English vocabulary test

How the estimate works

English words are not equally common. "Water" turns up constantly, "wane" rarely, "quixotic" almost never. Vocabulary research splits the language into frequency bands and samples a handful of words from each one, because checking a random 40 words from a dictionary would tell you almost nothing.

This test uses six approximate study bands, from the first thousand word families up to the rarest twenty thousand. If you know 3 of the 5 words sampled from a band worth 5,000 word families, that band contributes 3,000 to your total. Add the bands up and you have the estimate. The test also adapts: recognise most of a page and the next one gets harder, miss most of it and it backs off, so the sampling concentrates around your actual level instead of wasting words at the extremes.

Why the fake words matter

Ask people whether they know a word and a fair number will say yes to anything. Every page here carries one invented word built from real English patterns, like "prondal" or "skurge". They exist only to catch that reflex. Claim none and your estimate stands. Claim several and the honesty score drops, which is your signal that the number is flattering you.

What the result means

The estimate uses word families as its counting unit, grouping forms such as "run", "runs", "running" and "ran". It depends on this tool's sample and band weights. Unsampled bands contribute zero, so it is possible to miss parts of your vocabulary. No measured error margin or population percentile is available for this web test.

The A1 to C2 label is an approximate study band. The official CEFR levels describe what you can do with a language. This test does not assess listening, writing or speaking. Use the English word lists to choose words to practise next.

For the research behind the numbers, read how many English words the average person knows . For what your result means at each level, see vocabulary size by CEFR level , average vocabulary size by age and how the native speaker gap breaks down .

Questions people ask

How many English words do I know?

Nobody counts their own vocabulary by hand. This test samples words from six frequency bands, checks which ones you recognise, and scales each band up to its real size. The result is an informal estimate from a small sample, not a validated measurement of your full vocabulary.

How accurate is this vocabulary size test?

The test extrapolates from a small sample of words in six bands. We have not established an error margin or validated this web test against a representative population. Different samples can give different results. Invented words help flag overclaiming; they do not establish the accuracy of the estimate.

What CEFR level does my vocabulary size mean?

The displayed A1 to C2 band uses approximate thresholds chosen for this tool. It is not an official CEFR assessment. CEFR describes language abilities, including skills this word-recognition test does not measure.

What counts as knowing a word?

Recognition, not usage. If you would understand the word while reading and could give a rough meaning, mark it as known. Recognising a word and using it confidently are different skills.

How many words does a native speaker know?

Published estimates depend on age, the sample and the unit counted. A lemma count cannot be compared directly with a word-family count. Our guide to vocabulary size by age explains a published adult study and its counting method.

Is the test free and does it store my answers?

The test is free and your answers and score stay in your browser. Website analytics count test starts, completions and app-link clicks without including answers or scores. Reload the page and the test starts over.