Word lists

Most common English vocabulary word lists

This page shows the most common words in English. These lists can be used to create vocabulary based materials and syllabi.

There are currently around 170,000 English words in use, with an additional 47,000 obsolete words (source: Robert McCrum, William Cran, & Robert MacNeil. The Story of English. New York: Penguin, 1992). Some estimates indicate that around 3,000 English words are needed to attain basic fluency, whereas others believe it may take 10,000 words or more. Utilizing learning strategies like context-based learning and spaced repetition can assist learners in expanding their vocabulary effectively.

For teachers and course planners for children learning English as a Second Language (ESL), considering the most frequently used English words can help in the development of syllabi and language course objectives.

Each word list below is available as a PDF download – feel free to download and use for your lesson planning!

Top 300 most common English words Top 120 most common English verbs Dolch’s list of Basic Sight Words

Top 300 most common English words

These are the most common words in English, ranked in frequency order. The first 100 make up about half of all written material. Click here for a printable version (pdf file).

1	the	76	more	151	sentence	226	between
2	of	77	day	152	set	227	city
3	to	78	could	153	three	228	tree
4	and	79	go	154	want	229	cross
5	a	80	come	155	air	230	since
6	in	81	did	156	well	231	hard
7	is	82	my	157	also	232	start
8	it	83	sound	158	play	233	might
9	you	84	no	159	small	234	story
10	that	85	most	160	end	235	saw
11	he	86	number	161	put	236	far
12	was	87	who	162	home	237	sea
13	for	88	over	163	read	238	draw
14	on	89	know	164	hand	239	left
15	are	90	water	165	port	240	late
16	with	91	than	166	large	241	run
17	as	92	call	167	spell	242	don’t
18	I	93	first	168	add	243	while
19	his	94	people	169	even	244	press
20	they	95	may	170	land	245	close
21	be	96	down	171	here	246	night
22	at	97	side	172	must	247	real
23	one	98	been	173	big	248	life
24	have	99	now	174	high	249	few
25	this	100	find	175	such	250	stop
26	from	101	any	176	follow	251	open
27	or	102	new	177	act	252	seem
28	had	103	work	178	why	253	together
29	by	104	part	179	ask	254	next
30	hot	105	take	180	men	255	white
31	but	106	get	181	change	256	children
32	some	107	place	182	went	257	begin
33	what	108	made	183	light	258	got
34	there	109	live	184	kind	259	walk
35	we	110	where	185	off	260	example
36	can	111	after	186	need	261	ease
37	out	112	back	187	house	262	paper
38	other	113	little	188	picture	263	often
39	were	114	only	189	try	264	always
40	all	115	round	190	us	265	music
41	your	116	man	191	again	266	those
42	when	117	year	192	animal	267	both
43	up	118	came	193	point	268	mark
44	use	119	show	194	mother	269	book
45	word	120	every	195	world	270	letter
46	how	121	good	196	near	271	until
47	said	122	me	197	build	272	mile
48	an	123	give	198	self	273	river
49	each	124	our	199	earth	274	car
50	she	125	under	200	father	275	feet
51	which	126	name	201	head	276	care
52	do	127	very	202	stand	277	second
53	their	128	through	203	own	278	group
54	time	129	just	204	page	279	carry
55	if	130	form	205	should	280	took
56	will	131	much	206	country	281	rain
57	way	132	great	207	found	282	eat
58	about	133	think	208	answer	283	room
59	many	134	say	209	school	284	friend
60	then	135	help	210	grow	285	began
61	them	136	low	211	study	286	idea
62	would	137	line	212	still	287	fish
63	write	138	before	213	learn	288	mountain
64	like	139	turn	214	plant	289	north
65	so	140	cause	215	cover	290	once
66	these	141	same	216	food	291	base
67	her	142	mean	217	sun	292	hear
68	long	143	differ	218	four	293	horse
69	make	144	move	219	thought	294	cut
70	thing	145	right	220	let	295	sure
71	see	146	boy	221	keep	296	watch
72	him	147	old	222	eye	297	color
73	two	148	too	223	never	298	face
74	has	149	does	224	last	299	wood
75	look	150	tell	225	door	300	main

Top 120 most common English verbs (with Spanish, French and Japanese translations)

These are the most common verbs in English, ranked in alphabetical order, with their Spanish, French and Japanese translations. Click here for a printable version (pdf file).

