Wirds an readin

Dae folk's wird buik grow wi age?

An online study estimatit the median recognition o 42,000 English lemmas at age 20 and 48,200 at age 60. This comparison atween age groups suggests that adult wird buiks keep growin, but it disna measure ilka body's learnin. Suidy

Test yersel (Inglis)
An open buik wi a fleein blue sphere an a white puzzle piece.

Bi the Helibrain teamLast checked

Key evidence an nummers

AgeEstimated median lemmas kentScope
2042,000Native speakers o American English.
6048,200The same study and coontin method.

Soorce: original estimates table. The full dataset haed 221,268 individuals; the age-specific Ns forby are no gien wi the estimates.

Whit affects it?

Wird recognition varied wi age and education. The authors suggest that lang exposure ower time helps explain the pattern. Different generations were compared, sae the pattern disna tell us an individual's rate o learnin. Suidy

Gie the related free test a try

Wird buik test

Test yersel: wird buik (Inglis). Mind the test's leid and instructions when ye compare results.

Test yersel (Inglis)

Common questions

Does ilka body grow their wird buik at the same rate?

The study disna set oot an individual's rate. Its nummers are estimates for groups.

Does recognisin a wird mean I can use it richt?

Naw. Recognisin that a wird exists is different fae explainin or uisin it.

Can I compare totals atween leids?

Different wird lists and coontin rules mak direct totals haurd tae compare. Use evidence for the leid that wis testit.

Sources

Cite this page: Dae folk's wird buik grow wi age?. Helibrain. 2026. https://helibrain.com/sco/answers/does-vocabulary-increase-with-age. CC BY 4.0.

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