Warning:
Have you ever searched for lists of the “most common words” in English?
It SEEMS like it would be a good idea… but it’s not.
Let me explain!
Now, I agree that it’s good to focus on the words that are most commonly used in everyday life. A word like “instead” is much more useful than a word like “incontrovertibly.”
But here’s the problem:
⚠️ The “most common words” are used in multiple ways.
A single word can have several DIFFERENT meanings!
For example: the word get is one of the most common verbs in English.
However, “get” can mean…
- become (get angry, get married, get lost)
- arrive (get home, get to work, get to the store)
- receive (get a present, get an e-mail, get an award)
- buy / obtain (get a job, get a computer, get something for a good price)
The word hand is one of the most common nouns.
That’s simple, right? Your hand is part of your body. But did you know…
- hand out means “to distribute”
- out of hand means “out of control”
- hands down means “unquestionably”
- to tip your hand means “to reveal one of your secrets”
Can you see why studying lists of the “most common words” can be problematic?
You might learn ONE meaning of the word…
…but in real-life English, the word is used in MANY different ways.
You won’t understand them if you know only the basic dictionary definition of the word.
💡 Learn vocabulary words in “families” instead
A more practical way to learn vocabulary is in “themes” or “families.”
You have a topic, and you learn as many words as you can related to that topic.
This builds your vocabulary in a USEFUL way, because you know what the words mean in context.
In my Vocabulary Builder Courses, each lesson is based on a theme or “family” of words!
Vocabulary builder lesson topics
So, if you’ve been trying to memorize lists of “common words” in English…
Change your strategy!
Focus on “families” of words organized by topic instead.
You can easily learn this way inside my Vocabulary Builder Courses!
