How Many Words Do You ACTUALLY Know?

How Many Words Do You ACTUALLY Know?

From The Rest Is Science by Goalhanger

June 10, 2026 · 52 min · Season 1 · Episode 59

About this episode

Hannah and Michael explore vocabulary measurement and the nature of knowing words while addressing listener questions.

Most people use just a fraction of the words they understand. But how big is your vocabulary, really? When a listener builds a tool that claims to measure it, Hannah and Michael put themselves to the test. If you'd like to try for yourself, follow the link and tell us what score you get in the comments: https://vocabowl-870366514258.us-west1.run.app/ Along the way they uncover forgotten words, obscure linguistic curiosities, and a surprising question hiding beneath the quiz itself: what does it mean to know a word? After the break, they tackle your questions and answer a nuclear pizza problem, explain why humans can grow such remarkably long hair, and ask whether everyone has a voice inside their head. ------------------- For more information about Cancer Research UK, their research, breakthroughs and how you can support them, visit ⁠⁠https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/our-research/rest-is-science Cancer Research UK is a registered charity in England and Wales (1089464), Scotland (SC041666), the Isle of Man (1103) and Jersey (247). A company limited by guarantee. Registered company in England and Wales (4325234) and the Isle of Man (5713F). Registered address: 2 Redman Place…

People in this episode

Hosts: Hannah, Michael

Topics covered

  • vocabulary
  • linguistics
  • language
  • cognitive science
  • human behavior

Keywords

  • vocabulary
  • language
  • linguistics
  • cognitive science
  • human behavior
  • word knowledge
  • quiz

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Cancer Research UK, Goalhanger

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