WordieVocabulary Goal Planner
Set a target vocabulary size, choose either a deadline or a daily pace, and see how many new words a day it takes, how many reviews that creates, and where you should be at the end of each month.
What does the vocabulary goal planner calculate?
The planner turns a vocabulary goal into a daily habit. You give it your current vocabulary size, a target and either a deadline or a daily pace. It returns the number of new words you need per day (or your finish date), how many flashcards that creates once reviews pile up, and a month-by-month table of where you should be. The targets are in word families, the unit used in most vocabulary size research: decide, decided, decision and undecided count as one family.
How the plan is calculated
- Words to learn:
gap = target − current - Deadline mode:
words per day = gap / days until deadline - Pace mode:
days needed = gap / words per day, and the finish date is today plus that many days. - Daily cards:
new per day × (reviews per word + 1), using six reviews per word, roughly what a classic 1, 3, 7, 14, 30, 90 day schedule gives. - Study time:
cards × 8 seconds, a typical pace for quick recall cards.
The monthly table assumes a steady pace and marks common milestones as you pass them.
Which vocabulary target should you choose?
| Target | Word families | What it lets you do |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday conversation | about 3,000 | Handle most daily conversations and simple texts, with frequent gaps |
| Films and TV | 6,000–7,000 | Understand about 98% of the words in spoken English (Nation, 2006) |
| Reading widely | 8,000–9,000 | Reach 98% coverage of novels and newspapers (Nation, 2006) |
The 98% figure comes from studies of lexical coverage, the share of running words a reader knows; Hu and Nation (2000) found that around 98% is what most readers need to understand a text without help. The how many words to be fluent guide explains these numbers in more detail. If you don't know your starting point, a vocabulary size test gives a useful estimate.
How to interpret your daily pace
| New words per day | Cards per day (steady state) | Approx. time | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 35 | 5 min | Relaxed, very sustainable |
| 10 | 70 | 9 min | Steady, the usual recommendation |
| 20 | 140 | 19 min | Intensive |
| 40 | 280 | 37 min | Hard to sustain for long |
Review load is the hidden cost of an aggressive goal. The new words take a few minutes; the reviews for everything you learned in the past weeks take the rest. The spaced repetition scheduler shows the same effect for a single day's words.
Limitations
- Learning is not linear. The first few thousand families are frequent and come up constantly; later words are rarer, so each one needs more deliberate effort to meet again.
- Not every word sticks. Some words will be forgotten and relearned. Building in 10 to 20% extra time is realistic.
- Families versus cards. Learning one family often means several cards (different forms, meanings or collocations).
- Size estimates are rough. Vocabulary tests have a margin of error, so treat the starting number as approximate.
Much of your progress can also come from reading. Incidental learning adds words without flashcards, especially when you notice and save new words as you read. Wordie does this in Chrome: save a word from any page and it stays highlighted wherever you meet it again.
Related reading
- How to learn 10 words a day
- A 15-minute daily vocabulary routine
- What is a word family?
- How to expand your vocabulary as an adult
How to use this tool
- Enter your current estimated vocabulary size in word families.
- Pick a target preset (conversation, films and TV, or reading) or type your own number.
- Choose whether you have a deadline or a fixed number of new words per day, and fill in that value.
- Read your required pace or finish date, the daily review estimate and the month-by-month milestones.
Frequently asked questions
How many words should I learn per day?
Ten new words a day is a sustainable pace for most adults alongside work or study, and it adds about 3,650 words a year. Twenty or more is possible for short periods, but the review load grows quickly.
How many words do I need to watch films in English?
Nation (2006) estimated that understanding spoken English such as films and conversation at 98% coverage takes about 6,000 to 7,000 word families. Reading a wide range of written texts takes about 8,000 to 9,000.
How do I know my current vocabulary size?
Take a vocabulary size test, which samples words from frequency bands and estimates how many families you know. Use the result as a rough starting point rather than an exact number.
Why does the planner show daily reviews?
Every new word needs several spaced reviews to stick. With a typical schedule of about six reviews per word, learning ten words a day leads to roughly seventy flashcards a day once the schedule is running.
Is any data saved?
No. The planner runs entirely in your browser and stores nothing.
Turn these numbers into real words
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