Vocab Priority

Although this is primarily directed towards the creation of conlangs, it is applicable to both conlangs and language learning. Slashes usually mean "in opposition to" and tildes mean "roughly equivalent to" - treat tildes like their own list. Parentheses indicate a category name and not a vocab word. Ordered lists indicate recommended order, but you can choose a different order to suit your needs and tastes. Unordered lists indicate that no word in the list is particularly more important than any other. Key:

⚫ Learn at least 90% of the subcategories
⚫ Learn at least 80% of the subcategories
⚫ Learn at least 70% of the subcategories
⚫ Learn at least 60% of the subcategories
(No Symbol) Learn at least 50% of these
⚫ Learn any

As you advance through the sections, try to fill out missing words from previous sections. Approximate size: ~750 Words. List:

⚫ (pronouns)
- I/we(excl.)
- we (incl.)
- you
- he/she/it/they
⚫ (determiners)
- this/these
- that/those
- yon
- what/which/who
- a~an
- the
- (possessives)
  - my/our
  - your
  - his/her/their
⚫ people
- guy~person
- man
- woman
- (life stages)
  - baby
  - child~kid~boy~girl
⚫ (basic polar adjectives)
1. good/bad
2. big/small~little
3. fast/slow
4. hot/cold
5. tall/short
6. long/short
7. wide/narrow
8. high/low
9. deep/shallow
10. old/young~new
11. heavy/light
⚫ (basic verbs)
1. be
2. do~make
3. go
4. have
5. come
6. give
7. get~take
⚫ (basic adverbs)
1. not~no
2. yes (or "really" &c.)
(quantifiers)
- all~every
- any
- few
- many~much
- no/none
- other
- some
- such
body parts
1. ⚫ (extremities)
  - arm
  - finger
  - fingernail
  - foot
  - hand
  - leg
  - thumb
  - toe
2. head
  - beard
  - chin
  - ear
  - eye
  - face
  - mouth
    - cheek
    - jaw
    - lip
    - tongue
    - tooth
  - neck
  - nose
  - throat
3. ⚫ (material)
  - blood
  - bone
  - fat
  - flesh~meat~muscle
  - hair
  - nerve
  - skin
  - tear
4. joints
  - ankle
  - elbow
  - hip
  - knee
  - knuckle
  - shoulder
  - wrist
5. outside
  - back
  - belly
  - breast
  - thigh
6. organs
  - bladder
  - brain
  - guts
  - heart
  - intestine
  - kidney
  - liver
  - lung
  - stomach
  - pancreas~sweetbread
common animals
1. utility
  - cat
  - dog
  - horse
2. food
  - bird
  - chicken
  - cow
  - deer~elk~moose
  - goat
  - pig
  - sheep
3. ⚫ aquatic
  - clam/oyster
  - crab
  - fish
  - lobster
  - sponge
4. predator
  - bear
  - fox
  - snake
  - wolf
5. bugs
  - ant
  - bee
  - fly
  - louse
  - spider
  - worm
6. animal products
  - egg
  - milk
  - wool
7. ⚫ animal parts
  - claw
  - feather
  - hoof
  - horn
  - tail
  - wing
8. ⚫ small furry things
  - bunny~hare~rabbit
  - mouse~rat
  - squirrel
⚫ plants
1. ⚫ plant parts
  - bark
  - berry
  - branch~stick~twig
  - flower
    - rose
  - fruit
    - apple
    - olive
    - orange
  - leaf
  - nut
  - root
    - potato
  - seed
  - stem~trunk
  - stump
2. plants
  - bush~shrub
  - grass
  - ⚫ tree
    - beech
    - birch
    - cedar
    - oak
    - palm
    - pine
    - spruce
  - forest
⚫ (intermediate verbs)
- (with another)
  - bear~carry
  - keep
  - place~put
  - send
- (ability, permission)
  - can
  - let
  - may
- (with body)
  - die
  - lie (down)
  - sleep
  - shit~defecate
- ⚫ (mental)
  - know
  - like~love
