How Many Words Can You Learn Per Day?

I recently got a question from David in the Czech Republic. He learns 10 new words in English a day but wants to make faster progress. His question: is there a maximum number of words we should learn per day?

“How many words can you learn per day?” is a question I hear a lot from language learners, and I understand why. There's something satisfying about having a concrete number to aim for.

But here's my honest answer: I have no idea how many words I learn per day. I don't have a target. I simply don't track it that way. And there's a good reason for that.

If you prefer watching videos to reading, hit play on the video version of this post at the top of this page. Otherwise, here's what you'll discover in this article:

Why I Don't Set Daily Vocabulary Targets

In language learning, it's very difficult to control the outcome. You can't dictate what your fluency level will be next month or guarantee exactly how many words will stick in your memory. What you can control is the process—what you bring to the table each day.

• How many hours a week can you study?
• Do you do something every day?
• Are you engaging with content you enjoy?

These are the things within your control.

This is what I call process versus product thinking. Any language goal about learning a certain number of words per day is difficult to maintain as a useful project because the outcome isn't really in your hands.

In my own Italian project, for example, I had no specific vocabulary aims at all.

What I was careful to determine in advance was exactly what I was going to do: three hours a day of comprehensible input for the first month, then daily speaking practice from month two onwards.

I could control all of these actions, but I couldn't control exactly how many words would stick.

How Many Words Can You Learn Per Day: Is There A Sensible Maximum?

Having said all that, I know you want a number. So here's what I can tell you from my teacher training in the English language teaching world: the estimates suggest you can realistically learn and retain between 8 to 12 new words per lesson.

If you want a rule of thumb, I'd say 12 words per day is a sensible maximum.

But even that statement is highly subjective, and it brings us to a crucial question: what does it actually mean to “know” a word?

What Does It Mean To Know A Word?

If you can memorise words on a flashcard or for a test, that's one thing. But that doesn't mean you can walk into a conversation and actually use that word when you need it. There are many different levels of knowing a word.

This is one of the reasons rote learning in general isn't recommended. In school, they give you lists of words to memorise for a test, and you use mental tricks to remember them for tomorrow. But the next week? You've forgotten it all. This isn't deep learning.

Even if you can memorise a word against its translation, do you know which words it collocates with? Collocation means knowing which words naturally go together – like “happy” and “birthday.” Can you actually use that word accurately in conversation?

That's the real question.

The Power Of Exposure Over Memorisation

The way I think about learning vocabulary is this: I do my best to expose myself to as much of the language as possible through content and conversation.

I pay close attention to vocabulary – I often write it down and put words into my flashcards – but I won't have a specific daily target.

I trust in a holistic process of developing different skills: reading, listening and speaking. Writing is something I tend not to do as much, though it's actually a fantastic way to grow your vocabulary because you're thinking deeply about which words to use.

I was speaking to someone recently who told me they were learning German by working through a list of the 5,000 most frequent words. You can do that – people do – using mnemonic devices and tricks to memorise.

But unless you've been completely immersed in the language, you're not going to be able to use those words properly. When you learn vocabulary, you've got to see it in the context of rich exposure to the language.

A Better Way To Spend Your Study Time

Here's my practical suggestion: if you're currently spending an hour a day on vocabulary memorisation, take 45 minutes of that hour and spend it listening to and reading the language instead.

You might feel like your progress is slightly slower at first. But your overall progress and learning will improve massively because you're building the contextual understanding that makes vocabulary actually stick.

How Many Words Can You Learn Per Day FAQ

How Many Words Can You Learn Per Day? More Than Numbers

Learning a language is so much more than how many words you know. It's about so much more than the question: how many words can you learn per day? We all need to think about language learning in this broader context.

Don't let the number of words you learn each day be the yardstick by which you measure your progress.

Instead, focus on what you can control: showing up consistently, engaging with content you enjoy and trusting that the vocabulary will come as part of the journey.

When you start to look at learning vocabulary in a more intelligent way, everything changes. It's no longer just a game of memorising as many words as possible – it's about building genuine fluency, one meaningful encounter at a time.

Olly Richards

Creator of the StoryLearning® Method

Olly Richards is a renowned polyglot and language learning expert with over 15 years of experience teaching millions through his innovative StoryLearning® method. He is the creator of StoryLearning, one of the world's largest language learning blogs with 500,000+ monthly readers.

Olly has authored 30+ language learning books and courses, including the bestselling "Short Stories" series published by Teach Yourself.

When not developing new teaching methods, Richards practices what he preaches—he speaks 8 languages fluently and continues learning new ones through his own methodology.