Globish Core Words
Globish Core Vocabulary (as at 31 August 2011)
At this time, there are 1500 words that have been in use for some time. As Globish moves towards an international standard, it is important that the set of words accommodates the needs of those who will be using them - from wherever they may come. For this reason, suggestions with respect to vocabulary are welcome from international English experts. They should be emailed to us only with a clear explanation as to why the words should be included or excluded.
The following list is the current list (bold font indicates what to stress):
a | able | about | above |
accept | according (to) | account | accuse |
achieve | across | act | adapt |
add | admit | adult | advertisement |
advise | affect | afraid | after |
again | against | age | agency |
ago | agree | ahead | aid |
aim | air | alive | all |
allow | ally | almost | alone |
along | already | also | although |
always | among | amount | and |
anger | angle | announce | another |
answer | any | apartment | apologize |
appeal | appear | apple | apply |
appoint | approve | area | argue |
arm | army | around | arrest |
arrive | art | as | ask |
assist | at | attach | attack |
attempt | attend | attention | authority |
automatic | autumn | available | average |
avoid | awake | award | away |
baby | back | bad | bag |
balance | ball | ballot | ban |
bank | bar | barrier | base |
basket | bath | battle | be |
bear | beat | beauty | because |
become | bed | beer | before |
begin | behind | believe | bell |
belong | below | bend | beside |
best | betray | better | between |
big | bill | bird | birth |
bit | bite | black | blade |
blame | blank | blanket | bleed |
blind | block | blood | blow |
blue | board | boat | body |
bomb | bone | bonus | book |
boot | border | born | borrow |
boss | both | bottle | bottom |
box | boy | boycott | brain |
brake | branch | brave | bread |
break | breathe | brick | bridge |
brief | bright | bring | broad |
broadcast | brother | brown | brush |
budget | build | bullet | burn |
burst | bury | business | busy |
but | butter | button | buy |
by | cabinet | call | calm |
camera | camp | campaign | can |
cancel | capture | car | card |
care | carriage | carry | case |
cash | cat | catch | cause |
celebrate | cell | center | century |
ceremony | certain | chain | chair |
chairman | challenge | champion | chance |
change | channel | character | charge |
chart | chase | cheap | check |
cheer | cheese | chemical | chest |
chief | child | choose | church |
circle | citizen | city | civilian |
claim | clash | class | clean |
clear | climate | climb | clock |
close | cloth | cloud | coal |
coast | coat | code | cold |
collect | college | colony | color |
combine | come | comfort | command |
comment | committee | common | communicate |
community | company | compare | compete |
complete | compromise | computer | concern |
condemn | condition | conference | confirm |
congratulate | congress | connect | consider |
consumption | contact | contain | continent |
continue | control | cook | cool |
cooperate | copy | cork | corn |
corner | correct | cost | cotton |
count | country | course | court |
cover | cow | crash | create |
credit | crew | crime | crisis |
criteria | criticize | crop | cross |
crowd | crush | cry | culture |
cup | cure | current | custom |
cut | damage | dance | danger |
dark | date | daughter | day |
dead | deaf | deal | dear |
debate | debt | decide | declare |
decrease | deep | defeat | defend |
define | degree | delay | delicate |
deliver | demand | demonstrate | denounce |
deny | departure | depend | deploy |
depression | describe | desert* | design |
desire | destroy | detail | develop |
device | die | diet | differ |
difficult | dig | dinner | diplomat |
direct | dirt | disappear | discover |
discuss | disease | disk | dismiss |
dispute | distance | divide | do |
doctor | document | dog | door |
doubt | down | drain | draw |
dream | dress | drink | drive |
drop | drug | dry | during |
dust | duty | each | ear |
early | earn | earth | east |
easy | eat | edge | education |
effect | effort | egg | either |
elastic | electricity | element | else |
embassy | emergency | emotion | employ |
empty | end | enemy | enforce |
engine | enjoy | enough | enter |
entertain | environment | equal | equate |
equipment | erase | escape | especially |