	ENGLISH	SPANISH	FRENCH	JAPANESE
1	accept	aceptar	accepter	受け入れる、認める
2	agree	acordar	concorder	賛成する、同意する
3	allow	permitir/dejar	permettre	許可する
4	answer	contester	répondre	答える
5	ask	preguntar	demander	たずねる
6	be	ser / estar	être	～である、いる
7	become	devenir	devenir	～になる
8	believe	creer	croire	信じる
9	borrow	prestar	prêter	借りる
10	break	romper	casser	壊す
11	bring	traer	apporter/emmener	持ってくる
12	buy	comprar	acheter	買う
13	can/be able	poder	pouvoir	可能である
14	cancel	cancelar	annuler	取消す
15	change	cambiar	changer	変える
16	carry	llevar	porter	運ぶ
17	close/shut	cerrar	fermer	閉める
18	clean	limpiar	laver	きれいにする
19	comb	peinar	peigner	櫛ですく
20	come	venir	venir	来る
21	complain	quejarse	se plaindre	文句を言う
22	cough	toser	tousser	せきをする
23	count	contar	compter	数える
24	cut	cortar	couper	切る
25	dance	bailar	danser	踊る
26	decide	decidir	décider	決める
27	do	hacer	faire	する
28	draw	dibujar	dessiner	引っ張る
29	drink	beber	boire	飲む
30	drive	conducir	conduire	運転する
31	eat	comer	manger	食べる
32	explain	explicar	expliquer	説明する
33	fall	caerse	tomber	落ちる
34	feel	sentir	sentir	感じる
35	fill	llenar	remplir	いっぱいにする
36	find	encontrar	trouver	探す
37	finish	terminar	terminer	終える
38	fit	caber	contenir	合う
39	fix	reparar	réparer	直す
40	fly	volar	voler	飛ぶ
41	follow	seguir	suivre	後についていく、従う
42	forget	olvidar	oublier	忘れる
43	get	obtener	trouver	得る
44	give	dar	donner	与える
45	go	ir	aller	行く
46	happen	suceder	arriver	起こる
47	have	tener	avoir	持つ
48	hear	oir	écouter	聞く
49	help	ayudar	aider	助ける
50	hold	continuar	tenir	手に持つ、握る
51	hurt	dañar, herir	faire du mal/blesser	傷つく
52	keep	guardar	garder	保つ
53	know	saber/conocer	savoir/connaître	知る
54	learn	aprender	apprendre	学習する
55	leave	salir/marcharse	sortir/partir	去る
56	like	gustar	aimer	好き
57	listen	escuchar	écouter	聞く
58	live	vivir	vivre	生きる
59	look	mirar	regarder	見る
60	lose	perder	perdre	失う
61	make	hacer	faire	作る
62	may	poder		かもしれない
63	move	trasladar	déplacer	動く
64	must	deben	devoir	～ねばならぬ
65	need	necesitar	avoir besoin	必要とする
66	open	abrir	ouvrir	開ける
67	organize	organizar	organiser	整理する
68	pay	pagar	payer	支払う
69	play	jugar	jouer	遊ぶ
70	promise	prometer	promettre	約束する
71	put	poner	poser	置く
72	rain	llover	pleuvoir	雨が降る
73	read	leer	lire	読む
74	remember	recordar	se souvenir	覚える
75	reply	responder	répondre	応える
76	run	correr	courrir	走る
77	say	decir	dire	言う
78	see	ver	voir	見る
79	seem	parecer	sembler	見える、らしい
80	sell	vender	vendre	売る
81	send	enviar	envoyer	送る
82	sign	firmar	signer	署名する
83	sing	cantar	chanter	歌う
84	sit	sentarse	s´assoir	座る
85	shall			未来（予定）を表す
86	should		devoir	～であろう
87	show	mostrar	montrer	示す、見せる
88	sleep	dormir	dormir	眠る
89	smoke	fumar	fumer	喫煙する
90	speak	hablar	parler	話す
91	spell	deletrear	épeler	綴る
92	spend	gastar	dépenser	過ごす
93	stand	ponerse de pie	se mettre debout	立つ
94	start/begin	comenzar	commencer	始める
95	stop	detener	arrêter	止まる
96	study	estudiar	étudier	勉強する
97	swim	nadar	nager	泳ぐ
98	take	tomar	prendre	取る
99	talk	hablar	parler	話す
100	teach	enseñar	enseigner	教える
101	tell	decir	dire	語る
102	think	pensar	penser	考える
103	translate	traducir	traduire	翻訳する
104	travel	viajar	voyager	旅する
105	try	intentar	essayer	試す
106	turn off	apagar	éteindre	消す
107	turn on	encender	allumer	つける
108	type	escribir a máquina	écrire à la machine	タイプする
109	understand	entender	comprendre	理解する
110	use	utilizar/usar	utiliser	使用する
111	wait	esperar	attendre	待つ
112	wake up	despertar	se réveiller	目覚める
113	walk	andar	marcher	歩く
114	want	querer/desear	vouloir/désirer	欲する
115	watch	mirar	regarder	見る
116	will			～だろう
117	win	ganar	gagner	勝つ
118	work	trabajar	travailler	働く
119	worry	preocuparse	s´inquieter	心配する
120	write	escribir	écrire	書く

Dolch’s list of Basic Sight Words

This list of 220 words, prepared by E.W. Dolch, generally make up from 50 to 75 percent of the reading material encountered by students. These words are generally known as “Dolch Words”, “high-frequency words”, or “sight words”. Click here for a printable version (pdf file).