  - think
  - want
- ⚫ (motion)
  - fly
  - run
  - swim
  - walk
- ⚫ (with mouth)
  - bite
  - blow
  - breathe
  - drink
  - eat
  - say~speak
  - spit
  - suck
  - vomit
- ⚫ (obligation)
  - must~have to
  - should
- (sensory)
  - hear~listen
  - look~see~watch
  - seem
  - smell
⚫ (basic natural substances)
- air
- earth
- fire
- stone
- water
⚫ sky, weather
1. sun
2. moon
3. rain
4. cloud
5. snow
6. wind
7. ice
8. star
9. fog
10. hail
⚫ time
1. day
2. night
3. ⚫ (times of day)
  - morning
  - noon
  - afternoon
  - evening
  - nighttime
4. ⚫ (basic time units)
  1. day
  2. week
  3. month
  4. year
⚫ (landmarks)
- brook~creek~stream
- island
- lake
- mountain
- path~road~way
- place
- river
- sea~ocean
- source~spring~well
⚫ (intermediate natural substances)
- ash
- dust
- salt
- sand
- smoke
⚫ (upper intermediate verbs)
- (speech)
  - ask
  - call
  - laugh
  - sing
  - tell
  - thank
- (body actions and motions)
  - fall
  - hold
  - jump
  - live
  - sit
  - stand
- (mostly between people)
  - help
  - play
  - please
- (abstract)
  - choose~pick
  - count
  - fear
  - find
  - own
  - show
  - start
  - stay
  - stop
  - try
  - wait
  - wish
- (effectual)
  - boil
  - bring
  - burn
  - clean
  - close
  - cut
  - drag
  - grow
  - open
  - pull
  - push
  - ride
  - throw
  - turn
  - wash
  - work
⚫ (basic prepositions)
1. ⚫ (locational)
  - at
  - in
  - off
  - on~upon
  - out
2. (motive)
  - into
  - to
  - through
  - from
3. (other)
  - for
  - of
  - than
  - with
⚫ (basic abstractions)
- band~gang~group
- case
- fact~truth
- life
- light/darkness
- part
- problem
- sex
- thing
- world
⚫ (basic nonpolar adjectives)
- (emotions and character traits)
  - angry
  - cruel
  - funny
  - happy
  - kind
  - sad
- ⚫ (tastes)
  - bitter
  - salty
  - sour
  - sweet
- (other)
  - dark
  - flat
  - free
  - great
  - hollow
  - round
⚫ (comparatives and superlatives)
- more/less
- most/least
⚫ family
- daughter/son
- mother/father
- sister/brother
- wife/husband
- (extended)
  - aunt/uncle
  - cousin
  - grandmother/grandfather
language
- name
- sentence~statement
- word
⚫ (conjunctions)
- and~but~yet
- because
- if
- or
- while
(th- adverbs)
- here
- so~thus
- then
- there
(interrogative adverbs)
- how
- when
- where
- why
basic numbers
1. one
2. two
3. three
4. four
5. five
6. six
7. seven
8. eight
9. nine
10. ten
11. number
12. zero
⚫ colors
1. white
2. black
3. red
4. green
5. yellow
6. blue
7. brown
8. (other colors)
  - cyan
  - grey
  - orange
  - pink
  - purple
(advanced verbs)
- beat~hit
- buy
- dig
- draw
- float
- flow
- freeze
- read
- rub
- sew
- split
- squeeze
- swell
- tie
- use
- wipe
- write
⚫ (intermediate prepositions)
1. (locational)
  - about~around~by
  - above~over
  - across~against
  - among~between
  - below~under
2. (temporal)
  - after
  - before
  - until
(intermediate nonpolar adjectives)
- delicate~fragile
- furry
- important
- solid
- special
(intermediate polar adjectives)
- able/unable
- alive/dead
- awake/asleep
- beautiful~cute~pretty/ugly
- bent/straight
- bright/dim
- clean/dirty
- correct~right/incorrect~wrong
- fat~thick/skinny~thin
- fresh/rotten
- full/empty
- hard/easy
- hard/soft
- healthy/ill
- last/first
- late/early
- open/closed~shut
- real~true/fake~false~wrong
