The Number Of Words You Need To Learn To Be Fluent In A New Language

 

by Michael Dehoyos

 

Memorizing new vocabulary is an important part of learning a new language. But is there a set
number of words you need to learn before you can speak a language? Find out how many words you
really need to know, depending on your purpose and goal for learning a new language.

 

What Counts As A Word?

When you start looking into the number of words that you need to learn in order to become fluent
in any language, one of the first things you’ll notice is how varied this number is depending on how
words are being counted. Some sources count every form of a word as a separate word. For
example, “walk”, “walked”, “walking” would all be considered separate words.

However, other sources look instead at word families or lemmas. A lemma refers to the root word,
as well as its inflections or other forms. In this case, the words above would only be counted as one
word because they are all forms of the word family “to walk”.

 

Active And Passive Vocabulary

To complicate matters further, there’s a difference between vocabulary that you know actively or
passively.

“Active vocabulary refers to vocabulary that is securely embedded. These are words that you can
recall easily and are confident actively using for speaking, writing and thinking purposes. Passive
vocabulary, on the other hand, is vocabulary that you can understand when you see or hear it, but
which you’re unsure or unable to use when speaking, writing or thinking,” explains Kevin Winters, a
teacher at 1 Day 2 write and Writemyx.

Most people, even native speakers, tend to have a much larger passive vocabulary than active
vocabulary. Language acquisition usually begins with passive vocabulary, which gradually upgrades
to become active vocabulary through repetition and usage.

 

How Many Words You Need To Learn

Ultimately, how many words you need to know depends on your purpose and the reason why you
want to learn a language in the first place.

If you’re looking to learn enough to function as a beginner (for example, to be able to communicate on a holiday trip), then you only need to learn enough
words to have a basic everyday conversation. To this end, 250 – 500 words should be enough.
If you’re looking to develop more conversational language, which includes more specific vocabulary
to be able to cope with different situations and types of daily conversations, then you need to know
about 1,000 – 3,000 words.

However, if you’re working or studying abroad for instance, or looking to acquire more advanced
language skills, you should aim for 4,000 – 10,000 words. You could be considered to have gained
fluency when you know over 10,000 words. To reach a language acquisition equal to that of a native
speaker, you would need to know between 10,000 – 20,000 words.

 

How To Increase Your Vocabulary

When it comes to learning a new language, you should aim to prioritize quality over quantity. Rather
than trying to learn lots of new arbitrary words, focus instead on words which are used most often.

“Start with frequency lists, alongside personal pronouns and basic verbs,” suggests Anne Brennan, a
travel writer at Brit student and PhD Kingdom . “This way you’ll be learning vocabulary which is
relevant and which you’re more likely to use more often. It is only through use and repetition that
new vocab will be cemented into your understanding and move from your passive vocabulary into
your active vocabulary.”

Try to immerse yourself in the language as much as possible to increase your passive vocabulary.
Expose yourself to new linguistic inputs as often as you can. Read magazines, newspapers and simple
texts, such as children’s books. Watch TV and films in your target language and of course, try to
engage in real-life conversations and exchanges as much as possible. You can also sign up for a
language course to keep you motivated or use a language app.

 

Conclusion

Vocabulary is an important aspect of language acquisition. Yet, rather than making the size of your
vocabulary your goal, use it instead to help you assess and measure your progress. Try to expose
yourself to new vocabulary in different contexts, repeat it and practice as often as possible to ensure
that you embed your new knowledge.