This is a list of the 850 words in the Basic English core vocabulary. These words all denote simple concepts commonly used in everyday life.
Operations - 100 words
- come
- get
- give
- go
- keep
- let
- make
- put
- seem
- take
- be
- do
- have
- say
- see
- send
- may
- will
- about
- across
- after
- against
- among
- at
- before
- between
- by
- down
- from
- in
- off
- on
- over
- through
- to
- under
- up
- with
- as
- for
- of
- till
- than
- a
- the
- all
- any
- every
- no
- other
- some
- such
- that
- this
- I
- he
- you
- who
- and
- because
- but
- or
- if
- though
- while
- how
- when
- where
- why
- again
- ever
- far
- forward
- here
- near
- now
- out
- still
- then
- there
- together
- well
- almost
- enough
- even
- little
- much
- not
- only
- quite
- so
- very
- tomorrow
- yesterday
- north
- south
- east
- west
- please
- yes
400 general words
- A-F
- account
- act
- addition
- adjustment
- advertisement
- agreement
- air
- amount
- amusement
- animal
- answer
- apparatus
- approval
- argument
- art
- attack
- attempt
- attention
- attraction
- authority
- back
- balance
- base
- behaviour
- belief
- birth
- bit
- bite
- blood
- blow
- body
- brass
- bread
- breath
- brother
- building
- burn
- burst
- business
- butter
- canvas
- care
- cause
- chalk
- chance
- change
- cloth
- coal
- colour
- comfort
- committee
- company
- comparison
- competition
- condition
- connection
- control
- cook
- copper
- copy
- cork
- cotton
- cough
- country
- cover
- crack
- credit
- crime
- crush
- cry
- current
- curve
- damage
- danger
- daughter
- day
- death
- debt
- decision
- degree
- design
- desire
- destruction
- detail
- development
- digestion
- direction
- discovery
- discussion
- disease
- disgust
- distance
- distribution
- division
- doubt
- drink
- driving
- dust
- earth
- edge
- education
- effect
- end
- error
- event
- example
- exchange
- existence
- expansion
- experience
- expert
- fact
- fall
- family
- father
- fear
- feeling
- fiction
- field
- fight
- fire
- flame
- flight
- flower
- fold
- food
- force
- form
- friend
- front
- fruit
- G-O
- glass
- gold
- government
- grain
- grass
- grip
- group
- growth
- guide
- harbour
- harmony
- hate
- hearing
- heat
- help
- history
- hole
- hope
- hour
- humour
- ice
- idea
- impulse
- increase
- industry
- ink
- insect
- instrument
- insurance
- interest
- invention
- iron
- jelly
- join
- journey
- judge
- jump
- kick
- kiss
- knowledge
- land
- language
- laugh
- law
- lead
- learning
- leather
- letter
- level
- lift
- light
- limit
- linen
- liquid
- list
- look
- loss
- love
- machine
- man
- manager
- mark
- market
- mass
- meal
- measure
- meat
- meeting
- memory
- metal
- middle
- milk
- mind
- mine
- minute
- mist
- money
- month
- morning
- mother
- motion
- mountain
- move
- music
- name
- nation
- need
- news
- night
- noise
- note
- number
- observation
- offer
- oil
- operation
- opinion
- order
- organization
- ornament
- owner
- P-Z
- page
- pain
- paint
- paper
- part
- paste
- payment
- peace
- person
- place
- plant
- play
- pleasure
- point
- poison
- polish
- porter
- position
- powder
- power
- price
- process
- produce
- profit
- property
- prose
- protest
- pull
- punishment
- purpose
- push
- quality
- question
- rain
- range
- rate
- ray
- reaction
- reading
- reason
- record
- regret
- relation
- religion
- representative
- request
- respect
- rest
- reward
- rhythm
- rice
- river
- road
- roll
- room
- rub
- rule
- run
- salt
- sand
- scale
- science
- sea
- seat
- secretary
- selection
- self
- sense
- servant
- sex
- shade
- shake
- shame
- shock
- side
- sign
- silk
- silver
- sister
- size
- sky
- sleep
- slip
- slope
- smash
- smell
- smile
- smoke
- sneeze
- snow
- soap
- society
- son
- song
- sort
- sound
- soup
- space
- stage
- start
- statement
- steam
- steel
- step
- stitch
- stone
- stop
- story
- stretch
- structure
- substance
- sugar
- suggestion
- summer
- support
- surprise
- swim
- system
- talk
- taste
- tax
- teaching
- tendency
- test
- theory
- thing
- thought
- thunder
- time
- tin
- top
- touch
- trade
- transport
- trick
- trouble
- turn
- twist
- unit
- use
- value
- verse
- vessel
- view
- voice
- walk
- war
- wash
- waste
- water
- wave
- wax
- way
- weather
- week
- weight
- wind
- wine
- winter
- woman
- wood
- wool
- word
- work
- wound
- writing
- year.
