Vocabulary
How many words do you need to be fluent?
Word counts are rules of thumb. The point is to know the right words well enough to say them.
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Step 4Estoy cansado.
I am tired.
- Order
- Translate
- Listen
- Speak
Say it out loud. Green landed, yellow was close.
Start freeMilestones
- 100 words: survival and politeness.
- 500 words: basic conversation.
- 1,000 words: everyday talk.
- 2,000 to 3,000 words: comfortable in most conversations.
- 5,000 or more: wide range, reading and nuance.
Learn them so they stick
Learn words in sentences and say them aloud. Review daily. Start with the most common words rather than themed lists of rare ones.
Does the count change by language?
Slightly. Languages with rich word endings can need more forms, but the high-frequency core is small in every language.
Related guides
Related answers
Vocabulary
How many words do you need to speak a language?
About 1,000 well-chosen words cover most everyday conversation, and a few thousand give comfortable fluency. See the numbers by stage and how to choose which words first.
Read moreVocabulary
How many new words should you learn a day?
Five to ten new words a day with daily review is a sustainable pace for most learners. See how long 1,000 words takes at different rates.
Read moreHow long
How long does it take to become fluent?
Fluency is a range, not a finish line. Conversational fluency takes months to a couple of years, depending on the language and daily practice.
Read moreResource
Most common Spanish words
Read more
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Now say it out loud
Reading teaches you what it looks like. Speaking teaches you to say it. Practise in full sentences, free, no card.