Latin Frequency Vocabulary — Top 200
The 200 most frequent Latin words by corpus frequency. Function words, common verbs, and core nouns that appear on virtually every page of Latin text.
A frequency list ranks words by how often they appear in a corpus of texts. For Latin, frequency lists are among the most powerful learning tools available, because a small number of words accounts for a large share of any text. This page covers the science behind frequency learning, the major lists, the top words by category, and practical acquisition strategies.
1. What a Frequency List Is and How to Use It
A frequency list counts how often each word appears across a body (corpus) of texts, then ranks words from most to least frequent. The top words are almost always function words — conjunctions, prepositions, pronouns, common verbs — because they glue sentences together regardless of subject matter.
How to use a frequency list:
- Learn the top 100–200 words as early as possible — these are the scaffolding of every sentence.
- After the top 200, use the list to prioritize: before reading Caesar, focus on military vocabulary in the 200–500 band; before Cicero, focus on rhetorical and legal terms.
- Do not learn frequency words in isolation — always learn their forms (noun: all cases; verb: all four principal parts).
- Frequency lists do not replace a grammar curriculum; they tell you what to learn, not how words work.
2. The Major Latin Frequency Lists
DCC Core Latin Vocabulary (Dickinson College Commentaries)
The DCC list is the gold standard for pedagogical use. It contains 1,000 words divided into frequency bands based on a corpus of classical and post-classical Latin. The full list is available free at dcc.dickinson.edu/latin-core-list1.
- Band 1 (words 1–200): highest frequency — these are the words to learn first
- Band 2 (words 201–500): high frequency — core vocabulary for sustained reading
- Band 3 (words 501–1000): medium frequency — broad classical vocabulary
Dickinson Survey of Frequency (older)
An earlier list compiled from a narrower corpus (mainly Caesar, Cicero, Virgil). The overlap with DCC Band 1 is very high for the top 100 words.
Perseus Project Frequency Data
The Perseus Digital Library at Tufts University publishes raw frequency counts for all words in its Latin corpus (over 7 million words). This is the most comprehensive dataset but is less curated for pedagogical use. Access at perseus.tufts.edu.
For learners, use the DCC list. For research or custom corpus work, use Perseus data.
3. Zipf's Law and the 1,000-Word Coverage Concept
Zipf's Law (after linguist George Kingsley Zipf) states: in any natural language corpus, the most frequent word appears roughly twice as often as the second most frequent, three times as often as the third, and so on. The relationship between rank and frequency is a power law.
Practical implication: A very small vocabulary covers a very large proportion of any text.
| Vocabulary Size | Approximate Text Coverage |
|---|---|
| Top 100 words | ~50% of running words in most texts |
| Top 200 words | ~55–60% |
| Top 500 words | ~65–70% |
| Top 1,000 words | ~70–80% |
| Top 2,000 words | ~80–85% |
| All DCC 1,000 | ~80% (depending on author) |
The remaining 20–30% of words are the "long tail" — thousands of lower-frequency words, each appearing rarely. For a learner, the long tail is best acquired through reading with a dictionary (or a text with a running vocabulary commentary), not through list memorization.
Key insight: Learning 1,000 words gives you roughly 75–80% text comprehension in an average classical text. That is enough to read with a dictionary. Getting from 80% to 95% requires another 5,000+ words — the diminishing returns are steep.
4. Author-Specific Frequency Differences
Latin authors differ in vocabulary, register, and subject matter. The top 50 function words are nearly identical across all authors, but the next 500 vary significantly.
Caesar (Bellum Gallicum, Bellum Civile)
- Military vocabulary dominates: castra (camp), iter (march/route), legiō (legion), cohors (cohort), proeliium (battle), impetus (attack), fīnēs (territory)
- High frequency of nōn (negation) and temporal expressions
- Favors indirect statement with esse + accusative
- Almost no poetic vocabulary
Cicero (Orations, Letters, Philosophical Works)
- Rhetorical connectives: enim, autem, igitur, quidem, vērō
- Legal/civic terms: senātus, cōnsul, rēspūblica, lēx, causa, iūs
- Philosophical abstractions: virtūs, animus, ratiō, sapientia, glōria
- Elaborate subordinate clauses; many subjunctives
Virgil (Aeneid, Georgics, Eclogues)
- Poetic vocabulary: silva (forest), undae (waves), freta (straits), pater (father — formulaic)
- High frequency of arma (arms/war) — the first word of the Aeneid
- Many archaic forms (olli for illī, quianam for cūr)
- Epithets and formulaic phrases (like Homer)
Tacitus (Annales, Historiae, Germania)
- Concentrated, compressed style: very high frequency of ablatives absolute
- Unique vocabulary: ambitiō, superbia, luxus, avaritia, mōrēs
- Rare in the classical canon: Tacitean vocabulary is notoriously idiosyncratic
- Unusual word order for rhetorical effect; many deliberate variatio (avoiding repetition)
Practical advice: If you are targeting one author, supplement the DCC list with a word list specific to that author's works.
