QINDAR is the monetary subunit of Albania, equal to 1/100 of a lek. This rare Q-without-U word is a Scrabble powerhouse, worth 16 base points due to the high-value Q tile (10 points). From Albanian currency to word game victory, QINDAR exemplifies how international monetary terms enrich competitive vocabulary.
Yes. QINDAR is in the Scrabble-style word list used by our tools and scores 16 points in Scrabble, 17 in Words With Friends and 16 in Wordfeud (base tile values, no board multipliers). Always check the dictionary your game uses (NWL, Collins or the WWF list) before playing.
| Letter | Q | I | N | D | A | R | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scrabble | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
| Words With Friends | 10 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 17 |
| Wordfeud | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
A qindar (plural: qindarka) is the fractional monetary unit of Albania, representing one hundredth of an Albanian lek. This term entered English through Albanian currency nomenclature, where "qindarkë" derives from "qind" meaning "hundred." In the world of competitive word games, however, QINDAR holds far greater value than its monetary worth—it's one of the coveted Q-without-U words that can rescue players from the notorious Q-tile predicament, where drawing Q without its usual partner U typically spells disaster.
The Albanian monetary system adopted the lek as its primary currency in 1926, with the qindar as its subdivision. Like cents to dollars or pence to pounds, qindarka serve as the small change of Albania. However, inflation has rendered the qindar largely obsolete in practical commerce—prices are typically rounded to the nearest lek. Yet this humble coin lives on vibrantly in word games, where its unusual letter combination makes it worth far more than its face value.
In Scrabble and similar games, QINDAR belongs to an elite group of Q-without-U words that violate English's typical orthographic patterns. Most English words containing Q follow the Latin-derived rule requiring U after Q (queen, quick, quote). But languages that English borrowed from—Arabic, Chinese, Albanian, Hebrew—don't follow this convention. QINDAR thus joins QI, QAT, QANAT, QOPH, and other linguistic imports in providing crucial flexibility for Q-tile management.
QINDAR enters English through Albanian "qindarkë," built from "qind" meaning "hundred" plus the diminutive suffix "-arkë." This construction parallels "percent" (per hundred) and "century" (hundred years), revealing how Indo-European languages consistently use "hundred" as a fundamental organizing principle. The Albanian root "qind" shares ancient connections with Latin "centum," Sanskrit "śata," and the Proto-Indo-European *ḱm̥tóm, all meaning "hundred."
Anagrams: no other word uses exactly the letters of QINDAR.
Hooks: no front hooks; back QINDARS.
Words inside QINDAR: 36 shorter words can be made from these letters – highest scoring: QADIQAIDQIDINARDRAINNADIRRANIDARIDDARNNARDRAIDRAND. See all words from QINDAR.