Do you know the 850 words that make up "Basic English"? Mmmm... Take a look at the list below and see how many of the words you know.
Click on the word links if you want to see the words described using simple English explanations.
A
a • able • about • account • acid • across • act • addition • adjustment • advertisement • agreement • after • again • against • air • all • almost • among • amount • amusement • and • angle • angry • animal • answer • ant • any • apparatus • apple • approval • arch • argument • arm • army • art • as • at • attack • attempt • attention • attraction • authority • automatic • awake
B
baby • back • bad • bag • balance • ball • band • base • basin • basket • bath • be • beautiful • because • bed • bee • before • behavior • belief • bell • bent • berry • between • bird • birth • bit • bite • bitter • black • blade • blood • blow • blue • board • boat • body • boiling • bone • book • boot • bottle • box • boy • brain • brake • branch • brass • bread • breath • brick • bridge • bright • broken • brother • brown • brush • bucket • building • bulb • burn • burst • business • but • butter • button • by
C
cake • camera • canvas • card • care • carriage • cart • cat • cause • certain • chain • chalk • chance • change • cheap • cheese • chemical • chest • chief • chin • church • circle • clean • clear • clock • cloth • cloud • coal • coat • cold • collar • color • comb • come • comfort • committee • common • company • comparison • competition • complete • complex • condition • connection • conscious • control • cook • copper • copy • cord • cork • cotton • cough • country • cover • cow • crack • credit • crime • cruel • crush • cry • cup • current • curtain • curve • cushion • cut
D
damage • danger • dark • daughter • day • dead • dear • death • debt • decision • deep • degree • delicate • dependent • design • desire • destruction • detail • development • different • digestion • direction • dirty • discovery • discussion • disease • disgust • distance • distribution • division • do • dog • door • down • doubt • drain • drawer • dress • drink • driving • drop • dry • dust
E
ear • early • earth • east • edge • education • effect • egg • elastic • electric • end • engine • enough • equal • error • even • event • ever • every • example • exchange • existence • expansion • experience • expert • eye
F
face • fact • fall • false • family • far • farm • fat • father • fear • feather • feeble • feeling • female • fertile • fiction • field • fight • finger • fire • first • fish • fixed • flag • flame • flat • flight • floor • flower • fly • fold • food • foolish • foot • for • force • fork • form • forward • fowl • frame • free • frequent • friend • from • front • fruit • full • future
G
garden • general • get • girl • give • glass • glove • go • goat • gold • good • government • grain • grass • great • green • grey/gray • grip • group • growth • guide • gun
H
hair • hammer • hand • hanging • happy • harbor • hard • harmony • hat • hate • have • he • head • healthy • hearing • heart • heat • help • here • high • history • hole • hollow • hook • hope • horn • horse • hospital • hour • house • how • humor
I
I • ice • idea • if • ill • important • impulse • in • increase • industry • ink • insect • instrument • insurance • interest • invention • iron • island
J
jelly • jewel • join • journey • judge • jump
K
keep • kettle • key • kick • kind • kiss • knee • knife • knot • knowledge
L
land • language • last • late • laugh • law • lead • leaf • learning • leather • left • leg • let • letter • level • library • lift • light • like • limit • line • linen • lip • liquid • list • little (less, least) • living • lock • long • look • loose • loss • loud • love • low
M
machine • make • male • man • manager • map • mark • market • married • match • material • mass • may • meal • measure • meat • medical • meeting • memory • metal • middle • military • milk • mind • mine • minute • mist • mixed • money • monkey • month • moon • morning • mother • motion • mountain • mouth • move • much (more, most) • muscle • music
N
nail • name • narrow • nation • natural • near • necessary • neck • need • needle • nerve • net • new • news • night • no • noise • normal • north • nose • not • note • now • number • nut
O
observation • of • off • offer • office • oil • old • on • only • open • operation • opposite • opinion • other • or • orange • order • organization • ornament • out • oven • over • owner
P
page • pain • paint • paper • parallel • parcel • part • past • paste • payment • peace • pen • pencil • person • physical • picture • pig • pin • pipe • place • plane • plant • plate • play • please • pleasure • plough/plow • pocket • point • poison • polish • political • poor • porter • position • possible • pot • potato • powder • power • present • price • print • prison • private • probable • process • produce • profit • property • prose • protest • public • pull • pump • punishment • purpose • push • put
Q
quality • question • quick • quiet • quite
R
rail • rain • range • rat • rate • ray • reaction • red • reading • ready • reason • receipt • record • regret • regular • relation • religion • representative • request • respect • responsible • rest • reward • rhythm • rice • right • ring • river • road • rod • roll • roof • room • root • rough • round • rub • rule • run
S
sad • safe • sail • salt • same • sand • say • scale • school • science • scissors • screw • sea • seat • second • secret • secretary • see • seed • selection • self • send • seem • sense • separate • serious • servant • sex • shade • shake • shame • sharp • sheep • shelf • ship • shirt • shock • shoe • short • shut • side • sign • silk • silver • simple • sister • size • skin • skirt • sky • sleep • slip • slope • slow • small • smash • smell • smile • smoke • smooth • snake • sneeze • snow • so • soap • society • sock • soft • solid • some • son • song • sort • sound • south • soup • space • spade • special • sponge • spoon • spring • square • stamp • stage • star • start • statement • station • steam • stem • steel • step • stick • still • stitch • stocking • stomach • stone • stop • store • story • strange • street • stretch • sticky • stiff • straight • strong • structure • substance • sugar • suggestion • summer • support • surprise • such • sudden • sun • sweet • swim • system
T
table • tail • take • talk • tall • taste • tax • teaching • tendency • test • than • that • the • then • theory • there • thick • thin • thing • this • thought • thread • throat • though • through • thumb • thunder • ticket • tight • tired • till • time • tin • to • toe • together • tomorrow • tongue • tooth • top • touch • town • trade • train • transport • tray • tree • trick • trousers • true • trouble • turn • twist
U
umbrella • under • unit • use • up
V
value • verse • very • vessel • view • violent • voice
W
walk • wall • waiting • war • warm • wash • waste • watch • water • wave • wax • way • weather • week • weight • well • west • wet • wheel • when • where • while • whip • whistle • white • who • why • wide • will • wind • window • wine • wing • winter • wire • wise • with • woman • wood • wool • word • work • worm • wound • writing • wrong
X
(none)
Y
year • yellow • yes • yesterday • you • young
Z
(none)
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