English vocabulary for beginners in practice
Improving English Vocabulary for Beginners
Increasing vocabulary is an important step in learning any language. For beginners in English, developing a foundational lexical base is a key task. In this article, we will look at a list of words that form the foundation for further study of English, as well as provide tests to check and reinforce the material learned. These will not just be individual words, but you will need to match words to sentences (accordingly, you will need to understand the meaning of the sentence).
To learn how to improve your spoken English, read the article: Free ways to improve your conversational English
Basic vocabulary for beginners with examples
Let’s look at a list of words that will help you understand and use English at a beginner level.
apartment – [əˈpɑːrtmənt] – a set of rooms for living in, typically in a building with several similar sets
- Example: “My apartment has two bedrooms and a kitchen.”
bad – [bæd] – of poor quality or low standard
- Example: “The food at that restaurant was really bad.”
bottle – [ˈbɑːtl] – a rigid container with a narrow neck, used for liquids
- Example: “He opened a bottle of wine for dinner.”
breakfast – [ˈbrɛkfəst] – the first meal of the day, eaten in the morning
- Example: “I like to have eggs and toast for breakfast.”
brochure – [ˈbroʊʃʊr] – a small booklet containing details about something
- Example: “The hotel brochure showed pictures of the pool area.”
busy – [ˈbɪzi] – having a great deal to do
- Example: “Work has been really busy this week.”
car – [kɑːr] – a road vehicle powered by an engine
- Example: “They went for a drive in their new car.”
cheese – [tʃiːz] – a food made from the pressed curds of milk
- Example: “She sprinkled some grated cheese over the pasta.”
chief – [tʃiːf] – the head or leader of an organized body of people
- Example: “The chief of the tribe welcomed the visitors.”
chicken – [ˈtʃɪkɪn] – a domestic fowl kept for its eggs or meat
- Example: “We had roasted chicken for Sunday dinner.”
city – [ˈsɪti] – a large town, a place where many people live and work
- Example: “Tokyo is one of the largest cities in the world.”
class – [klæs] – a course of instruction
- Example: “I’m taking a Spanish class at the community college.”
cloud – [klaʊd] – a visible condensed mass of water vapor floating in the atmosphere
- Example: “Big dark clouds filled the sky before the storm.”
cold – [koʊld] – having a relatively low temperature
- Example: “It was a bitterly cold winter day.”
complete – [kəmˈpliːt] – having all necessary parts; whole
- Example: “She read the complete novel in just a few days.”
computer – [kəmˈpjuːtər] – an electronic machine for processing information
- Example: “Computers have become essential for work and entertainment.”
country – [ˈkʌntri] – a nation with its own government
- Example: “They are traveling to several different countries in Europe.”
crossword – [ˈkrɔːsˌwɜrd] – a puzzle where words naming certain things have to be guessed
- Example: “He enjoys doing the crossword puzzle in the newspaper every morning.”
cup – [kʌp] – a small bowl-shaped container for drinking from
- Example: “He drank his morning coffee from a large cup.”
date – [deɪt] – the day of the month or year
- Example: “What is today’s date? I need it for this form.”
different – [ˈdɪfərənt] – not the same, distinct
- Example: “They have different opinions on the matter.”
difficult – [ˈdɪfɪkəlt] – not easy, requiring skill or effort
- Example: “The final exam was extremely difficult.”
dictionary – [ˈdɪkʃəˌnɛri] – a book explaining the meanings of words
- Example: “If you don’t know a word, look it up in the dictionary.”
dinner – [ˈdɪnər] – the main meal of the day, typically eaten in the evening
- Example: “We’re having spaghetti for dinner tonight.”
do – [duː] – to perform or execute an action
- Example: “What do you want to do this weekend?”
drink – [drɪŋk] – a liquid for drinking
- Example: “Would you like something to drink?”
drinks – [drɪŋks] – plural form of drink
- Example: “The waiter took our drinks order.”
easy – [ˈiːzi] – requiring little effort, not difficult
- Example: “The instructions were easy to follow.”
evening – [ˈivnɪŋ] – the period of the day between afternoon and night
- Example: “I prefer working in the evenings when it’s quieter.”
