Learning English shouldn’t take a lifetime.
Master the core vocabulary that unlocks 92% of the language.
For independent learners and teachers who want real progress.
Most English learners study far more words than they actually need.
The New General Service List (NGSL) identifies the core vocabulary that appears again and again in real English.
By focusing on the right words first, learners make faster, more confident progress.
Words in the Oxford English Dictionary
You don’t need to know every word; you just need to know the right words.
50% of English
92% of English
Created by Browne, Culligan, and Phillips using a carefully selected 273-million-word subsection of the Cambridge English Corpus, the New General Service List provides learners with an efficient foundation of high-frequency vocabulary.
Understand more English with fewer words. Fewer words ➡︎ less memorization
Understand real texts sooner
Faster confidence, less fatigue
Is this a real test?
It’s an estimate designed to guide your study — there’s no pass or fail.
What counts as “known”?
If you recognize a word and understand it in context, count it as known.
Where should I start?
If you’re unsure, choose Beginner — the check is designed to be forgiving.
This is an informal diagnostic, not a formal proficiency or placement test. It estimates receptive knowledge across the seven NGSL bands and suggests where to begin studying.
Get an estimate of your receptive vocabulary across the NGSL bands and identify a useful starting point for further study.
We don’t learn new words by memorizing lists.
We learn them through input — seeing words many times in meaningful context.
Reading is one of the easiest ways to get this input, as long as the text is at the right level, so reading feels natural, not exhausting.
Use your suggested NGSL band as a starting point when choosing graded reading and planning further vocabulary study.