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1,000 Most Common English Words 88% of Comprehension

The document discusses that learning the most common English words is the most effective way for English learners to build vocabulary quickly. It notes that the top 1,000 most common words account for 88% of words used in everyday speech, while the top 2,000 words account for 92.7% and the top 3,000 words account for 94%. Therefore, focusing study on the most frequent words provides high returns, rather than spending much more time to learn less frequently used words. It then provides a list of the 100 most common English words.

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263 views5 pages

1,000 Most Common English Words 88% of Comprehension

The document discusses that learning the most common English words is the most effective way for English learners to build vocabulary quickly. It notes that the top 1,000 most common words account for 88% of words used in everyday speech, while the top 2,000 words account for 92.7% and the top 3,000 words account for 94%. Therefore, focusing study on the most frequent words provides high returns, rather than spending much more time to learn less frequently used words. It then provides a list of the 100 most common English words.

Uploaded by

hi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Most Common English Words

English students often ask us what’s the #1 English learning hack as a


beginner?
We always answer: learn the most common English words. Better
yet, learn the first 100 as soon as you can.
The reason why you want to focus on the most common English
words is because we rarely use all the words we have in our toolbelt.
Think about how you speak your native language. You’ll find that you
can have a great conversation in most situations by using only 20%
of the vocabulary you already know.
I mean, when’s the last time you used to words ‘microchip’ or
‘tricycles’ in your conversation? If you did happen to use it, how long
do you think it’ll be until you use it again? On the other hand, you’ll
likely be using words like: ‘yes’, ‘as’, ‘what’, or ‘how’ in nearly every
conversation you have with someone.
This is the simple language hack that will help you save months of
time. Instead of focusing on the uncommon words that you’ll rarely
use, just focus on the most common English words.
 

1,000 Most Common English words = 88%


of comprehension
Studies show that…
Studying the  first 1000 most frequently used words  in the language will familiarize
you with 76.0% of all vocabulary in non-fiction literature, 79.6% of all vocabulary
in  fiction literature, and  87.8% of vocabulary in oral speech.
Studying  the  2000 most frequently used words  will familiarize you with  84% of
vocabulary in  non-fiction, 86.1% of vocabulary in  fictional literature, and  92.7%
of  vocabulary in  oral speech.
And studying  the  3000 most frequently used words  will familiarize you with  88.2% of
vocabulary in  non-fiction, 89.6% of   vocabulary in  fiction, and  94.0% of vocabulary
in  oral speech.

What does this study mean in short?


It means that once you get past a certain number of the most
common words, you get massively diminishing words. While the first
1,000 frequent words enabled you to know 88% of the oral speech,
learning double that amount (2,000 words) only gave you a 5% boost.
Instead of focusing on learning 2x the amount of words that you
need, you can spend that time improving your speaking skills,
grammar skills, or any other weaknesses you may have in the English
language.
100 Most Common English Words
To save you time, we’ve curated the 100 most common English
words that you can write down, copy and paste, or print out for
reference. If you’re interested in finding out the other 900 list of the
most common Englishwords, here they are:
-1,000 most common English words
1. the 21. at 41. there 61. some 81. my

2. of 22. be 42. use 62. her 82. than

3. and 23. this 43. an 63. would 83. first

4. a 24. have 44. each 64. make 84. water

45.
5. to 25. from which 65. like 85. been

6. in 26. or 46. she 66. him 86. call

7. is 27. one 47. do 67. into 87. who

8. you 28. had 48. how 68. time 88. oil

9. that 29. by 49. their 69. has 89. its

10. it 30. word 50. if 70. look 90. now

11. he 31. but 51. will 71. two 91. find

12. was 32. not 52. up 72. more 92. long

13. for 33. what 53. other 73. write 93. down

14. on 34. all 54. about 74. go 94. day

15. are 35. were 55. out 75. see 95. did

76.
16. as 36. we 56. many number 96. get
17. with 37. when 57. then 77. no 97. come

18. his 38. your 58. them 78. way 98. made

19. they 39. can 59. these 79. could 99. may

20. I 40. said 60. so 80. people 100. part

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