Everybody knows that learning new words is an essential part of learning a language. Sometimes, people don’t know which words they need to learn, though. Here’s a list of the 1000+ most common English words. It’s a perfect starting point for you if you’re one of these people. Why? Because learning the most commonly used words in a specific language will make you familiar with the words that are used the most in everyday communication. See how important it is?
When you search the internet looking for the 1000 most common English words, you find different lists. Which one is the most reliable? It depends. In fact, all of them can be considered reliable. Why? Because when we collect these words, we use different corpora (databases). Different corpora have different texts in their collection. That’s why there’s a little variance in these lists.
1000+ Most Common English Words
What makes our list the most special on the internet is that we have cross-referenced the list available out there and we have put together their variances as well. So, in this very exclusive list, you’ll find not 1000, but the 1117 most common English words! Enjoy it!
- a
- abandon
- ability
- able
- about
- above
- abroad
- absence
- absolute
- absolutely
- absorb
- abuse
- academic
- accept
- according
- account
- across
- act
- action
- activity
- actually
- add
- address
- administration
- admit
- adult
- affect
- after
- again
- against
- age
- agency
- agent
- ago
- agree
- agreement
- ahead
- air
- all
- allow
- almost
- alone
- along
- already
- also
- alternative
- although
- always
- american
- among
- amount
- analysis
- and
- animal
- another
- answer
- any
- anyone
- anything
- anyway
- appear
- apply
- approach
- appropriate
- approval
- approve
- approximately
- architect
- area
- argue
- argument
- arm
- army
- around
- arrive
- art
- article
- artist
- as
- ask
- assume
- at
- attack
- attention
- audience
- author
- authority
- auto
- available
- avoid
- away
- attorney
- baby
- back
- bad
- bag
- ball
- bank
- bar
- base
- be
- beat
- beautiful
- because
- become
- bed
- before
- begin
- behavior
- behind
- believe
- benefit
- best
- better
- between
- beyond
- big
- bill
- billion
- bit
- black
- blood
- blue
- board
- body
- book
- born
- both
- box
- boy
- break
- bring
- brother
- budget
- build
- building
- business
- but
- buy
- by
- call
- camera
- campaign
- can
- cancer
- candidate
- capital
- car
- card
- care
- career
- carry
- case
- catch
- cause
- cell
- center
- central
- century
- certain
- certainly
- chair
- challenge
- chance
- change
- character
- charge
- check
- child
- choice
- choose
- church
- citizen
- city
- civil
- claim
- class
- clear
- clearly
- close
- coach
- cold
- collection
- college
- color
- come
- commercial
- common
- community
- company
- compare
- computer
- concern
- condition
- conference
- Congress
- consider
- consumer
- contain
- continue
- control
- cost
- could
- country
- couple
- course
- court
- cover
- create
- crime
- cultural
- culture
- cup
- current
- customer
- cut
- dark
- data
- daughter
- day
- dead
- deal
- death
- debate
- decade
- decide
- decision
- deep
- defense
- degree
- Democrat
- democratic
- describe
- design
- despite
- detail
- determine
- develop
- development
- die
- difference
- different
- difficult
- dinner
- direction
- director
- discover
- discuss
- discussion
- disease
- do
- doctor
- dog
- door
- down
- draw
- dream
- drive
- drop
- drug
- during
- each
- early
- east
- easy
- eat
- economic
- economy
- edge
- education
- effect
- effort
- eight
- either
- election
- else
- employee
- end
- energy
- enjoy
- enough
- enter
- entire
- environment
- environmental
- especially
- establish
- even
- evening
- event
- ever
- every
- everybody
- everyone
- everything
- evidence
- exactly
- example
- executive
- exist
- expect
- experience
- expert
- explain
- eye
- face
- fact
- factor
- fail
- fall
- family
- far
- fast
- father
- fear
- federal
- feel
- feeling
- few
- field
- fight
- figure
- fill
- film
- final
- finally
- financial
- find
- fine
- finger
- finish
- fire
- firm
- first
- fish
- five
- floor
- fly
- focus
- follow
- food
- foot
- for
- force
- foreign
- forget
- form
- former
- forward
- four
- free
- friend
- from
- front
- full
- fund
- future
- game
- garden
- gas
- general
- generation
- get
- girl
- give
- glass
- go
- goal
- good
- government
- great
- green
- ground
- group
- grow
- growth
- guess
- gun
- guy
- hair
- half
- hand
- hang
- happen
- happy
- hard
- have
- he
- head
- health
- hear
- heart
- heat
- heavy
- help
- her
- here
- herself
- high
- him
- himself
- his
- history
- hit
- hold
- home
- hope
- hospital
- hot
- hotel
- hour
- house
- how
- however
- huge
- human
- hundred
- husband
- I
- idea
- identify
- if
- image
- imagine
- impact
- important
- improve
- in
- include
- including
- increase
- indeed
- indicate
- individual
- industry
- information
- inside
- instead
- institution
- interest
- interesting
- international
- interview
- into
- investment
- involve
- issue
- it
- item
- its
- itself
- job
- join
- just
- keep
- key
- kid
- kill
- kind
- kitchen
- know
- knowledge
- land
- language
- large
- last
- late
- later
- laugh
- law
- lawyer
- lay
- lead
- leader
- learn
- least
- leave
- left
- leg
- legal
- less
- let
- letter
- level
- lie
- life
- light
- like
- likely
- line