5. Top 50 Most Frequent Latin Words
These 50 words account for roughly half of all running words in classical Latin prose.
| # | Latin | Part of Speech | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | et | conj. | and, also, even |
| 2 | sum, esse, fuī | verb (irreg.) | to be |
| 3 | in | prep. | in, on (+ abl.); into (+ acc.) |
| 4 | quī, quae, quod | rel. pron./adj. | who, which, that |
| 5 | is, ea, id | pron./adj. | he, she, it; this/that |
| 6 | nōn | adv. | not |
| 7 | hic, haec, hoc | pron./adj. | this; he/she/it |
| 8 | ad | prep. | to, toward, near (+ acc.) |
| 9 | cum | conj./prep. | when, since (+ subj.); with (+ abl.) |
| 10 | ut | conj./adv. | as, when; so that, in order that |
| 11 | sed | conj. | but |
| 12 | dō, dare, dedī, datum | verb (1st) | to give |
| 13 | ille, illa, illud | pron./adj. | that; he/she/it |
| 14 | ab / ā | prep. | from, away from, by (+ abl.) |
| 15 | ex / ē | prep. | out of, from (+ abl.) |
| 16 | sī | conj. | if |
| 17 | omnis, omne | adj. | all, every |
| 18 | magnus, -a, -um | adj. | great, large |
| 19 | iam | adv. | now, already; soon (future) |
| 20 | autem | conj. (postpos.) | but, however, moreover |
| 21 | suus, -a, -um | adj. | his/her/its/their own (reflexive) |
| 22 | etiam | adv./conj. | also, even, still |
| 23 | enim | conj. (postpos.) | for, indeed, in fact |
| 24 | nec / neque | conj. | and not, nor |
| 25 | aut | conj. | or |
| 26 | ipse, ipsa, ipsum | pron./adj. | himself/herself/itself (intensive) |
| 27 | quam | adv./conj. | how, as, than |
| 28 | atque / ac | conj. | and (stronger than et) |
| 29 | tamen | adv. | nevertheless, yet |
| 30 | possum, posse, potuī | verb (irreg.) | to be able, can |
| 31 | dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictum | verb (3rd) | to say, speak, tell |
| 32 | rēs, reī | noun (f., 5th) | thing, matter, affair; property |
| 33 | fīō, fierī, factus sum | verb (irreg.) | to become, be made, happen |
| 34 | vir, virī | noun (m., 2nd) | man (adult male); hero |
| 35 | populus, -ī | noun (m., 2nd) | people, nation |
| 36 | quis, quid | pron. | who? what? (interrogative) |
| 37 | ita | adv. | so, thus, in such a way |
| 38 | inter | prep. | between, among (+ acc.) |
| 39 | videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsum | verb (2nd) | to see |
| 40 | per | prep. | through, by means of (+ acc.) |
| 41 | dē | prep. | down from; concerning, about (+ abl.) |
| 42 | tempus, temporis | noun (n., 3rd) | time |
| 43 | multus, -a, -um | adj. | much, many |
| 44 | nunc | adv. | now |
| 45 | pars, partis | noun (f., 3rd) | part, portion, direction |
| 46 | animus, -ī | noun (m., 2nd) | mind, spirit, soul, courage |
| 47 | faciō, facere, fēcī, factum | verb (3rd-io) | to make, do |
| 48 | verum | adv./conj. | truly; but, however |
| 49 | dum | conj. | while, as long as; until |
| 50 | sīc | adv. | so, thus, in this way |
6. 50 Most-Frequent Verbs with Principal Parts
Principal parts: 1st sg. present, present infinitive, 1st sg. perfect, perfect passive participle (PPP).
