A first words list by age.

The first ten words, in three languages

When researchers asked more than 900 parents in the United States, Hong Kong and Beijing which words their babies said first, the lists lined up. The ten most common first words in English were Daddy, Mommy, BaaBaa, Bye, Hi, UhOh, Grr, Bottle, YumYum and Dog; the Cantonese and Mandarin lists were dominated by the same categories — people, animals and their sounds, greetings, food.¹ Nouns for things a child can point at and social words for the people around them come first everywhere; verbs and adjectives come later.

How vocabulary grows, by age

The figures below come from the MacArthur-Bates inventories — the parent checklists behind nearly every vocabulary statistic — and their open archive, Wordbank; the checkpoints are the CDC’s 2022 milestones, set at the age by which three-quarters of children do the thing.^{2, 3, 4} Every one of these is a typical value inside a wide range. A child at the tenth percentile is developing normally.

12 months

First recognizable word for many, often mama, dada or hi — and understanding far ahead of speaking: the typical one-year-old understands dozens of words while saying one or two.² CDC checkpoint: waves bye-bye, calls a parent mama/dada or a similar name, understands “no”.⁴

18 months

Typically around 50 words said, with a normal range from a handful to well over a hundred.^{2, 3} CDC checkpoint: tries to say three or more words besides mama and dada; follows one-step directions without a gesture.⁴ More on the 18-month number.

24 months

Typically a few hundred words, and the first two-word combinations: “more milk”, “daddy go”, “no bath”.^{2, 3} CDC checkpoint: says at least two words together; points to things in a book when asked.⁴ Fewer than 50 words or no combinations at this age is the “late talker” line — worth a check, not a panic.

30 months

CDC checkpoint: says about 50 words; says two or more words with one action word (“doggie run”); names things in a book; says words like I, me, we.⁴ Typical vocabularies are now several hundred words and the checklist itself, which tops out at 680 words, starts to fill up for children at the top of the range.²

3 years

Short sentences, questions, and a vocabulary too large to count on a checklist. CDC checkpoint: talks with you in a back-and-forth of at least two exchanges; asks who, what, where, why; says first name when asked; speaks well enough that strangers understand most of it.⁴

A practical list for each stage

Our word library is split into three stages that track the shape above, and the free set is 25 words in each. These are the kinds of words in each, with the free ones you can print or hear in eight languages.

First Words, 0–24 months

People and routines first — mama, dada, baby, hug; the foods of the highchair — milk, water, apple, banana; the animals a child sees or hears — dog, cat, duck, bird; the body — hand, nose, eyes; the objects of the day — ball, shoe, book, cup. Everything on this list can be pointed at from a highchair, which is the test.

Growing Words, 2–3 years

Places and things beyond the kitchen — park, castle, rainbow, penguin, fire truck; the first actions as words — jump, run, wash hands, brush teeth; the people outside the house — friend, teacher, doctor; colors and first feelings — red, happy, sad. This is where two-word combinations start, so pair them: big dog, red ball, jump high.

Word Builder, 3–5 years

Words that reward a question — volcano, astronaut, scientist, peacock, flashlight; the feelings that have names now — proud, brave, shy; and the social verbs — share, apologize, celebrate. At this age the picture is a prompt for a conversation, not a label; the card is where the talking starts.

What the list is for

Not for testing. A child learns a word when an adult names the thing the child is already looking at, in the moment;⁵ the quality of that talk — variety, back-and-forth, words beyond the immediate — predicts vocabulary better than the sheer amount.⁶ So pick five or six words from the stage your child is in, put them where they happen, and say them there for a week. Then pick five more. The list on the fridge is not for the child. It is a reminder for you.