- list
- listen
- little
- live
- local
- long
- look
- lose
- loss
- lot
- love
- low
- machine
- magazine
- main
- maintain
- major
- majority
- make
- man
- manage
- management
- manager
- many
- market
- marriage
- material
- matter
- may
- maybe
- me
- mean
- measure
- media
- medical
- meet
- meeting
- member
- memory
- mention
- message
- method
- middle
- might
- military
- million
- mind
- minute
- miss
- mission
- model
- modern
- moment
- money
- month
- more
- morning
- most
- mother
- mouth
- move
- movement
- movie
- Mr
- Mrs
- much
- music
- must
- my
- myself
- name
- nation
- national
- natural
- nature
- near
- nearly
- necessary
- need
- network
- never
- new
- news
- newspaper
- next
- nice
- night
- no
- none
- nor
- north
- not
- note
- nothing
- notice
- now
- n’t
- number
- occur
- of
- off
- offer
- office
- officer
- official
- often
- oh
- oil
- ok
- old
- on
- once
- one
- only
- onto
- open
- operation
- opportunity
- option
- or
- order
- organization
- other
- others
- our
- out
- outside
- over
- own
- owner
- page
- pain
- painting
- paper
- parent
- part
- participant
- particular
- particularly
- partner
- party
- pass
- past
- patient
- pattern
- pay
- peace
- people
- per
- perform
- performance
- perhaps
- period
- person
- personal
- phone
- physical
- pick
- picture
- piece
- place
- plan
- plant
- play
- player
- PM
- point
- police
- policy
- political
- politics
- poor
- popular
- population
- position
- positive
- possible
- power
- practice
- prepare
- present
- president
- pressure
- pretty
- prevent
- price
- private
- probably
- problem
- process
- produce
- product
- production
- professional
- professor
- program
- project
- property
- protect
- prove
- provide
- public
- pull
- purpose
- push
- put
- quality
- question
- quickly
- quite
- race
- radio
- raise
- range
- rate
- rather
- reach
- read
- ready
- real
- reality
- realize
- really
- reason
- receive
- recent
- recently
- recognize
- record
- red
- reduce
- reflect
- region
- relate
- relationship
- religious
- remain
- remember
- remove
- report
- represent
- Republican
- require
- research
- resource
- respond
- response
- responsibility
- rest
- result
- return
- reveal
- rich
- right
- rise
- risk
- road
- rock
- role
- room
- rule
- run
- safe
- same
- save
- say
- scene
- school
- science
- scientist
- score
- sea
- season
- seat
- second
- section
- security
- see
- seek
- seem
- sell
- send
- senior
- sense
- series
- serious
- serve
- service
- set
- seven
- several
- sex
- sexual
- shake
- share
- she
- shoot
- short
- shot
- should
- shoulder
- show
- side
- sign
- significant
- similar
- simple
- simply
- since
- sing
- single
- sister
- sit
- site
- situation
- six
- size
- skill
- skin
- small
- smile
- so
- social
- society
- soldier
- some
- somebody
- someone
- something
- sometimes
- son
- song
- soon
- sort
- sound
- source
- south
- southern
- space
- speak
- special
- specific
- speech
- spend
- sport
- spring
- staff
- stage
- stand
- standard
- star
- start
- state
- statement
- station
- stay
- step
- still
- stock
- stop
- store
- story
- strategy
- street
- strong
- structure
- student
- study
- stuff
- style
- subject
- success
- successful
- such
- suddenly
- suffer
- suggest
- summer
- support
- sure
- surface
- system
- table
- take
- talk
- task
- tax
- teach
- teacher
- team
- technology
- television
- tell
- ten
- tend
- term
- test
- than
- thank
- that
- the
- their
- them
- themselves
- then
- theory
- there
- these
- they
- thing
- think
- third
- this
- those
- though
- thought
- thousand
- threat
- three
- through
- throughout
- throw
- thus
- time
- to
- today
- together
- tonight
- too
- top
- total
- tough
- toward
- town
- trade
- traditional
- training
- travel
- treat
- treatment
- tree
- trial
- trip
- trouble
- TRUE
- truth
- try
- turn
- TV
- two
- type
- under
- understand
- unit
- until
- up
- upon
- us
- use
- usually
- value
- various
- very
- victim
- view
- violence
- visit
- voice
- vote
- wait
- walk
- wall
- want
- war
- watch
- water
- way
- we
- weapon
- wear
- week
- weight
- well
- west
- western
- what
- whatever
- when
- where
- whether
- which
- while
- white
- who
- whole
- whom
- whose
- why
- wide
- wife
- will
- win
- wind
- window
- wish
- with
- within
- without
- woman
- wonder
- word
- work
- worker
- world
- worry
- would
- write
- writer
- wrong
- yard
- yeah
- year
- yes
- yet
- you
- young
- your
- yourself
- brain
- club
- comment
- committee
- completely
- construction
- consultant
- consume
- consumption
- contact
- container
- conversation
- county
- dad
- date
- defend
- defendant
- defensive
- deficit
- define
- definitely
- definition
- delay
- deliver
- delivery
- demand
- democracy
- department
- depict
- description
- device
- devote
- district
- dollar
- earth
- episode
- equal
- et
- fan
- global
- hate
- hell
- hey
- hi
- hurt
- introduce
- introduction
- island
- justice
- king
- lady
- mile
- mom
- nobody
- n’t
- okay
- opinion
- park
- percent
- perfect
- photo
- please
- post
- press
- release
- river
- september
- shit
- sir
- sorry
- sun
- supposed
- thanks
- truck
- twenty
- twice
- twin
- typical
- uh
- union
- united
- universal
- universe
- university
- unknown
- unless
- unlikely
- unusual
- valley
- valuable
- variation
- variety
- version
- video
- village
- wealth
- welcome
- wet
- zone