What are the 100 most commonly used words?

Decoding the Top 100: Building Blocks for Young Readers

For young readers embarking on their literary adventures, a strong foundation of common words is essential. These words act as building blocks, enabling comprehension and unlocking the magic hidden within stories. This list of 100 frequently encountered words empowers emerging readers, providing them with the tools to navigate the world of text with increasing confidence. While not an exhaustive list, it highlights the high-frequency vocabulary that forms the bedrock of early literacy.

This foundational word list is not simply a collection of common terms; it’s a gateway to understanding. Mastery of these words allows young readers to focus on the narrative, fostering a love for reading that will last a lifetime. By recognizing these words instantly, children can devote more cognitive energy to deciphering unfamiliar words and grasping the overall meaning of the text.

The Top 100:

This list is categorized for clarity and doesn’t reflect frequency ranking within the 100.

Pronouns & Determiners:

• I, me, my, mine
• you, your, yours
• he, him, his
• she, her, hers
• it, its
• we, us, our, ours
• they, them, their, theirs
• this, that, these, those
• a, an, the
• some, any, every
• no, not, none

Verbs:

• is, am, are, was, were
• be, been, being
• have, has, had
• do, does, did
• say, said, says
• go, goes, went, gone
• get, gets, got, gotten
• see, saw, seen
• make, makes, made
• come, came, comes
• think, thought, thinks
• know, knew, known
• take, took, taken
• give, gave, given
• find, found, finds
• want, wants, wanted
• look, looks, looked
• use, uses, used
• tell, told, tells

Nouns:

• thing, things
• time, day, year
• way, ways
• man, men
• woman, women
• child, children
• people, person
• work, job
• world, place, places
• house, home
• hand, hands
• part, parts
• number, numbers
• life, lives

Prepositions:

• to, at, in, on, of
• with, by, for, from
• about, above, across
• after, against, along
• around, before, behind
• below, beneath, beside
• between, down, during
• except, into, near, off
• over, through, under, up
• upon, without

Adjectives & Adverbs:

• good, better, best
• new, old
• big, small, little
• long, short
• high, low
• other, another
• more, most
• very, so, too
• just, only, also
• then, now, when
• here, there, where
• why, how
• much, many

Conjunctions:

• and, but, or
• if, then, else
• because, so, while
• although, though

This list is a starting point. Encouraging children to actively use these words in conversation and writing helps solidify their understanding and sets them on a path towards becoming fluent, confident readers. Remember, the journey of a thousand books begins with a single word.