| # | Principal Parts | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | sum, esse, fuī, — | to be |
| 2 | possum, posse, potuī, — | to be able |
| 3 | dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictum | to say, speak |
| 4 | faciō, facere, fēcī, factum | to make, do |
| 5 | videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsum | to see |
| 6 | dō, dare, dedī, datum | to give |
| 7 | eō, īre, iī/īvī, itum | to go |
| 8 | fīō, fierī, factus sum | to become, happen |
| 9 | habeō, habēre, habuī, habitum | to have, hold |
| 10 | volō, velle, voluī, — | to want, wish |
| 11 | ferō, ferre, tulī, lātum | to carry, bear |
| 12 | capiō, capere, cēpī, captum | to take, seize |
| 13 | veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventum | to come |
| 14 | dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductum | to lead |
| 15 | mittō, mittere, mīsī, missum | to send |
| 16 | dēbeō, dēbēre, dēbuī, dēbitum | to owe, ought, must |
| 17 | nōlō, nōlle, nōluī, — | to not want, be unwilling |
| 18 | mālō, mālle, māluī, — | to prefer |
| 19 | moveō, movēre, mōvī, mōtum | to move |
| 20 | scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptum | to write |
| 21 | pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positum | to put, place |
| 22 | relinquō, relinquere, relīquī, relictum | to leave behind |
| 23 | vincō, vincere, vīcī, victum | to conquer |
| 24 | agō, agere, ēgī, āctum | to drive, do, act |
| 25 | audiō, audīre, audīvī, audītum | to hear |
| 26 | loquor, loquī, locūtus sum | to speak (deponent) |
| 27 | credō, credere, credidī, creditum | to believe, trust |
| 28 | gerō, gerere, gessī, gestum | to carry on, wage |
| 29 | accipiō, accipere, accēpī, acceptum | to receive, accept |
| 30 | intellegō, intellegere, intellēxī, intellēctum | to understand |
| 31 | coepiō, coepere, coepī, coeptum | to begin |
| 32 | cadō, cadere, cecidī, cāsum | to fall |
| 33 | cēdō, cēdere, cessī, cessum | to go, yield |
| 34 | stō, stāre, stetī, statum | to stand |
| 35 | regō, regere, rēxī, rēctum | to rule, direct |
| 36 | currō, currere, cucurrī, cursum | to run |
| 37 | petō, petere, petīvī, petītum | to seek, attack, ask for |
| 38 | vocō, vocāre, vocāvī, vocātum | to call |
| 39 | appellō, appellāre, appellāvī, appellātum | to call, address, name |
| 40 | putō, putāre, putāvī, putātum | to think, consider |
| 41 | laudō, laudāre, laudāvī, laudātum | to praise |
| 42 | amō, amāre, amāvī, amātum | to love |
| 43 | timēō, timēre, timuī, — | to fear |
| 44 | vertō, vertere, vertī, versum | to turn |
| 45 | interficiō, interficere, interfēcī, interfectum | to kill |
| 46 | sciō, scīre, scīvī, scītum | to know |
| 47 | necō, necāre, necāvī, necātum | to kill, slay |
| 48 | oportet, oportēre, oportuit | it is necessary, one ought (impersonal) |
| 49 | manēō, manēre, mānsī, mānsum | to remain, stay |
| 50 | patior, patī, passus sum | to suffer, allow (deponent) |
7. 50 Most-Frequent Nouns
Listed with genitive singular, gender, and declension pattern.