Listed in order of decreasing frequency				Listed alphabetically
1	the	111	ran	1	a	111	many
2	to	112	let	2	about	112	may
3	and	113	help	3	after	113	me
4	he	114	make	4	again	114	much
5	a	115	going	5	all	115	must
6	I	116	sleep	6	always	116	my
7	you	117	brown	7	am	117	myself
8	it	118	yellow	8	an	118	never
9	of	119	five	9	and	119	new
10	in	120	six	10	any	120	no
11	was	121	walk	11	are	121	not
12	said	122	two	12	around	122	now
13	his	123	or	13	as	123	of
14	that	124	before	14	ask	124	off
15	she	125	eat	15	at	125	old
16	for	126	again	16	ate	126	on
17	on	127	play	17	away	127	once
18	they	128	who	18	be	128	one
19	but	129	been	19	because	129	only
20	had	130	may	20	been	130	open
21	at	131	stop	21	before	131	or
22	him	132	off	22	best	132	our
23	with	133	never	23	better	133	out
24	up	134	seven	24	big	134	over
25	all	135	eight	25	black	135	own
26	look	136	cold	26	blue	136	pick
27	is	137	today	27	both	137	play
28	her	138	fly	28	bring	138	please
29	there	139	myself	29	brown	139	pretty
30	some	140	round	30	but	140	pull
31	out	141	tell	31	buy	141	put
32	has	142	much	32	by	142	ran
33	be	143	keep	33	call	143	read
34	have	144	give	34	came	144	red
35	go	145	work	35	can	145	ride
36	we	146	first	36	carry	146	right
37	am	147	try	37	clean	147	round
38	then	148	new	38	cold	148	run
39	little	149	must	39	come	149	said
40	down	150	start	40	could	150	saw
41	do	151	black	41	cut	151	say
42	can	152	white	42	did	152	see
43	could	153	ten	43	do	153	seven
44	when	154	does	44	does	154	shall
45	did	155	bring	45	don’t	155	see
46	what	156	goes	46	done	156	sing
47	so	157	write	47	down	157	sit
48	see	158	always	48	draw	158	six
49	not	159	drink	49	drink	159	sleep
50	were	160	once	50	eat	160	slow
51	get	161	soon	51	eight	161	small
52	them	162	made	52	every	162	so
53	like	163	run	53	fall	163	some
54	one	164	gave	54	far	164	soon
55	this	165	open	55	fast	165	start
56	my	166	has	56	find	166	stop
57	would	167	find	57	first	167	take
58	me	168	only	58	five	168	tell
59	will	169	us	59	fly	169	ten
60	yes	170	three	60	for	170	thank
61	big	171	our	61	found	171	that
62	went	172	better	62	four	172	the
63	are	173	hold	63	from	173	their
64	come	174	buy	64	full	174	them
65	if	175	funny	65	funny	175	then
66	now	176	warm	66	gave	176	there
67	long	177	ate	67	get	177	these
68	no	178	full	68	give	178	they
69	came	179	those	69	go	179	think
70	ask	180	done	70	goes	180	this
71	very	181	use	71	going	181	those
72	an	182	fast	72	good	182	three
73	over	183	say	73	got	183	to
74	yours	184	light	74	green	184	today
75	its	185	pick	75	grow	185	together
76	ride	186	hurt	76	had	186	too
77	into	187	pull	77	has	187	try
78	just	188	cut	78	have	188	two
79	blue	189	kind	79	he	189	under
80	red	190	both	80	help	190	up
81	from	191	sit	81	her	191	upon
82	good	192	which	82	here	192	us
83	any	193	fall	83	him	193	use
84	about	194	carry	84	his	194	very
85	around	195	small	85	hold	195	walk
86	want	196	under	86	hot	196	want
87	don’t	197	read	87	how	197	warm
88	how	198	why	88	hurt	198	was
89	know	199	own	89	I	199	wash
90	right	200	found	90	if	200	we
91	put	201	wash	91	in	201	well
92	too	202	slow	92	into	202	went
93	got	203	hot	93	is	203	were
94	take	204	because	94	it	204	what
95	where	205	far	95	its	205	when
96	every	206	live	96	jump	206	where
97	pretty	207	draw	97	just	207	which
98	jump	208	clean	98	keep	208	white
99	green	209	grow	99	kind	209	who
100	four	210	best	100	know	210	why
101	away	211	upon	101	laugh	211	will
102	old	212	these	102	let	212	wish
103	by	213	sing	103	light	213	with
104	their	214	together	104	like	214	work
105	here	215	please	105	little	215	would
106	saw	216	thank	106	live	216	write
107	call	217	wish	107	long	217	yellow
108	after	218	many	108	look	218	yes
109	well	219	shall	109	made	219	you
110	think	220	laugh	110	make	220	yours

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Word lists

Most common English vocabulary word lists

Top 300 most common English words

Top 120 most common English verbs (with Spanish, French and Japanese translations)

Dolch’s list of Basic Sight Words

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