establish | estimate | ethnic | evaporate |
even | event | ever | every |
evidence | evil | exact | example |
except | exchange | excuse | execute |
exercise | exist | exit | expand |
expect | expense | experience | experiment |
expert | explain | explode | explore |
export* | express | extend | extra |
extreme | eye | face | fact |
factory | fail | fair | fall |
false | family | famous | far |
fast | fat | father | fear |
feather | feature | feed | feel |
female | fertile | few | field |
fierce | fight | figure | file |
fill | film | final | finance |
find | fine | finger | finish |
fire | firm | first | fish |
fist | fit | fix | flag |
flat | float | floor | flow |
flower | fluid | fly | fog |
fold | follow | food | fool |
foot | for | forbid | force |
foreign | forest | forget | forgive |
form | former | forward | frame |
free | freeze | fresh | friend |
frighten | from | front | fruit |
fuel | full | fun | future |
gain | gallon | game | gang |
garden | gas | gather | general |
gentle | get | gift | girl |
give | glass | global | go |
goal | god | gold | good |
govern | grass | gray (grey) | great |
green | ground | group | grow |
guarantee | guard | guess | guide |
guilty | gun | guy | hair |
half | halt | hand | hang |
happen | happy | hard | harm |
hat | hate | have | he |
head | heal | health | hear |
heart | heat | heavy | help |
her | here | hide | high |
hijack | hill | him | hire |
his | history | hit | hold |
hole | holiday | hollow | holy |
home | honest | hope | horrible |
horse | hospital | hostage | hostile |
hot | hour | house | how |
however | huge | human | humor |
hunger | hunt | hurry | hurt |
husband | I | ice | idea |
identify | if | ill | imagine |
import* | important | improve | in |
inch | incident | include | increase* |
independent | indicate | individual | industry |
infect | influence | inform | inject |
injure | innocent | insane | insect |
inspect | instead | insult* | insurance |
intelligence | intense | interest | interfere |
international | into | invade | invent |
invest | investigate | invite | involve |
iron | island | issue | it |
item | jacket | jail | jewel |
job | join | joint | joke |
joy | judge | jump | jury |
just | keep | key | kick |
kid | kill | kind | king |
kiss | kit | kitchen | knife |
know | labor | laboratory | lack |
lake | land | language | large |
last | late | laugh | law |
lay | lead | leak | learn |
least | leave | left | leg |
legal | lend | length | less |
let | letter | level | lie |
lie | life | lift | light |
like | limit | line | link |
lip | liquid | list | listen |
little | live | load | loan |
local | locate | lock | log |
lone | long | look | loose |
lose | lot | loud | love |
low | luck | main | |
major | make | male | man |
manufacture | many | map | march |
mark | market | marry | master |
match | material | matter | may |
mayor | me | meal | mean |
measure | meat | media | meet |
member | memory | mental | mercy |
message | metal | method | middle |
might | mile | military | milk |
mind | mine | minister | minor |
miscellaneous | miss | mistake | mix |
mob | model | moderate | modern |
money | month | moon | moral |
more | morning | most | mother |
motion | mountain | mouth | move |
much | murder | muscle | music |
must | my | mystery | nail |
name | narrow | nation | native |
navy | near | necessary | neck |
need | neighbor | neither | nerve |
neutral | never | new | news |
next | nice | night | no |
noise | noon | normal | north |
nose | not | note | nothing |
notice | now | nowhere | number |
obey | object | observe | occupy |
occur | of | off | offensive |
offer | office | officer | often |
oil | old | on | once |
only | open | operate | opinion |
opportunity | opposite | oppress | or |
order | organize | other | ounce |
our | ours | oust | out |
over | owe | own | page |
pain | paint | pan | pants |
paper | parade | parcel | parent |
parliament | part | party | pass |
passenger | past | paste | path |
patient | pattern | pay | peace |
pen | pencil | people | percent |
perfect | perform | perhaps | period |
permanent | permit | person | physical |
pick | picture | piece | pig |
pilot | pint | pipe | place |
plain | plan | plane | plant |
plastic | plate | play | please |
plenty | point | poison | |
policy | politics | pollute | poor |
popular | port | position | possess |
possible | postpone | potato | pound |
