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Vocabulary Size

It is said, "Without grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed."

Vocabulary is very important but grammar is not. You do not need to study grammar because our brain is wired to implicitly learn it while we are exposed to a language.

The best way to learn vocabulary is to read, read and read! As much as possible. Some people say: we do not have time to read books! These people are the most likely to waste their time. If there is a will, there is a way!

Estimating average vocabulary size poses various difficulties and limitations due to the different definitions and methods employed such as what is the word, what is to know a word, what sample dictionaries were used, how tests were conducted, and so on. Native speakers vocabularies also vary widely within a language, and are dependent on the level of the speaker’s education. As a result estimates vary from as little as 10,000 to as many as over 50,000 for young adult native speakers of English.

One most recent 2016 study shows that 20-year-old English native speakers recognize on average 42,000 lemmas, ranging from 27,100 for the lowest 5% of the population to 51,700 lemmas for the highest 5%. These lemmas come from 6,100 word families in the lowest 5% of the population and 14,900 word families in the highest 5%. 60-year-olds know on average 6,000 lemmas more.

According to another, earlier 1995 study junior-high students would be able to recognize the meanings of about 10,000–12,000 words, whereas for college students this number grows up to about 12,000–17,000 and for elderly adults up to about 17,000 or more. [1]

To know how approximately how much is your vocabulary size, check the following:

0 (558), fiction (227), novel (103), children`s literature (91), science fiction (88), fantasy fiction (61), fantasy (60), historical fiction (51), speculative fiction (46), horror fiction (44), mystery (43), non-fiction (42), self-help (38), romance novel (35), gothic fiction (31), young adult fiction (30), biography (27), humour (24), satire (22), autobiography (20), thriller (19), picture book (19), children (18), domestic fiction (18), crime fiction (18), bildungsroman (18), philosophical fiction (16), memoir (16), adventure fiction (15), literary fiction (14), legal thriller (12), psychological fiction (12), board book (11), absurdist fiction (11), suspense (10), magical realism (9), utopian and dystopian fiction (9), history (9), psychology (9), health (9), alternate history (8), poetry (8), nutrition (8), apocalyptic fiction (8), novella (8), drama (8), steampunk (8), black comedy (7), travel literature (7), toy book (7), postmodern literature (7), graphic novel (6), short story (6), inspirational fiction (6), self-help book (6), diet (6), advice (6), research (6), tragedy (6), war story (6), comics (6), psychological horror (6), life (5), dystopia (5), child rearing (5), occult fiction (5), detective fiction (5), bedtime story (5), cooking (5), techno-thriller (5), autobiographical novel (5), modern literature (5), parable (5), essay (5), chick lit (5), comedy (5), fairy tale (5), greek mythology (4), picaresque fiction (4), southern gothic (4), happiness (4), diet book (4), literary cookbook (4), parenting (4), tragicomedy (4), physics (4), historical (4), dissertation (4), epistolary novel (4), humorous fiction (4), high fantasy (4), thesis (4), academic writing (4), reference work (3), political fiction (3), science fantasy (3), middle ages (3), bedtime (3), gratitude (3), african-american literature (3), roman à clef (3), legal story (3), diabetes (3), postmodernism (3), epic poetry (3), dystopian fiction (3), christian literature (3), science (3), grammar (3), pulitzer (2), non-fiction novel (2), christian fiction (2), cyberpunk (2), comic science fiction (2), literary realism (2), cyberpunk derivatives (2), rhyme (2), religious fiction (2), emotional intelligence (2), motivation (2), autobiographical comics (2), intelligence (2), military science fiction (2), parallel novel (2), emotion (2), education (2), guidebook (2), fitness (2), politics (2), psychological thriller (2), statistics (2), reading primer (2), romance (2), western (2), short story collection (2), creative nonfiction (2), encyclopedic novel (2), urban fantasy (2), nonfiction (2), montessori (2), vampire literature (2), puns (2), transgressive fiction (2), farce (2), juvenile fantasy (2), true crime (2), spy fiction (2), surrealism (2), erotic literature (2), teens (2), hard science fiction (2), paranoid fiction (1), weird fiction (1), superhero fiction (1), philosophy (1), counterfactual history (1), tragicomedy (play) (1), victorian literature (1), romanticism (1), sensation novel (1), christian apologetics (1), political philosophy (1), fantastique (1), adventure story (1), taoism (1), storytelling (1), witches (1), espionage (1), geography (1), nhs (1), pregancy (1), allegory (1), rules (1), death (1), peace (1), bullying (1), denial (1), usa (1), wisdom (1), wwii (1), plague (1), horror (1), story (1), economy (1), friendship (1), generosity (1), opposites (1), new-age music (1), success (1), money (1), puzzles (1), non-fiction comics (1), brain (1), gender (1), religion (1), economics (1), pastoral (1), elegy (1), paranormal romance (1), modernism (1), popular science (1), christmas story (1), comic fantasy (1), dictionary (1), social commentary (1), post-postmodernism (1), hysterical realism (1), soft science fiction (1), space opera (1), children literature (1), secret history (1), sea (1), marriage (1), gonzo journalism (1), novel of manners (1), punctuation (1), nursery rhyme (1), comedy horror (1), novel ( (1), slice of life (1), metafiction (1), decision making (1), social novel (1), didactic fiction (1), textbook (1), misery lit (1), historiographic metafiction (1), fictional autobiography (1), cookbook (1), political thriller (1), language (1), slipstream genre (1), fantastic (1), medical (1), alternative universe (1), contemporary fantasy (1), epic (1), dark fantasy (1), china (1), style (1), creativity (1), encouragement (1), nanopunk (1), manga (1), fable (1), serial (1), social criticism (1), hardboiled (1), feminist fiction (1), existentialism (1), western fiction (1), the holocaust (1), litrpg (1), picture puzzle (1), pirates (1), saga (1), absurdism (1), christian mythology (1), experimental literature (1), treatise (1), teenage (1),