| # | Nominative | Gen. sg. | Gender | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | rēs | reī | f. (5th) | thing, matter, affair |
| 2 | tempus | temporis | n. (3rd) | time |
| 3 | pars | partis | f. (3rd) | part, portion |
| 4 | animus | animī | m. (2nd) | mind, spirit, courage |
| 5 | vir | virī | m. (2nd) | man, hero |
| 6 | populus | populī | m. (2nd) | people, nation |
| 7 | deus | deī | m. (2nd) | god |
| 8 | homo | hominis | m. (3rd) | human being, person |
| 9 | manus | manūs | f. (4th) | hand; band of men |
| 10 | urbs | urbis | f. (3rd) | city |
| 11 | rex | rēgis | m. (3rd) | king |
| 12 | dux | ducis | m. (3rd) | leader, general |
| 13 | caput | capitis | n. (3rd) | head; life; chapter |
| 14 | annus | annī | m. (2nd) | year |
| 15 | corpus | corporis | n. (3rd) | body |
| 16 | dies | diēī | m./f. (5th) | day |
| 17 | pater | patris | m. (3rd) | father |
| 18 | nomen | nōminis | n. (3rd) | name |
| 19 | bellum | bellī | n. (2nd) | war |
| 20 | terra | terrae | f. (1st) | earth, land |
| 21 | locus | locī | m. (2nd) | place; (pl. loca, n.) |
| 22 | hostis | hostis | m. (3rd) | enemy (of the state) |
| 23 | miles | mīlitis | m. (3rd) | soldier |
| 24 | vita | vītae | f. (1st) | life |
| 25 | mors | mortis | f. (3rd) | death |
| 26 | virtus | virtūtis | f. (3rd) | courage, virtue, excellence |
| 27 | filius | filiī | m. (2nd) | son |
| 28 | navis | nāvis | f. (3rd) | ship |
| 29 | castra | castrōrum | n. pl. (2nd) | (military) camp |
| 30 | iter | itineris | n. (3rd) | journey, march, route |
| 31 | consul | cōnsulis | m. (3rd) | consul |
| 32 | senatus | senātūs | m. (4th) | senate |
| 33 | lex | lēgis | f. (3rd) | law |
| 34 | causa | causae | f. (1st) | cause, reason; legal case |
| 35 | verbum | verbī | n. (2nd) | word |
| 36 | vis | — (sing. irreg.) | f. (3rd irreg.) | force, violence; (pl.) strength |
| 37 | pax | pācis | f. (3rd) | peace |
| 38 | amor | amōris | m. (3rd) | love |
| 39 | natura | nātūrae | f. (1st) | nature |
| 40 | gloria | glōriae | f. (1st) | glory, fame |
| 41 | fides | fideī | f. (5th) | faith, trust, loyalty |
| 42 | mater | mātris | f. (3rd) | mother |
| 43 | via | viae | f. (1st) | road, way |
| 44 | nox | noctis | f. (3rd) | night |
| 45 | aqua | aquae | f. (1st) | water |
| 46 | liber | librī | m. (2nd) | book |
| 47 | imperium | imperiī | n. (2nd) | power, command, empire |
| 48 | ager | agrī | m. (2nd) | field, territory |
| 49 | mons | montis | m. (3rd) | mountain |
| 50 | ratio | ratiōnis | f. (3rd) | reason, reckoning, method |
8. 30 Most-Frequent Adjectives
| # | Nominative (m./f./n.) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | omnis, omne | all, every |
| 2 | magnus, -a, -um | great, large |
| 3 | multus, -a, -um | much, many |
| 4 | bonus, -a, -um | good |
| 5 | suus, -a, -um | his/her/its/their own (reflexive) |
| 6 | ipse, ipsa, ipsum | himself/herself/itself (intensive) |
| 7 | alius, alia, aliud | other, another (of more than two) |
| 8 | alter, altera, alterum | the other (of two) |
| 9 | unus, -a, -um | one; alone |
| 10 | idem, eadem, idem | the same |
| 11 | ipse, ipsa, ipsum | same (intensive) |
| 12 | parvus, -a, -um | small, little |
| 13 | novus, -a, -um | new |
| 14 | primus, -a, -um | first |
| 15 | secundus, -a, -um | second; favorable |
| 16 | tertius, -a, -um | third |
| 17 | solus, -a, -um | alone, only |
| 18 | totus, -a, -um | whole, entire |
| 19 | nullus, -a, -um | no, none |
| 20 | certus, -a, -um | certain, sure, fixed |
| 21 | verus, -a, -um | true |
| 22 | publicus, -a, -um | public |
| 23 | longus, -a, -um | long |
| 24 | lātus, -a, -um | wide, broad |
| 25 | fortis, forte | brave, strong |
| 26 | gravis, grave | heavy, serious |
| 27 | brevis, breve | short, brief |
| 28 | summus, -a, -um | highest, greatest (superlative of superus) |
| 29 | romanus, -a, -um | Roman |
| 30 | noster, nostra, nostrum | our |
9. 20 Most-Frequent Conjunctions, Prepositions, and Adverbs
Conjunctions
| Latin | Type | Meaning / Use |
|---|---|---|
| et | coordinating | and, also, even |
| sed | coordinating | but (stronger contrast than autem) |
| aut | coordinating | or (exclusive: one or the other) |
| vel | coordinating | or (inclusive: either, perhaps both) |
| nec / neque | coordinating | and not, nor |
