Core Vocabulary Word Zones

The core vocabulary consists of 5,586 words. When root words that share endings (-ed, -ing, -s, -es) are grouped together, the number falls to 4,000. When words that share prefixes and suffixes (e.g., un-, -ful) are included, the number is even smaller: 2,500.

The core vocabulary can be grouped into five word zones of frequency. The word zones for the 4,000 most-frequent word families can be found here. (Remember that this list is intended for use by teachers, not for students to memorize.)

WordZones 4000 Simple Word Families

Listen to Freddy talk about the 2,500 Complex Word Families and why vocabulary matters: