The 5,000 most common English words
Ranked by how often each word appears across film dialogue, journalism and encyclopedic prose, with the pronunciation of every word. Translations and example sentences are being written; the ranking is complete.
RankWordPronunciation
1901
initial
/ˌɪˈnɪʃəl/
1902
provides
/pɹəˈvaɪdz/
1903
instance
/ˈɪnstəns/
1904
noise
/ˈnɔɪz/
1905
tradition
/tɹəˈdɪʃən/
1906
unknown
/ənˈnoʊn/
1907
crown
/ˈkɹaʊn/
1908
delivered
/dɪˈlɪvɚd/
1909
focused
/ˈfoʊkəst/
1910
housing
/ˈhaʊzɪŋ/
1911
bag
/ˈbæɡ/
1912
labor
/ˈleɪbɚ/
1913
iron
/ˈaɪɚn/
1914
values
/ˈvæljuz/
1915
somewhere
/ˈsʌmˌwɛɹ/
1916
stick
/ˈstɪk/
1917
vehicles
/ˈvihɪkəlz/
1918
ships
/ˈʃɪps/
1919
danger
/ˈdeɪndʒɚ/
1920
formed
/ˈfɔɹmd/
1921
uncle
/ˈʌŋkəl/
1922
yellow
/ˈjɛloʊ/
1923
stood
/ˈstʊd/
1924
chair
/ˈtʃɛɹ/
1925
heavily
/ˈhɛvəli/
1926
testing
/ˈtɛstɪŋ/
1927
defeat
/dɪˈfit/
1928
castle
/ˈkæsəl/
1929
affairs
/əˈfɛɹz/
1930
paying
/ˈpeɪɪŋ/
1931
navy
/ˈneɪvi/
1932
shortly
/ˈʃɔɹtli/
1933
roads
/ˈɹoʊdz/
1934
theatre
/ˈθiətɚ/
1935
knowing
/ˈnoʊɪŋ/
1936
feelings
/ˈfilɪŋz/
1937
unfortunately
/ənˈfɔɹtʃənətli/
1938
replaced
/ˌɹiˈpleɪst/
1939
allowing
/əˈlaʊɪŋ/
1940
returning
/ɹɪˈtɝnɪŋ/
1941
alternative
/ɔlˈtɝnətɪv/
1942
lawyer
/ˈlɔjɚ/
1943
finds
/ˈfaɪndz/
1944
suffering
/ˈsʌfɚɪŋ/
1945
teaching
/ˈtitʃɪŋ/
1946
careful
/ˈkɛɹfəl/
1947
officially
/əˈfɪʃəli/
1948
represent
/ˌɹɛpɹɪˈzɛnt/
1949
surgery
/ˈsɝdʒɚi/
1950
adult
/əˈdʌlt/
1951
fill
/ˈfɪl/
1952
bigger
/ˈbɪɡɚ/
1953
funny
/ˈfʌni/
1954
crazy
/ˈkɹeɪzi/
1955
novel
/ˈnɑvəl/
1956
blow
/ˈbloʊ/
1957
tests
/ˈtɛsts/
1958
minor
/ˈmaɪnɚ/
1959
soft
/ˈsɑft/
1960
switch
/ˈswɪtʃ/
1961
birds
/ˈbɝdz/
1962
apply
/əˈplaɪ/
1963
lights
/ˈlaɪts/
1964
owns
/ˈoʊnz/
1965
smoke
/ˈsmoʊk/
1966
positions
/pəˈzɪʃənz/
1967
assistant
/əˈsɪstənt/
1968
prepare
/pɹiˈpɛɹ/
1969
till
/ˈtɪl/
1970
tools
/ˈtulz/
1971
legs
/ˈlɛɡz/
1972
giant
/ˈdʒaɪənt/
1973
writer
/ˈɹaɪtɚ/
1974
volume
/ˈvɑljum/
1975
cultural
/ˈkʌltʃɚəl/
1976
scientific
/ˌsaɪənˈtɪfɪk/
1977
measure
/ˈmɛʒɚ/
1978
gay
/ˈɡeɪ/
1979
manage
/ˈmænədʒ/
1980
sport
/ˈspɔɹt/
1981
upper
/ˈʌpɚ/
1982
truck
/ˈtɹʌk/
1983
weak
/ˈwik/
1984
besides
/bɪˈsaɪdz/
1985
normally
/ˈnɔɹməli/
1986
supported
/səˈpɔɹtɪd/
1987
proved
/ˈpɹuvd/
1988
granted
/ˈɡɹæntəd/
1989
presented
/pɹiˈzɛntɪd/
1990
desire
/dɪˈzaɪɚ/
1991
ending
/ˈɛndɪŋ/
1992
attacked
/əˈtækt/
1993
somebody
/ˈsʌmˌbɑdi/
1994
suspect
/səˈspɛkt/
1995
acts
/ˈækts/
1996
identify
/aɪˈdɛntəˌfaɪ/
1997
pool
/ˈpul/
1998
teach
/ˈtitʃ/
1999
launched
/ˈlɔntʃt/
2000
cells
/ˈsɛlz/
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