expensive – [ɪkˈspɛnsɪv] – costly, high in price
- Example: “That new car is too expensive for our budget.”
family – [ˈfæməli] – a group of people related by blood or marriage
- Example: “She comes from a large family with many siblings.”
flat – [flæt] – a set of rooms for living in, similar to an apartment
- Example: “They rented a flat in the city center while renovating their house.”
food – [fuːd] – what people and animals eat
- Example: “The restaurant is known for its delicious food.”
good – [ɡʊd] – satisfactory, pleasant, favorable
- Example: “She’s a good student who gets excellent grades.”
group – [ɡruːp] – a number of people or things together
- Example: “A group of tourists was visiting the museum.”
hut – [hʌt] – a small, simple dwelling
- Example: “They built a hut in the woods to use as a shelter.”
internet – [ˈɪntərnɛt] – a global computer network
- Example: “I use the internet every day for work and recreation.”
ladder – [ˈlædər] – a portable set of steps for climbing up or down
- Example: “He used a ladder to change the light bulb in the ceiling.”
language – [ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ] – the method of human communication using words
- Example: “Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world.”
large – [lɑːrdʒ] – big in size, great in extent
- Example: “They bought a large sofa for their new living room.”
later – [ˈleɪtər] – at a future time, after the present time
- Example: “I don’t have time right now, can we talk about it later?”
letter – [ˈlɛtər] – a written message, typically sent in an envelope by mail
- Example: “He sent a letter to his family describing his travels.”
magazine – [ˈmæɡəˌzin] – a periodical publication containing articles and illustrations
- Example: “She buys fashion magazines every month.”
meal – [miːl] – an instance of eating food
- Example: “We had a large meal for our anniversary dinner.”
midnight – [ˈmɪdnaɪt] – 12:00 at night
- Example: “The ball dropped in Times Square at midnight on New Year’s Eve.”
money – [ˈmʌni] – the currency used to purchase goods and services
- Example: “He didn’t have enough money to buy the video game.”
morning – [ˈmɔːrnɪŋ] – the period from sunrise to noon
- Example: “She likes to go for a jog every morning before work.”
multinational – [ˌmʌltiˈnæʃənl] – involving multiple nations/countries
- Example: “The multinational company has offices all over the world.”
nation – [ˈneɪʃən] – a country, a body of people united by common descent, culture, or language
- Example: “The Olympics brings athletes from nations around the globe.”
newspaper – [ˈnuzˌpeɪpər] – a publication printed on paper and issued regularly with news
- Example: “He reads the newspaper every morning with his coffee.”
noon – [nuːn] – 12:00 in the daytime, midday
- Example: “Most people take their lunch break around noon.”
occupation – [ˌɑːkjəˈpeɪʃən] – a job or profession
- Example: “Her occupation is teaching high school English.”
piece – [piːs] – a portion of a whole
- Example: “He cut the pie into six equal pieces.”
post-office – [ˈpoʊstˌɔfɪs] – a place where mail is processed
- Example: “I need to go to the post office to buy stamps.”
room – [ruːm] – a partitioned area within a building
- Example: “The house has three bedrooms and two bathrooms.”
second – [ˈsɛkənd] – the ordinal number after first
- Example: “She came in second place in the race.”
side – [saɪd] – a place or position to the right or left
- Example: “He walked along the side of the road.”
slice – [slaɪs] – a thin, flat piece cut from something
- Example: “She had a slice of pizza for lunch.”
souvenirs – [ˌsuːvəˈnɪrz] – an object a traveler brings home as a reminder
- Example: “They bought souvenirs like keychains and t-shirts on their trip.”
time – [taɪm] – a measure of duration
- Example: “What time is the movie starting tonight?”
tongues – [tʌŋz] – languages
- Example: “She can speak three different tongues fluently.”
two – [tuː] – the number after one
- Example: “There were two birds sitting on the fence.”
vocabulary – [voʊˈkæbjəlˌɛri] – all the words used in a particular language
- Example: “Building your vocabulary is key to learning a new language.”
writing – [ˈraɪtɪŋ] – forming words on a surface with a pen, pencil, etc.
- Example: “Her writing career began with short stories.”
year – [jɪr] – a period of 365/366 days
- Example: “This year was a leap year with 366 days.”