Wikipedia:Basic English combined wordlist
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
- This list consists of
- the Basic English BE 850 words
- international words which are assumed to be known
- 100 words of general interest, science or business, and 50 specialty words within that general area.
- Compound words made up of Basic words, where the origin makes sense, are also allowed.
- New words made from adding the allowed endings, -er, -ed, -ing, -ly, -s, and the prefix un-.
This list approximates a minimum English wordlist that a student can use to proceed on his own without difficulty.
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A
Basic: a • able • about • account • acid • across • act • addition • adjustment • advertisement • agreement • after • again • against • air • all • almost • among • amount • amusement • angle • animal • answer • and • angry • ant • any • apparatus • apple • approval • arch • argument • arm • army • art • as • at • attack • attempt • attention • attraction • authority • automatic • awake
International: alcohol • Algebra • aluminum • ammonia • anesthetic • April • Arithmetic • asbestos • August • autobus • automobile
Next: absence • absorption • acceleration • acceptance • accessory • accident • active • address • adjacent • adventure • advice • age • agent • agency • ago • allowance • along • also • alternative • always • ambition • amplitude • anchor • ankle • appendage • application • approximation • arbitration • arbitrary • arc • area • arrangement • ash • asset • assistant • average • awkward • axis
Compound: afterthought • airplane • another • anybody • anyhow • anyone • anything • anywhere
B
Basic: 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 • bone • book • boot • boiling • bottle • box • boy • brain • brake • branch • brass • bread • breath • brick • bridge • bright • broken • brother • brown • brush • bucket • building • bulb • button • burn • burst • business • but • butter • by
International: ballet • Bang • bank • bar • beef • beer • Biology • bomb
Next: balcony • bale • bankrupt • bark • barrel • beak • beaker • beard • beat • behind • belt • bet • bill • birefringence • blame • blanket • both • bottom • brave • break • breakfast • breast • broker • bubble • bud • budget • buoyancy • bunch • burial • busy
Compound: backbone • backwoods • become • bedroom • beeswax • birthday • birthright • blackberry • blackbird • blackboard • bloodvessel • bluebell • bookkeeper • brushwood • buttercup
Endings: basing • based • builder • burner • burned • burning
C
Basic: cake • camera • canvas • card • care • carriage • cart • cat • cause • certain • chain • chalk • chance • change • cheap • cheese • chemical • chest • chief • chin • church • circle • cloth • clean • clear • clock • 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
International: cafe • calendar • catarrh • centi- • champagne • chauffeur • chemist • Chemistry • check • chocolate • chorus • cigarette • circus • citron • club • coffee • cocktail • cognac • College • colony
Next: calculation • call • capacity • capital • carpet • cartilage • case • cast • cave • cavity • cell • ceremony • certificate • chair • character • charge • child • chimney • china • choice • circulation • circuit • circumference • civilization • clay • claim • claw • cleavage • clever • client • climber • clip • code • coil • collision • collection • column • combination • combine • communications • complaint • component • compound • concept • concrete • conductor • congruent • conservation • consignment • constant • consumer • continuous • contour • convenient • conversion • cool • corner • correlation • corrosion • cost • court • creeper • crop • cross • cunning • cusp • customs
Compound: cardboard • carefree • caretaker • clockwork • commonsense • copyright • cupboard
Endings: carter • clothier • clothing • cooker • cooked • cooking • crying
D
Basic: 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
International: dance • December • deci- • degree • Dominion • dynamite
Next: damping • date • debit • deck • decrease • defect • deficiency • deflation • degenerate • delivery • demand • denominator • department • desert • density • deposit • determining • dew • diameter • difference • difficulty • drift • dike • dilution • dinner • dip • direct • disappearance • discharge • discount • disgrace • dislike • dissipation • disturbance • ditch • dive • divisor • divorce • doll • domesticating • dreadful • dream • duct • dull • duty
Compound: daylight • downfall
Endings: dancer • dancing (to) • designer • dressing (up) • driver • dropped • dropper • duster
E
Basic: 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
International: eight • electricity • eleven • Embassy • Empire • encyclopedia • engineer
Next: each • easy • economy • efficiency • effort • either • elimination • employer • empty • enemy • envelope • environment • envy • equation • erosion • eruption • evaporation • evening • exact • excitement • experiment • exercise • explanation • explosion • export • expression • extinction • eyebrow • eyelash
Compound: ear-ring • earthwork • evergreen • everybody • everyday • everyone • everything • everywhere • eyeball
F
Basic: 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
International: February • fifteen • fifth • fifty • five • four • fourteen • fourth • forty • Friday
Next: factor • failure • fair • famous • fan • fastening • fault • ferment • fertilizing • fever • fiber • figure • fin • financial • flash • flask • flesh • flood • flour • focus • forecast • forehead • foreign • forgiveness • fraction • fracture • fresh • friction • flint • flood • flow • foliation • frost • frozen • fume • funnel • funny • fur • furnace • furniture • fusion
