About the English Profile Wordlists

What are the Wordlists?

The Wordlists show the most common words and phrases that learners of English need to know in British or American English. The meaning of each word or phrase is assigned a level between A1 and B2 on the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference).

Find out more about the CEFR.

Why are the Wordlists important to me?

Whether you're a teacher, an exam writer, a materials developer or a researcher, if you work with learners of English studying at any level from beginner to upper intermediate (A1-B2), you'll find the Wordlists helpful in a variety of ways...

• To check the level of each meaning of a word or a phrase. Words with multiple meanings are very common in English. 'Keep' is in the Top 500 of words most frequently used in English, and different senses of this verb are learned at each level. You can set priorities for learners - which senses should they learn first? - and check which meanings are suitable for testing at each level.
• To identify the words or phrases a learner can be expected to know at each level. Searching for all words at e.g. A1 level can help you to develop appropriate materials for your classroom, and assist you with syllabus and lesson planning.
• To view words or phrases within a topic area. Ideal for writing materials or lesson planning, searching by topic - such as Animals, Body and Health, or Clothes - allows you to see the relevant words at each level, and to prioritise vocabulary items for learners.
• To look at real learner examples for almost all meanings of words and phrases in the Wordlists, giving you a clear illustration of the word or phrase as it is used by learners, including typical contexts and collocations.

• To search for aspects of language such as grammar, usage and word formation at each level. This helps you to identify the grammatical constraints relevant to that level - to determine, for example, which uncountable nouns can learners be expected to know at A1, or which verbs are frequently used in the passive form at B2.

  Usage notes can help to determine register and identify formal or informal usage, particularly helpful at levels B1-B2. Searching by word formation is useful if you're preparing exercises, as it shows the level at which related forms in a particular word family are learned.

  You can also search by prefix or suffix, to provide a definitive list of words that learners can be expected to know at each level.

How have the Wordlists been created?

Part of the English Profile Programme (a large research programme sponsored by the Council of Europe), the Wordlists are based on extensive research using the Cambridge Learner Corpus, a collection of over 35 million words of English written by learners from all over the world. Combined with solid evidence of use in other sources, such as examination wordlists and classroom materials, this corpus confirms what learners can and cannot do at each level.

The Wordlists are a work in progress. Their aim is to reflect what learners DO know, not what they MUST know. If you see something in the Wordlists that doesn't reflect your experience, please let us know. The more people contribute, the better the Wordlists will be!

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What is in a Wordlists entry?

Each entry uses reliable information from Cambridge dictionaries and consists of:

• a word or phrase with a level indicator (A1-B2) for each sense,
• a pronunciation,
• grammar and usage information,
• a definition,
• one or more examples, often showing typical collocations.

In addition, most entries have:

• authentic examples of learner writing, taken from the Cambridge Learner Corpus,
• guidewords, allowing users to navigate easily through entries of words with more than one meaning,
• 'Word family' panels, grouping words that are formed from the same root.

How to work with the Wordlists

• First, select British or American English by clicking the tab on the left.
• To browse the list of words, phrases and phrasal verbs by level, simply select the level, or range of levels, desired, and then click Browse A-Z.
• To view the list of words by letter, select the appropriate letter from the list in the toolbar.
• To view the list of words by letter, select the appropriate letter from the list in the toolbar.
• Click on any result to display the full entry.
• To check the level of a word or phrase, just type it into the search box, then click the Search button. Guidewords alongside the resulting entries will help you identify precise meanings.
• You can click on words within an entry to look up their level and meaning. If the word you are looking for is not found, you can check its meaning through Cambridge Dictionaries Online.
• To narrow your search or find groups of words, use the Advanced Search box and select your criteria from the drop down menu list, before clicking the Search button.