Main evidence and numbers
| Wetin dem dey count | Estimate for age 20 | Wetin e mean |
|---|---|---|
| Lemmas | 42,000 | Entries wey join different forms of one word, like walk and walked. |
| Word families | 11,100 | Bigger groups wey join related words wey dem form from the same root too. |
Source: table of di original estimates. Di full dataset get 221,268 people; no be the number for native English speakers or any particular age.
Wetin dey affect am?
Age, education, language experience and how dem count fit change di estimate. Study
Try the free test wey connect to this one
Test for how many words person sabi
Test yourself: words wey you sabi (English). Follow di instructions about real and made-up words; use di result as estimate for dat word list.
Common questions
Dis estimate dey apply to every adult?
No. Di age, language and volunteer sample limit who person fit compare.
Why some other sources give smaller numbers?
Check wetin dem count and wetin dem mean by “sabi” one word.
Word knowledge na the same thing as intelligence?
Dis task dey estimate how much person sabi words. E no show person overall intelligence.
Sources
Cite dis page: How many words di average person sabi?. Helibrain. 2026. https://helibrain.com/pcm/answers/how-many-words-does-the-average-person-know. CC BY 4.0.
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