Is NIQAAB a valid word?

NIQAAB is a variant spelling of NIQAB, a veil that covers the face, worn by some Muslim women; both come from Arabic, and the plural is NIQAABS. The second A makes NIQAAB a useful way to unload an extra A along with the Q. If you know only one spelling, you can miss a play that fits the board; knowing both gives you a five-letter and a six-letter option from nearly the same rack.

Before any bonus squares: N 1 + I 1 + Q 10 + A 1 + A 1 + B 3 = 17. On a double-word square that's 34, on a triple-word 51, and every letter bonus under one of these tiles is applied first.

Later in the game, put the Q on a 3L square and NIQAAB is worth 37 before any word bonus.

Place that one tile so it also forms a word in the other direction and both words score.

No other word in the list uses exactly the letters N, I, Q, A, A and B.

NIQAAB is another spelling of NIQAB, the face veil, with a second A. Useful when you have two A tiles.

• Q without U

Tileside keeps score, checks words like this one during a challenge, tracks the tiles left in the bag and times turns. It runs in your phone's browser with no account and works offline.

Tileside checks words against the North American list, the NASPA Word List 2023. Your group's chosen dictionary always wins.

Works with the Scrabble board game, played at the table. Tileside is an independent product, not affiliated with or endorsed by the makers of Scrabble.