pour | powder | power | practice |
praise | pray | pregnant | present |
press | pretty | prevent | price |
prison | private | prize | |
problem | process | product | professor |
profit | program | progress* | project* |
property | propose | protect | protest |
prove | provide | public | publish |
pull | punish | purchase | pure |
purpose | push | put | quality |
quart | quarter | queen | question |
quick | quiet | quit | quite |
race | radiation | raid | rail |
rain | raise | range | rare |
rate | rather | ray | reach |
react | read | ready | real |
reason | receive | recognize | record* |
recover | red | reduce | refugee |
refuse* | regret | regular | reject |
relation | release | remain | remember |
remove | repair | repeat | report |
represent | request | require | rescue |
research | resign | resist | resolution |
resource | respect | responsible | rest |
restrain | result | retire | return |
revolt | reward | rice | rich |
ride | right | ring | riot |
rise | risk | river | road |
rob | rock | rocket | roll |
roof | room | root | rope |
rough | round | row | rub |
rubber | ruin | rule | run |
sad | safe | sail | salt |
same | sand | satisfy | save |
say | scale | scare | school |
science | score | script | sea |
search | season | seat | second |
secret | section | security | see |
seed | seek | seem | seize |
seldom | self | sell | senate |
send | sense | sentence | separate |
series | serious | serve | set |
settle | several | severe | sex |
shade | shake | shall | shame |
shape | share | sharp | she |
sheet | shelf | shell | shelter |
shine | ship | shirt | shock |
shoe | shoot | shop | short |
should | shout | show | shrink |
shut | sick | side | sign |
signal | silence | silk | silver |
similar | simple | since | sing |
single | sister | sit | situation |
size | skill | skin | skirt |
sky | slave | sleep | slide |
slip | slow | small | smart |
smash | smell | smile | smoke |
smooth | snack | snake | sneeze |
snow | so | soap | social |
society | soft | soil | soldier |
solid | solve | some | son |
song | soon | sorry | sort |
soul | sound | south | space |
speak | special | speech | speed |
spell | spend | spirit | spot |
spread | spring | spy | square |
stage | stairs | stamp | stand |
star | start | starve | state |
station | status | stay | steal |
steam | steel | step | stick |
still | stomach | stone | stop |
store | storm | story | straight |
strange | stream | street | stretch |
strike | string | strong | structure |
struggle | study | stupid | subject |
substance | substitute | succeed | such |
sudden | suffer | sugar | suggest |
suit | summer | sun | supervise |
supply | support | suppose | suppress |
sure | surface | surprise | surround |
survive | suspect | suspend | swallow |
swear | sweet | swim | symbol |
sympathy | system | table | tail |
take | talk | tall | target |
task | taste | tax | tea |
teach | team | tear | tear |
tell | term | terrible | territory |
terror | test | than | thank |
that | the | theater | their |
theirs | them | then | theory |
there | these | they | thick |
thin | thing | think | third |
this | those | though | thought |
threaten | through | throw | thus |
tie | tight | time | tin |
tiny | tire | title | to |
today | together | tomorrow | tone |
tongue | tonight | too | tool |
tooth | top | total | touch |
toward | town | track | trade |
tradition | traffic | train | transport* |
travel | treason | treasure | treat |
treaty | tree | trial | tribe |
trick | trip | troop | trouble |
truck | true | trust | try |
tube | turn | twice | tyre |
under | understand | unit | universe |
unless | until | up | upon |
urge | us | use | valley |
value | vary | vegetable | vehicle |
version | very | veto | vicious |
victim | victory | view | violence |
visit | voice | volume | vote |
wage | wait | walk | wall |
want | war | warm | warn |
wash | waste | watch | water |
wave | way | we | weak |
wealth | weapon | wear | weather |
week | weight | welcome | well |
west | wet | what | wheat |
wheel | when | where | whether |
which | while | white | who |
whole | why | wide | wife |
wild | will | win | wind |
window | wine | wing | winter |
wire | wise | wish | with |
withdraw | without | woman | wonder |
wood | wool | word | work |
world | worry | worse | worth |
wound | wreck | write | wrong |
yard | year | yellow | yes |
yesterday | yet | you | young |