How many words do you need to learn a language?

1. 1. 250 words constitute the essential core of a language, those without which you cannot construct any sentence.
   2. 750 words constitute those that are used every single day by every person who speaks the language.

1. 2500 words constitute those that should enable you to express everything you could possibly want to say, albeit often by awkward circumlocutions.
2. 5000 words constitute the active vocabulary of native speakers without higher education.
3. 10,000 words constitute the active vocabulary of native speakers with higher education.
4. 20,000 words constitute what you need to recognize passively in order to read, understand, and enjoy a work of literature such as a novel by a notable author.

From a research by Alexander Arguelles