A1 High-Frequency Words: The First 100 to Learn
The first hundred words are not the most interesting words in English; they are the ones that hold every sentence together. Before a beginner can talk about their job or their weekend, they need I, is, in, not and because working automatically. That is why a frequency list beats a topic list at the start: the same small set of words reappears in almost every conversation, so every hour spent on them pays back hundreds of times.
This page gives a working list of 100 A1 words in four tiers, a ten-day plan for learning them with review days built in, and links to free workout pages that put the same words into sentences, questions and short readings.
Why these words come first
English reuses a small group of words constantly. By most counts, the function words — the pronouns, the verb be, articles, prepositions and conjunctions — make up around half of the words in ordinary conversation. They are short, they are frequent, and they are almost invisible to learners because coursebooks introduce them inside sentences rather than as vocabulary items.
For an A1 learner this has a practical consequence. Someone who knows two hundred vivid nouns but cannot use there is or don't is stuck at the level of labels. Someone who knows the hundred core words plus fifty everyday nouns can already ask, answer, refuse, explain and tell a simple story. Learn the frame first and the pictures will fill in quickly.
The four tiers
The list below is split into four groups so it can be learned in a sensible order, not because the groups behave differently. Tier 1 is pure machinery, tier 2 gives actions, tier 3 names the things you talk about daily, and tier 4 describes them.
| Tier | What it does | How many |
|---|---|---|
| 1 — structure words | pronouns, articles, be, have, do, questions, linkers, prepositions | 37 |
| 2 — everyday verbs | the actions of a normal day | 28 |
| 3 — time, place and people | the nouns you need to say when, where and with whom | 20 |
| 4 — describing words | quick judgements, size, feeling and place adverbs | 15 |
Tier 1: structure words (37)
I, you, he, she, it, we, they, a, an, the, this, that, am, is, are, was, were, have, has, had, do, does, did, not, and, but, or, so, because, in, on, at, to, of, for, with, from
Tier 2: everyday verbs (28)
go, come, get, make, take, give, see, know, think, want, need, like, look, work, live, eat, drink, say, tell, ask, play, help, read, write, speak, listen, buy, watch
Tier 3: time, place and people (20)
day, week, month, year, time, today, tomorrow, yesterday, morning, night, home, school, city, water, food, money, name, friend, family, thing
Tier 4: describing words (15)
good, bad, big, small, new, old, hot, cold, easy, hard, happy, tired, very, here, now
A ten-day plan
Ten words a day for ten days covers the whole list, with the fifth and tenth days used to catch up rather than to add anything new. Reviews run on the day-one, two, four, seven pattern, so each block is met five times.
| Day | New words | Review |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tier 1, part 1 (pronouns, articles) | Say each word in one sentence about yourself. |
| 2 | Tier 1, part 2 (be, have, do) | Review day 1; write five questions. |
| 3 | Tier 1, part 3 (linkers, prepositions) | Review days 1–2; join two sentences with and, but, because. |
| 4 | Tier 2, part 1 (first 14 verbs) | Review Tier 1 out loud, then ten present simple sentences. |
| 5 | No new words | Catch-up day: test everything from days 1–4, keep the misses. |
| 6 | Tier 2, part 2 (last 14 verbs) | Review days 4–5; write a short paragraph about yesterday. |
| 7 | Tier 3, part 1 (time words) | Review Tier 2; ten sentences with when and where. |
| 8 | Tier 3, part 2 (place and people) | Review days 6–7; describe your home and family. |
| 9 | Tier 4 (describing words) | Review Tier 3; describe five things in the room. |
| 10 | No new words | Full self-test: cover the English and recall all 100. |
If a day collapses, learn five words instead of ten and keep the review, because the habit carries the list and the number is only a setting.
Meet each word in a sentence, not in a list
A translation tells you what a word means; a sentence shows you where it lives. When you record a new word, write the most common partner beside it — take a bus, make breakfast, at home — and then one sentence about your own life using that partner. The same method in more detail appears in our guide to learning ten new words a day, and it applies just as well to the as it does to restaurant.
Speaking is the step most learners skip. Say each of today's ten words aloud on the day you meet it, then force two or three of them into a sentence about your evening. If you learn alone, give yourself one spoken sentence per word; it takes ninety seconds and it is the difference between recognising a word and being able to use it.
Where to practise
The words on this page are the same ones the free workouts are built from, so the practice and the list line up. Start with the A1 Day 1 Workout, which meets ten of them in vocabulary, grammar, reading and spelling tasks, then work forward through the A1 workout series. If you want one topic at a time, the vocabulary exercises drill single word groups, and the grammar exercises handle the structure words in use.
Ten minutes a day is the number the workouts are designed around, and it fits inside a routine you already have. Our guide to a daily English routine shows how to place the session next to something you never skip, and the free 7-day plan does the scheduling for you. Not sure which level to start at? Take the level check first, then return to Day 1 with the right difficulty.
Frequently asked questions
Are 100 words enough to speak English?
No, but they are enough to start, and they are the words every later word is built on. The first hundred let you say who you are, what you do, where you go and when. From there, another few hundred everyday words turn those frames into real conversation, so treat the hundred as the base of the ladder rather than the top.
How long should learning 100 words take?
Ten days at ten words a day if the review is done properly, or three to four weeks at a gentler pace of three or four words a day. The reviews matter more than the speed, because a word met once and never reviewed is usually gone within a week. Choose the pace you can keep every day.
Why learn function words before everyday nouns?
Because function words such as the, is, and, in and not hold sentences together, and they appear in almost every line of English. A learner with fifty nouns and no function words can label things but not make sentences. Nouns are easier to replace with gestures, while the grammar words need to be automatic.
Should I learn spelling at the same time as meaning?
Yes, but as a separate short step rather than all at once. First meet the word in a sentence and say it aloud, then write it by hand and check the spelling. Reading the word out loud from your own handwritten sentence links pronunciation and spelling, which is what makes the word usable in both speaking and writing.
Where can I practise these words in sentences?
The free A1 workout pages on this site take ten words at a time and put them into vocabulary, grammar, reading and spelling tasks in about ten minutes a day. Start at A1 Day 1 and work forward, or use the vocabulary exercises if you want to drill one topic at a time.