If You Know These 20 Words, Your English is TOP 1% Worldwide!

Is your English vocabulary better than 99% of speakers worldwide? If you answer all 20 of these questions correctly, the answer is YES.

Thanks for watching and see you soon!

[ESRAA]

We love your nature that makes you a teacher, a comedian, and an actor. You are truly talented, Brian, and you excel in all roles. You truly deserve appreciation. My best wishes, ESRAA

[Armameteus]

I got 17/20, with most of the missed words at the end, unsurprisingly.

A couple things:

1. While English does possess many loan-words ("ersatz", "gestalt", etc.), it often possesses intrinsically English words that act as synonyms or near-synonyms ("ersatz" = "artificial"/"imitation"). I don't personally believe knowing/not knowing those particular loan-words actually counts directly towards one's English vocabulary skills, but speaks more to one's greater comprehension of the language, as in its adoption of foreign words into itself. When a sufficient English word can be used in place of its foreign equivalent, it should be, as it is intrinsically English. Loan words which refer to concepts _not_ native to the English language are okay though, as there isn't an appropriate English substitute. "Gestalt" (a German word) for example would roughly mean, "something that is greater than the sum of its constituent parts, such that it cannot be reduced or its components extricated from the greater concept"; something that is intrinsically and fundamentally irreducible. Using "gestalt" to refer to such a concept is much more efficient and accurate than trying to describe what "gestalt" actually means.

2. Tangentially carrying on from point 1: English is a language full of redundancy and unnecessary verbosity, even within itself. Using oblique, obscure or unwieldy words not often used in most situations, especially when a sufficient synonym already exists within the language that is both more efficient and more well-known, without sacrificing accuracy ("lacuna" = "gap") should be avoided without exception. Brevity is to wit what precision is to comprehension. Just because you _can_ use such awkward terms correctly doesn't mean you _should_ — and, in fact, you _shouldn't._ They are unnecessary and often require structuring your dialogue awkwardly to shoehorn them into your speech. Knowing how to trim down one's vocabulary to discard obsolete/archaic terms in place of their identical, more elegant synonyms — and applying them appropriately — is just as important as expanding one's vocabulary to include new words to define ideas one otherwise has trouble articulating.

True mastery of a language is not about imbibing a dictionary and then regurgitating its contents to "sound smart"; it's about knowing how to wield it, like a tool to be used for its specific purpose. A hammer can pound many things, but its _intended_ use is to pound nails; you shouldn't be using a screwdriver for nails, nor a hammer for screws — and you shouldn't be looking for a torque wrench in either case! Knowing when and where to use your linguistic tools is among the most advanced aspects of mastering a language. Grab a hammer for the nails and a screwdriver for the screws, but leave the torque wrench at home; you don't need it.

[zwpnqly]

Got 18 correct answers. Wonder how many native speakers get a good score considering that a lot of native speakers can't even spell there/they're/their correctly?

[MustafaSayed-ih]

i am glad i found some one who is really the best in his field

[masalcilar]

Exceptional performance! I felicitate you. In addition, it was implicitly a tremendous felicity to initially clock your channel in YouTube

[estherpatricelli]

I was looking for a good teacher to improve my english level…Then I found you.❤️

[stephenhicks]

Retired Physics teacher here. I got 19/20 but guessed the last two. The last two were totally new to me, and I am 70! Thanks for the fun.

[lisalinnow]

So glad I found your channel. I only got 12 correct. Fabulous to refresh and improve my English. Awesome.

[faisal]

I got a good score but i don't know if i deserve it. Most of my answers were because i eliminated the other options, not because I specifically know the correct word.

[dancingduck]

The higher end words one would almost never pass or use in a natural manner unless in certain situations or (academic) settings as they are low frequency words. Maybe an advanced extension quiz of these words could be 'in which situation' is it best used in? 'In what context' pethaps you can call it? 😊

[stephenhosmer]

I got all 20 correct, but I am a teacher in a community college; and I have also taught ESL, so it was not so hard. Thanks--very good really.

[hotrosenpai]

Tbh most of these complex words aren’t necessarily meant to be used in everyday conversation, so even if you know 30% of them then consider yourself to be fluent in English. ( I got 6/20, and I have gcse English)

[vivienhodgson]

20/20. English is my native language, and I'm a nerdy Scrabble-a-holic! Very impressive questions. I kept trying to anticipate what the word would be, and not always getting there before it came up, especially at the end! I have HEARD of obloquy, but it's not a word that comes easily to mind. But I insist on candoUr!

[federicoalonso]

15 out of 20, not a native speaker but a proficiency test student, the last words were HARD AF

[Anastasios_tasos]

I got 15/20!!! It was difficult, no doubt!!🙏🌹

[nsk]

I got like 15-16 but at least 2-3 of those came from out of the context and by eliminating other options

[YT_YM]

I would say a good synonym for dawdle is procrastinate. That being said, the video was great :)

[terithulung]

18/20
The ones that I missed: ersatz and obloquy. I’m not a native speaker. English is my second language.

[adrianam]

As an ESOL, this tests are helping me a lot. Thank you very much.
New subscriber here!

[loretta]

17 as a non-native. Reason: The difficult words aren't english, they are latin or even german...