J.L. Laide - Portuguese English Frequency Dictionary --Essential Vocabulary--2.500 Most Used Words

Title Page

Most Used Words.com

Portuguese English Frequency Dictionary

Essential Vocabulary

2.500 most used words & 487 most common verbs

Copyright 2016 by MostUsedWords.com

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

without the express written permission of the publisher

except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

First Printing, 2016

Jolie Laide LTD

12/F, 67 Percival Street, Hong Kong

www.MostUsedWords.com

Index

1. Why this dictionary was created

T his dictionary was created because I needed a word list of the most frequent used words & verbs in Spanish, to help me learn that language in the shortest amount of time possible.

I started passing it around to friends and got great feedback on it, so I decided to turn it into a book.

I applied the same principals to different languages, and aim to create series of all major languages. This way everyone is able to learn a new language in a fast and efficient way.

I hope you find this book as useful as it was for my friends and I.

Why study by frequency?

If youre not familiar with the importance of frequency word lists when it comes to language learning, here is a short summary:

Language learning is fun, but can be overwhelming. Almost every language as hundreds of thousands different words, but most of them you will rarely use. Thats why it makes sense to study only the words you actually need to know to have conversations and read in your desired language.

Frequency dictionaries are usually either text based, or speech based. The unique advantage of using subtitles as a method of frequency sorting is that it covers both speaking and reading (73% and 83% respectively).

By only studying the words you will actually use, it is possible to gain a good grasp of a language in a short amount of time. By knowing 2500 words, you can express yourself in everyday situations and be fluent enough have conversations with locals.

On average, you only use 1000 words in any language on a daily spoken basis. This translates to roughly 95% of all words you use daily speech. When it comes to reading, 2500 words will get you to understand around 85% of all words used in written text.

This is idea is based on the Pareto Principle.

You might have heard about it. Pareto was an Italian economist who discovered that 80% of the output comes from only 20% of the input (or material, or effort).

It also applies to language learning. To understand 95% of a foreign language, and become fluent enough in everyday speaking and reading, it might take 3 months of applied learning.

But to get to a 98% understanding might take 10 years. Talk about diminishing returns!

Im not promising you to speak like a native. That is completely up to you. But, in my opinion, its a waste of time. The goal of acquiring a new language is to be able to communicate . Not to speak without errors. Most natives dont even speak without making mistakes.

When you acquired your first language as an infant, did your parents give you hours and hours of detailed grammar study? (I hope not)

Build your vocabulary, learn basic grammar and go out there and speak. Make mistakes, have a laugh and learn from them. Good luck!

2. Study tips

W hile you are free to do whatever you want with this dictionary, I would like to give you some pointers. By learning just 28 new words a day, you can build up your vocabulary to fluency in three months . If you dedicate yourself and learn 43 new words daily, two months is possible. Here are a couple of tips to build up your vocabulary fast, and to keep remembering what you previously learned.

Spaced repetition

Hack your brains ability to store and recall information. The most efficient way of studying is by incorporating the system of spaced repetition. This way you can store information faster, and for a longer amount of time. Paul Pimsleur published a paper in 1968 on spaced repetition. He came up with the following intervals: 5 seconds, 25 seconds, 2 minutes, 10 minutes, 1 hour, 5 hours, 1 day, 5 days, 25 days, 4 months, and 2 years.

You do not need to time yourself with a stopwatch, as there are upper and lower bounds to the intervals. Just revisited the words you have previously learned from time to timey.

(Interactive language learning software and audio courses are based on this principle, and they can work really well. To see which ones are great investments, and which ones are terrible, read our reviews of different 3rd party language learning methods, audio courses, software and apps on www.mostusedwords.com/reviews )

Mnemonics

By giving creating a little story with a word, its easier to remember. The more visual it is, the easier it is to remember. My favorit personal favorite is for the Spanish word caber. Caber means to fit. Now picture in your mind a bear and a cab. The bear wants to get in the cab, but its having difficulties. After all, its really hard to fit a bear in a cab . By creating little visual stories like these, its much easier to remember vocabulary. These principles are suitable for any language, or just anything you need to remember.