Compound: fatherland • fingerprint • firearm • fire-engine • firefly • fireman • fireplace • firework • first-rate • football • footlights • footman • footnote • footprint • footstep
Endings: farmer • fisher/fisherman • folder • fired • firing
G
Basic: garden • general • get • girl • give • glass • glove • go • goat • gold • good • government • grain • grass • great • green • grey/gray • grip • group • growth • guide • gun
International: gas • Geography • Geology • Geometry • gram • glycerin
Next: gate • generation • germ • germinating • gill • glacier • gland • god • grand • grateful • grating • gravel • grease • grief • grocery • groove • gross • ground • guard • guarantee • guess • gum
Compound: gasworks • goldfish • goodlooking • good-morning • goodnight • gunboat • gun-carriage • gunmetal • gunpowder
Endings: gardener
H
Basic: 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
International: half • hiss • hotel • hundred • hyena • hygiene • hysteria
Next: habit • handkerchief • handle • heavy • hedge • hill • hinge • hire • hold • holiday • home • honest • honey • hoof • host • human • hunt • hurry • hurt • husband
Compound: handbook • handwriting • headdress • headland • headstone • headway • hereafter • herewith • highlands • highway • himself • horseplay • horsepower • hourglass • houseboat • housekeeper • however
Endings: hanger • heater • heated • heating
I
Basic: I • ice • idea • if • ill • important • impulse • in • increase • industry • ink • insect • instrument • insurance • interest • invention • iron • island
International: Imperial • inferno • influenza • international
Next: igneous • image • imagination • import • impurity • inclusion • index • individual • inflation • infinity • inheritance • innocent • institution • insulator • integer • intelligent • intercept • interpretation • intersection • intrusion • investigation • investment • inverse • invitation
Compound: inasmuch • income • indoors • inland • inlet • input • inside • instep • into • itself
Endings: inner
J
Basic: jelly • jewel • join • journey • judge • jump
International: January • jazz • July • June
Next: jam • jaw • jealous • jerk • joint • jug • juice • jury • justice
K
Basic: keep • kettle • key • kick • kind • kiss • knee • knife • knot • knowledge
International: kilo- • King
Next: kennel • kidney • kitchen • knock
Endings: keeper
L
Basic: land • language • last • late • laugh • law • lead • leaf • learning • least • leather • leg • less • left • let • letter • level • library • lift • light • like • limit • line • linen • lip • liquid • list • little • living • lock • long • look • loose • loss • loud • love • low
International: latitude • lava • liter • liqueur • longitude
Next: lace • lag • lake • lame • lamp • large • latitude • lawyer • layer • lazy • lecture • legal • length • lens • lesson • lever • lever • liability • license • lid • life • lime • limestone • link • liver • load • local • load • loan • locus • longitude • luck • lump • lunch • lung
Compound: landmark • landslip • lighthouse • looking-glass
Endings: laughing (at) • learner • locker • locking (up)
M
Basic: machine • man • manager • make • male • 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 • more • morning • most • mother • motion • mountain • mouth • move • much • muscle • music
International: macaroni • madam • magnetic • malaria • mania • March • Mathematics • May • meter • meow • micro- • microscope • milli- • million • minute • Monday • Museum
Next: magic • magnitude • manner • many • marble • margin • marriage • mast • mattress • mature • mean • meaning • medicine • medium • melt • member • mess • message • metabolism • mill • mineral • mixture • model • modern • modest • momentum • monopoly • mood • moral • moustache • mud • multiple • multiplication • murder
Compound: manhole • myself
Endings: marked • miner
N
Basic: 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
International: neutron • nickel • nicotine • nine • November
Next: nasty • nature • navy • neat • neglect • neighbor • nest • next • nice • node • nostril • nucleus • numerator • nurse
Compound: network • newspaper • nobody • nothing • nowhere
Endings: nearer • noted
O
Basic: observation • of • off • offer • office • oil • old • on • only • open • operation • opinion • opposite • or • orange • order • organization • ornament • other • out • oven • over • owner
International: October • olive • once • omelet • one • opera • opium • orchestra • organism
Next: obedient • officer • orchestra • ore • organ • origin • outcrop • outlier • overlap • oval • own • oxidation
Compound: offspring • oncoming • oneself • onlooker • onto • outburst • outcome • outcry • outdoor • outgoing • outhouse • outlaw • outlet • outline • outlook • output • outside • outskirts • outstretched • overacting • overall • overbalancing • overbearing • overcoat • overcome • overdo • overdressed • overfull • overhanging • overhead • overland • overleaf • overloud • overseas • overseer • overshoe • overstatement • overtake • overtaxed • overtime • overturned • overuse • overvalued • overweight • overworking
Endings: outer
P
Basic: 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
International: pajamas • paraffin • paradise • park • passport • patent • penguin • petroleum • phonograph • Physics • Physiology • piano • platinum • police • post • potash • President • Prince • Princess • program • propaganda • Psychology • Purr • pyramid
