.
For Scrabble players, ZUZ is the real prize here. At just 3 letters, it scores 21 points base (Z=10, U=1, Z=10) — except you'd need both Z tiles, which is impossible in standard Scrabble (there's only one Z). So ZUZ works only if you use a blank as the second Z, scoring 11 points. ZUCCHINI, while fun to play, requires a blank for one of the C's and is 8 letters long — tough to build on any board. The practical takeaway: ZU- words are trivia, not strategy.
If you landed here while solving a crossword, the answer is probably ZUCCHINI or a variant. Check your crossing letters carefully. For more productive Z plays, visit words starting with ZE (which includes ZEN, ZEAL, ZERO, ZEST) or words starting with ZI for ZIGZAG, ZINC, and ZING. You might also find words starting with QU helpful — it's the other high-value tile family with far more options.
FAQ
Is ZUZ a valid Scrabble word?
ZUZ is valid in SOWPODS but not in TWL. It refers to an ancient Hebrew silver coin. Even where it's valid, you'd need a blank tile for the second Z since only one Z tile exists in Scrabble. For more reliably playable Z words, browse words starting with ZE for everyday options like ZERO and ZEST.
Where does the word ZUCCHINI come from?
ZUCCHINI is Italian, from zucca ("squash" or "gourd") plus the diminutive suffix -ini. Italians actually call the full-sized version zucca and the small one zucchini. Americans adopted the Italian name, while the British use "courgette" from French. For more words borrowed from European languages, check words ending in ED and words starting with V.