Basic English Core Vocabulary
Word List: Basic English Core Vocabulary
Below is the Basic English Core Vocabulary word list containing 849 individual words. Click on a word to discover related lexical and grammatical information.
About This Word List
The "Basic English core vocabulary" list was devised by Charles Kay Ogden as an international auxiliary language and an aid for teaching English as a second language. The list consists of 850 core words that denote simple concepts commonly used in everyday life. These form the foundation of Basic English - a simplified form of English designed for universal comprehension ("Basic English" stands for "British American Scientific International and Commercial English"). Ogden suggested that this core word list is theoretically enough for everyday life. By focusing on this limited set of essential words, the Basic English core vocabulary aims to provide a minimum list of words that every English speaker should learn.