Things - 200 picturable words
- angle
- ant
- apple
- arch
- arm
- army
- baby
- bag
- ball
- band
- basin
- basket
- bath
- bed
- bee
- bell
- berry
- bird
- blade
- board
- boat
- bone
- book
- boot
- bottle
- box
- boy
- brain
- brake
- branch
- brick
- bridge
- brush
- bucket
- bulb
- button
- cake
- camera
- card
- cart
- carriage
- cat
- chain
- cheese
- chest
- chin
- church
- circle
- clock
- cloud
- coat
- collar
- comb
- cord
- cow
- cup
- curtain
- cushion
- dog
- door
- drain
- drawer
- dress
- drop
- ear
- egg
- engine
- eye
- face
- farm
- feather
- finger
- fish
- flag
- floor
- fly
- foot
- fork
- fowl
- frame
- garden
- girl
- glove
- goat
- gun
- hair
- hammer
- hand
- hat
- head
- heart
- hook
- horn
- horse
- hospital
- house
- island
- jewel
- kettle
- key
- knee
- knife
- knot
- leaf
- leg
- library
- line
- lip
- lock
- map
- match
- monkey
- moon
- mouth
- muscle
- nail
- neck
- needle
- nerve
- net
- nose
- nut
- office
- orange
- oven
- parcel
- pen
- pencil
- picture
- pig
- pin
- pipe
- plane
- plate
- plough
- pot
- potato
- prison
- pump
- rail
- rat
- receipt
- ring
- rod
- roof
- root
- sail
- school
- scissors
- screw
- seed
- sheep
- shelf
- ship
- shirt
- shoe
- skin
- skirt
- snake
- sock
- spade
- sponge
- spoon
- spring
- square
- stamp
- star
- station
- stem
- stick
- stocking
- stomach
- store
- street
- sun
- table
- tail
- thread
- throat
- thumb
- ticket
- toe
- tongue
- tooth
- town
- train
- tray
- tree
- trousers
- umbrella
- wall
- watch
- wheel
- whip
- whistle
- window
- wing
- wire
- worm
Qualities - 100 descriptive words
- able
- acid
- angry
- automatic
- beautiful
- black
- boiling
- bright
- broken
- brown
- cheap
- chemical
- chief
- clean
- clear
- common
- complex
- conscious
- cut
- deep
- dependent
- early
- elastic
- electric
- equal
- fat
- fertile
- first
- fixed
- flat
- free
- frequent
- full
- general
- good
- great
- grey
- hanging
- happy
- hard
- healthy
- high
- hollow
- important
- kind
- like
- living
- long
- male
- married
- material
- medical
- military
- natural
- necessary
- new
- normal
- open
- parallel
- past
- physical
- political
- poor
- possible
- present
- private
- probable
- quick
- quiet
- ready
- red
- regular
- responsible
- right
- round
- same
- second
- separate
- serious
- sharp
- smooth
- sticky
- stiff
- straight
- strong
- sudden
- sweet
- tall
- thick
- tight
- tired
- true
- violent
- waiting
- warm
- wet
- wide
- wise
- yellow
- young.
Qualities - 50 opposites
- awake
- bad
- bent
- bitter
- blue
- certain
- cold
- complete
- cruel
- dark
- dead
- dear
- delicate
- different
- dirty
- dry
- false
- feeble
- female
- foolish
- future
- green
- ill
- last
- late
- left
- loose
- loud
- low
- mixed
- narrow
- old
- opposite
- public
- rough
- sad
- safe
- secret
- short
- shut
- simple
- slow
- small
- soft
- solid
- special
- strange
- thin
- white
- wrong