- rich/poor
- rough/smooth
- sharp/dull
- smart~wise/dumb~foolish~stupid
- strong/feeble~weak
- tight/loose
- warm/cool
- wet/dry
(intermediate adverbs)
- again
- almost
- always
- as
- away
- enough
- even
- ever
- far
- just
- near
- never
- now
- once
- only
- quite
- soon
- still
- though
- together
- too
- very
- well
(directional adverbs)
- ⚫ (relative direction)
  - up
  - down
  - left
  - right
  - forwards
  - backwards
- ⚫ (absolute direction)
  - north
  - south
  - east
  - west
⚫ (temporal adverbs)
1. today
2. yesterday
3. tomorrow
4. (extra days)
  - ereyesterday~day before yesterday
  - overmorrow~day after tomorrow
basic natural objects
- ball
- drop
(violence verbs)
- fight
- hunt
- hurt
- kill
- scratch
- stab
⚫ basic hand tools
- basket
- brush
- bucket
- comb
- cup
- fork
- hammer
- knife
- needle
- rope
- spoon
- whip
basic shapes
- angle
- arc~arch
- circle
- curve
- line
- point
- plane (flat)
- square
Objects I
- box
- cord
- drain
- frame
- hook
- knot
- nail (for hammering)
- net
- pin
- plate
- plow
- pot
- rod
- screw
- tray
- wheel
basic vehicles
- boat~ship
- car
- cart
(advanced polar adjectives)
- broken/fixed
- certain~sure/uncertain~unsure
- clear~transparent/opaque
- common~frequent/rare
- complete~finished/incomplete~unfinished
- complex/simple
- dangerous/safe
- dear~expensive/cheap
- equal~same/different~mixed~opposite
- female/male
- long/brief
- loud/quiet
- normal/strange
- public/private~secret
- rigid~stiff/flexible
- violent/calm
food
- cake
- cheese
clothes
- boot
- button
- coat
- collar
- dress
- glove
- hat
- pants
- pocket
- ring
- shirt
- shoe
- skirt
- sock
- stocking
- thread
furniture, decorations, and parts of buildings and furniture
- basin
- bath
- bed
- board
- brick
- ceiling
- chair
- curtain
- cushion
- door
- drawer
- floor
- oven
- roof
- shelf
- table
- wall (of room)
- window
(types of people)
- chef~cook
- thief
⚫ intermediate animals
- beaver
- camel
- elephant
- lion
- monkey
- tiger
⚫ basic metals
1. copper
2. tin
3. bronze
4. zinc
5. brass
6. iron
7. lead
8. steel
9. gold
10. silver
intermediate hand tools
- bottle
- pen
- pencil
- scissors
- shovel~spade~trowel
grammar and linguistics
- noun
- verb
- adjective
of civilizations
- army
- company
- government
- ⚫ ruler
  - king~queen
  - duke~duchess
  - count~countess~jarl~earl
  - baron~baroness
- ⚫ (administrative units)
  - kingdom
  - duchy
  - county~earldom
  - barony
  - province
  - territory
  - country
Objects II
- bell
- blade
- book
- brake
- card
- carriage
- chain
- horn
- jewel
- kettle
- key
- map
- package~parcel
- picture
- pipe
- pump
- sail
- stamp
- wire
buildings, rooms, and places
- bridge
- church
- city
- farm
- garden
- hospital
- house
- library
- office
- prison
- school
- station
- store
- street
- town
- wall (of city)
Objects III
- clock
- flag
- paper
- receipt
Objects IV
- acid
- match (firestarting)
- spring
- ticket
education and science
- biology
- chemistry
- math
- physics
(advanced adjectives)
- automatic
intermediate metals
1. aluminum
2. antimony
3. nickel
4. platinum
5. tungsten
Objects V
- bulb (light)
- camera
- chemical
- engine
- rail
- umbrella
- watch
intermediate vehicles
- plane (flying)
- rocket
- train
advanced metals
1. uranium
2. plutonium