English words to study with audio

Word family categories

To get the most out of this vocabulary study, have a look first at our vocabulary study tips...

Vegetables.

Vegetables or often called "veg" (BrE) or "veggie" (AmE) is a part of a plant which is edible but not the fruit of the plant. So a tomato is really a fruit but when it's in the kitchen we often call it a vegetable because it's used in salads and dishes with other vegetables. Vegetables are usually used for savoury dishes but some can be used for sweet dishes or desserts too such as pumpkin pie or carrot cake. In the UK a balanced meal is said to be meat or fish and two veg. Many vegetables can be eaten raw or cooked. Study vegetable vocabulary...

Fruit and nuts.

The fruit is part of a plant and comes from the flower. A nut is also a fruit, which has a hard shell and seed. Other fruit is often fleshy and contains seeds. Fruit is often edible and this makes dispersal of the seeds easier because it is eaten by animals or humans and the seeds are passed through excrement. Many animals and humans are dependent on fruit as a source of food and nutrition. Study fruit and nuts vocabulary...

Furniture.

This means the objects in a house or office we use for different functions and can be moved to make living or working there more comfortable, eg. tables and chairs and beds. The furnishings include the furniture and the accessories used with furniture like shelves, carpets and curtains. Study furniture vocabulary...

Kitchen utensils.

These are objects that we use to help us with the chores of cooking or eating, drinking and preparing food. Obviously, these utensils will be different depending on which country you come from. Here, in the UK, you will see the tea strainer for catching the tea leaves when you pour out the tea. Also, there is the potato masher for making a soft puree from boiled potatoes and the butter dish as people from the UK like butter not just on their bread but also melted on cooked food like potatoes and boiled vegetables. Study kitchen utensils vocabulary...

Domestic appliances.

A machine that is designed to do a particular thing in the home, such as preparing or cooking food or for heating the house or cleaning the home or clothes, plates etc. Study domestic appliance vocabulary...

The garden.

Probably a more important place for some cultures than others. In the UK, for example, the garden is often an essential part of daily life. In Spain, on the other hand, many people place more importance on the interior of their house or flat and perhaps don't even have a garden. This means that some concepts such as the rock garden or garden pond may not be everyday words for the Spanish. However, most of the objects mentioned here are also relevant for a home in any country where there is a back yard, plot of land or a vegetable allotment in the countryside. Study garden vocabulary...

Tools.

There is a famous saying which goes: "Without tools Man is nothing, with tools he is everything". Most of the tools listed here can probably be found in your home especially if you enjoy doing DIY or do-it-yourself, which means to fix or build things yourself in your own home. Other tools can be found in a workshop, which isn't a shop at all but a place where someone constructs or repairs things; like a carpenter (who works with wood) or a blacksmith (who works with iron). Study tools vocabulary...

Clothes.

The clothes in this list include men's clothing and then, further down, women's clothing. At the bottom are a few general clothing accessories which could be unisex (either men or women). I've tried to mention the most common articles of clothing otherwise the list would be incredibly long. The words used are in UK English. Some names for clothes are different in the US; an American says pants, for example, instead of trousers. Study clothes vocabulary...

The bathroom cupboard.

This section is about all those miscellaneous objects we use everyday to keep ourselves looking presentable for the world - both men and women. In my house most of these things are in the bathroom cupboard, though in some households it is called a vanity cabinet and it probably contains a lot of makeup, beauty and manicure items especially for the female members of the home. Study bathroom vocabulary...

The house.

If you are ever in a country where the native language is English, you must know the rooms and parts of a house to find your way around any home. The garden is also important in countries like the UK and has a common vocabulary to describe the various areas. Study house vocabulary...

The car.

The car or automobile is a road vehicle with an engine and four wheels that can carry a small number of passengers. It runs on a petrol engine or a diesel engine. Study car vocabulary...

Parts of the body.

The parts of the human body in this vocabulary list include the most common ones for day-to-day conversation. It's important to know the parts of your own body in English when living in an English-speaking country. Then we can explain what's the matter with us if we need to go to the doctor or dentist: "I've got a pain in my wrist, doctor""I've got toothache".  We can explain the makeup we need to the shop assistant: "I need an eyebrow pencil"; "I want something to powder my nose". We can talk about how we want the new clothes we buy in a boutique: "I'd like a skirt that comes just above the knee"; "What's your waist size, sir?". Study parts of the body vocabulary...

Animals.

It is impossible to offer a complete list of all the species of the animal kingdom in this section. Students of English should have a basic knowledge of the most common species as well as some of the common body parts of animals. Study animal vocabulary...

The weather.

The words included here are mostly just nouns or adjectives of weather words. Learning these words will help you with the next step of talking about the weather. When you open the Hangman page on the weather, you can read an introduction about how to use these words in dialogue for talking about the weather in conversation. Study weather words...

B2 level holiday language.

Words and expressions you need to talk about holidays for B2 level English in a listening podcast. This same language is then available in the hangman game on holidays...

Household chores

Listen and read about expressions for household chores. Money...

 

Copyright © 2023 Practising English
All rights reserved