Top 2000 Vocabulary Words

The list of words below are the most frequently used 2265 words in Spoken English. The words were selected by
analyzing more than 250,000 words from hundreds of conversations. The only words to make it into the list were
those that were also found in the BNC top 3,000, The COCA 5,000, and the Longman 3,000.
The frequency number is how often the word appears out of 250,000 words. For example if you divide 250,000 by
9243, then we can see that the word "the" appears once in every 27 words. However, this number should only be used
as a general guide. The numbers can change depending on the topic, demographic, and many other variables.
Although the number cannot be accurate, it can be used to provide insight into the frequency of words in relation to
other words.
The Type column refers to what type of word it is. In many cases, a word can be multiple types. The first one listed is
more frequently used than the second. For example, the word "can" is used as an auxiliary verb such as, "I can ride a
bike." Also, it is a noun such as can of food. In this particular case, "can" is used commonly in both ways, but it is
more frequently used as an auxiliary verb. In some cases, the third or fourth type might not be used regularly.
There can be typos or errors. If you find anything that is incorrect, please email talkenglish@talkenglish.com. We
will do our best to correct everything.
Word

Frequency

Type

the
of
and
to
a
in
is
you
are
for
that
or
it
as
be
on
your
with
can
have
this
an
by
not
but
at
from
I
they
more
will
if
some
there
what
about
which
when
one
their
all
also
how
many
do
has
most
people
other
time
so
was
we

9243
5220
5196
4951
4506
2822
2699
2041
1843
1752
1743
1487
1386
1363
1145
1087
1067
1062
895
891
864
754
706
658
626
624
622
621
617
597
577
546
501
470
461
451
449
442
441
439
438
419
412
397
389
384
378
372
369
369
352
352
352

(definite article,adverb)
(preposition,auxiliary verb)
(conjunction)
(preposition,adverb)
(indefinite article,noun,preposition)
(preposition,adverb)
(verb)
(pronoun,noun)
(verb)
(preposition,conjunction)
(pronoun,adjective,adverb,conjunction)
(conjunction)
(pronoun,noun)
(adverb,conjunction,pronoun,preposition)
(verb,auxiliary verb)
(preposition,adverb,adjective)
(pronoun)
(preposition)
(auxiliary verb,noun)
(verb,auxiliary verb)
(pronoun,adjective,adverb)
(indefinite article)
(preposition,adverb)
(adverb)
(conjunction,preposition,adverb,noun)
(preposition)
(preposition)
(pronoun)
(pronoun)
(adjective,adverb)
(auxiliary verb,noun)
(conjunction,noun)
(adjective,pronoun,adverb)
(adverb,pronoun,noun,adjective)
(pronoun,adjective,adverb,interjection)
(preposition,adverb,adjective)
(pronoun,adjective)
(adverb,conjunction)
(adjective,noun,pronoun)
(pronoun)
(adjective,pronoun,noun,adverb)
(adverb)
(adverb,conjunction)
(adjective,noun,pronoun)
(auxiliary verb)
(verb)
(adjective,noun,adverb)
(noun)
(adjective,noun,pronoun,adverb)
(noun,adjective,verb)
(adverb,conjunction,pronoun,adjective)
(past,verb)
(pronoun)