English vocabulary test – how many words do you know?

A two-minute English vocabulary test promised simple fun—see how many words you know and compare to others—but the comments turned it into the Olympics of word flexing. Users flaunted top-tier CEFR scores (that’s the European scale where C2 is the highest), and jaw-dropping counts like 19,200 and 21,100 “word families.” One reader bragged about being above 78% of native speakers and 99.9% of non‑natives, then deadpanned: “I use maybe 1% of that,” sparking a chorus of ‘same here’ confessions.

Then came the spicy debate: what even counts as an English word? One commenter declared “kinkajou” shouldn’t be in English games and asked if “bryndza” (a cheese) is English—cue links to kinkajou and bryndza, and a meme storm of “if it’s on Wikipedia, it’s English now.” The thread split between “English borrows everything” and “these are museum words.”

Strategy gamers joined in too. Someone pulled 18,900 by recognizing vibes and using process of elimination, while another said they didn’t take it seriously and still landed 65% among natives and 99.9% among non‑natives. Meanwhile, a 21k‑club member asked if anyone maxed the scale. Verdict from the crowd: fun test, great bragging rights, but real-life conversations run on a much smaller toolbox.