| atque / ac | coordinating | and (adding something important or emphatic) |
| autem | postpositive | but, however, moreover (lighter contrast than sed) |
| enim | postpositive | for, indeed (introduces explanation) |
| igitur | postpositive | therefore, then (logical consequence) |
| tamen | adv./conj. | nevertheless, yet |
| cum | subordinating | when, since, although (+ subjunctive); while (+ indicative) |
| ut | subordinating | as, when; so that, in order that |
| sī | subordinating | if |
| dum | subordinating | while; as long as; until |
| quod | subordinating | because; the fact that |
| quamquam | subordinating | although (+ indicative) |
| quamvīs | subordinating | although (+ subjunctive) |
High-Frequency Prepositions
| Latin | Case | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| in | abl. | in, on |
| in | acc. | into, against |
| ad | acc. | to, toward, near |
| ab / ā | abl. | from, away from, by (agent) |
| ex / ē | abl. | out of, from |
| dē | abl. | down from; about, concerning |
| per | acc. | through, throughout; by means of |
| inter | acc. | between, among |
| cum | abl. | with (often enclitic: mēcum, tēcum) |
| sub | abl. | under (position); + acc. = up to |
| post | acc. | after, behind |
| ante | acc. | before, in front of |
| contrā | acc. | against, opposite |
| propter | acc. | because of, on account of |
| ob | acc. | because of, on account of (slightly more formal than propter) |
| sine | abl. | without |
| pro | abl. | in front of; on behalf of; in place of |
High-Frequency Adverbs
| Latin | Meaning |
|---|---|
| nōn | not |
| iam | now, already; soon |
| etiam | also, even, still |
| nunc | now (at this moment) |
| ita | so, thus |
| sīc | so, thus, in this way |
| tamen | nevertheless |
| semper | always |
| saepe | often |
| numquam | never |
| umquam | ever |
| tum / tunc | then, at that time |
| nōndum | not yet |
| vix | scarcely, barely |
| iam nōn | no longer |
| magnopere | greatly |
| diū | for a long time |
| mox | soon |
| subitō | suddenly |
| prīmum / prīmō | first (in order / first of all) |
10. Practical Vocabulary Acquisition Strategy
Option A: Systematic List Learning (1,000 Words)
- Weeks 1–4: DCC Band 1, words 1–100 (highest frequency). Use Anki with a pre-made deck (search "DCC Latin" on AnkiWeb). Learn all forms: nouns with gen. sg.; verbs with all 4 principal parts.
- Weeks 5–12: DCC Band 1, words 101–200. Begin reading Caesar or a graded reader simultaneously.
- Months 4–8: DCC Band 2, words 201–500. Supplement with author-specific vocabulary for your target text.
- Months 9–18: DCC Band 3, words 501–1000. By this point, most new words will be learned from context in reading.
Key principle: Never learn a word in isolation. Always learn it in a sentence, with its forms, in context.
Option B: Input-Based Acquisition
Read extensively, using vocabulary aids (running vocabularies, facing translations, or digital tools like Logeion), and let high-frequency words become automatic through repetition in context. This mirrors how languages are naturally acquired but requires more patience.
Best in practice: Combine both methods. Use systematic lists for the top 200 (too common to leave to chance), then transition to input-based learning for words 200–1000.
Using Anki Effectively
- Set new cards to 10–15/day maximum to avoid backlog
- Learn both Latin → English and English → Latin for productive use
- Add context sentences to every card
- Mark cards with "grammar note" tags when the word is irregular
- Review every day without skipping; even 10 minutes beats a single 2-hour session
DCC List for the 200 Most Frequent Words
The full DCC Band 1 list is available at: dcc.dickinson.edu/latin-core-list1
A pre-made Anki deck based on this list is available at AnkiWeb; search "DCC Latin Core."
11. Learning These 200 Words
The 200-word list covers the highest-frequency slot in nearly every Latin sentence.
Target: Learn all 200 within the first 3–4 months of study. With Anki at 15 min/day (10 new cards/day), you will cover all 200 in 20 days of new cards — then spend 2–3 months solidifying them through daily review and reading.
After 200 words, do not stop — push to 500, then 1,000. The gains compound: each new word you know reduces the density of unknowns in any text you encounter.