All words played in Bananagrams must be accepted by the Dictionary. Any available dictionary can be used as a word finder when validating words that a player should accept if a player calls for “bananas,” but playing an unacceptable word results in an automatic lose.
Official rules outline the category of acceptable words and others that are not legit to play in the word grid.
Can you use names in Bananagrams? According to official Bananagrams rules, a player cannot use proper nouns, including names of people, brands, weekdays, months, countries, cities, etc. These proper nouns always appear capitalized in the written English language, however some words have another meaning apart from being a name.
For example, the word turkey, is a country name that also refers to a type of bird. Let’s also consider the word march, it is a month, but also refers to the action of walking systematically in a parade, and China is a country, but also means porcelain dishes.
Despite a word being a noun, the words mentioned above can also be used as verbs or adjectives in the English language. Therefore, they can appear in lowercase in a sentence and are therefore playable in Bananagrams.
It’s advisable to use an online Dictionary to validate words in Bananagrams. Any word that is not part dictionary used is not acceptable.
So, if a player calls out for “Bananas” having played an illegal word in their respective word grid, they get “Rotten Banana,” causing them to lose their hand. Answered below are frequently asked questions about using names in Bananagrams and what words are allowed.
What words are not allowed in Bananagrams?
Official rules regarding words in Bananagrams outline the following group of words as illegal in the gameplay:
- Two-letter words. Players cannot play a word with less than three letters, but they can use two as a placeholder while looking for another tile and adding to the word. For example, a player may play IX in the word grid so that if they get a tile “F,” they can add to the word to form FIX. Note that players can change words anytime they want as many times possible. However, a player cannot call out for a “Peel” or “Bananas” with any two-lettered words in their grid.
- Players cannot use abbreviations like TV.
- Proper nouns like the name of people, countries, cities, brands, weekdays, brands, months, etc., cannot be used unless they also serve as adjectives or verbs in the English language.
- A player cannot use abusive words unless they have another meaning. For example, the word bitch, also means a female dog.
- Words that cause racial or ethical disputes are also prohibited.
- Misspelled words. A word spelled backwards or diagonally are also unacceptable.
- Foreign words not adopted yet in the Dictionary used as a guide for verification of words.
- Slang words that a player cannot find in the wordlist of the Dictionary used.
- Words that are hyphenated like check-in, long-term, etc
What words are legal in Bananagrams?
The following are words that are legally playable in Bananagrams:
- A legal word must consist of at least three tiles. Meaning two-letter words are not legal.
- A legal word in Bananagrams must be spelled horizontally following the left-right direction or vertically in a downwards direction.
- Slang words can be legal, but it must be incorporated as part of the Dictionary used.
- The foreign word can be legal, but it must be adopted in the official English language.
- A proper noun can be legal if it is also used as an adjective or verb in a sentence.
- Avoid using abusive words unless they have another meaning in the English language.
Bananagrams acceptable words
All acceptable words in the Bananagrams have the following characteristics.
- A word must have three tiles or more. Two-letter words are prohibited in Bananagrams.
- The word must be placed horizontally (left-right direction) or vertically (downwards direction), but not diagonally.
- A pronoun can be accepted in Bananagrams if it can also be used as a verb or adjective apart from being a name.
- Slang words are acceptable in Bananagrams if they have been commonly integrated into the language to the point that it has been included in a revised dictionary.
- Foreign words that have been incorporated in the English Dictionary are acceptable in Bananagrams.
- All words must be found in the Dictionary to be acceptable in Bananagrams.
Names in Bananagrams: Conclusion
Names are not allowed in Bananagrams because they are a proper noun, and words with capitalized letters are not permitted in the game. If the name has another meaning, like joe is coffee, john is a toilet, frank is a hotdog, bill is money and so forth, then they can be used as a noun, verb or adjective, just not as a proper noun.
Players in Bananagrams are free to change words by rearranging their tiles as many times as they wish. Players mostly rearrange their words when they have drawn new tiles to find the best way forward to include them in their word grid.
However, in rearranging the tiles, the player should not alter a word into an unacceptable word. Playing illegal words and calling out for “bananas” will cause players to forfeit their hands when found guilty.
A word is considered acceptable in Bananagrams if it can be found in the Dictionary used. However, they cannot call out “Bananas” if they have any illegal words because it will make them have “Rotten Bananas,” thus losing their hand.