Next: packing • pad • pair • pan • paragraph • parent • particle • partner • party • passage • path • patience • pedal • pendulum • pension • people • perfect • petal • piston • plain • plan • plaster • plug • poetry • pollen • pool • population • porcelain • practice • praise • prayer • pressure • prick • priest • prime • probability • product • progress • projectile • projection • promise • proof • proud • pulley • pupil • wikt:purchase • pure
Compound: pincushion • plaything • policeman • postman • postmark • postmaster • postoffice
Endings: painter • painting • parting • playing • played • pleased (with) • pointer • pointing (at) • potter • printer • prisoner • producer
Q
Basic: quality • question • quick • quiet • quite
International: Quack • quarter • Queen • quinine
R
Basic: 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
International: radio • radium • referendum • restaurant • rheumatism • Royal • rum
Next: race • radiation • ratio • reagent • real • receiver • reciprocal • rectangle • recurring • reference • reflux • reinforcement • relative • remark • remedy • rent • repair • reproduction • repulsion • resistance • residue • resolution • result • retail • revenge • reversible • rich • rigidity • rise • rival • rock • rot • rotation • rude • rust
Compound: runaway
Endings: raining • reader • reading • roller • ruler • rubber
S
Basic: 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 • soup • south • space • spade • special • sponge • spoon • spring • square • stage • stamp • star • start • statement • station • steam • steel • stem • step • stick • sticky • stiff • still • stitch • stocking • stomach • stone • stop • store • story • straight • strange • street • stretch • strong • structure • substance • such • sudden • sugar • suggestion • summer • sun • support • surprise • sweet • swim • system
International: salad • sardine • Saturday • second • September • serum • seven • sir • six • sixteen • sport • Sunday
Next: sac • sale • sample • satisfaction • saturated • saucer • saving • scale • scarp • schist • scratch • screen • seal • search • security • secretion • section • sedimentary • selfish • sensitivity • sentence • sepal • service • set • shadow • shale • share • shave • shear • sheet • shell • shore • shoulder • show • sight • sill • similarity • since • skull • slate • sleeve • slide • social • soil • soldier • solution • solvent • sorry • spark • specialization • specimen • speculation • spirit • spit • splash • spot • stable • stain • stair • stalk • stamen • statistics • steady • stimulus • storm • strain • straw • stream • strength • stress • strike • string • study • subject • substitution • subtraction • success • successive • sucker • sum • supply • surface • surgeon • suspension • suspicious • swelling • swing • switch • sympathetic
Compound: seaman • secondhand • shorthand • sideboard • sidewalk • somebody • someday • somehow • someone • something • sometime • somewhat • somewhere • suchlike • sunburn • sunlight • sunshade • sweetheart
Endings: sailor • shocking • shocked • snowing • steamer • stopper • stopping • stopping up • stretcher
T
Basic: table • tail • take • talk • tall • taste • tax • teaching • tendency • test • than • that • the • then • theory • there • thick • thin • thing • this • though • thought • thread • throat • 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
International: tapioca • taxi • tea • telegram • telephone • ten • terrace • theater • thermometer • third • thirteen • thirty • thousand • three • Thursday • toast • tobacco • torpedo • Tuesday • turbine • twenty-one • twelve • twenty • twice • two
Next: tailor • tame • tap • tear • tent • term • texture • thickness • thief • thimble • thorax • threat • thrust • tide • tie • tissue • tongs • too • total • towel • tower • traffic • tragedy • transmission • transparent • trap • travel • treatment • triangle • truck • tube • tune • tunnel • twin • typist
Compound: today • tonight • tradesman
Endings: talking (of) • teacher • touching (up) • trader • trainer • training • troubling • troubled • turning (over)
U
Basic: umbrella • under • unit • up • use
International: university
Next: ugly • unconformity • understanding • universe • unknown
Compound: underclothing • undercooked • undergo • undergrowth • undermined • undersigned • undersized • understatement • undertake • undervalued • undo • upkeep • uplift • upon • upright • uptake
Endings: used (to)
V
Basic: value • verse • very • vessel • view • violent • voice
International: vanilla • violin • visa • vitamin • vodka • volt
Next: valency • valley • valve • vapor • variable • vascular • vegetable • velocity • vestigial • victim • victory • volume • vortex • vote
Compound: viewpoint
W
Basic: walk • wall • waiting • war • warm • wash • waste • watch • water • wave • wax • way • weather • week • weight • well • west • wet • what • wheel • when • where • which • 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
International: Wednesday • whisky
Next: weak • wedge • welcome • whether • wholesale • widow • wife • wild • world • wreck • wrist
Compound: waterfall • weekend • well-being • well-off • whatever • whenever • whereas • whereby • wherever • whichever • whitewash • whoever • windpipe • within • without • woodwork • workhouse
Endings: waiter • worker • working (on) working (out) / working (up) • writer • waiting • wasted
X, Y, Z
Basic: year • yellow • yes • yesterday • you • young
International: zebra • zinc • Zoology
Next: yawn
