If You Know These 21 Words, Your English is GENIUS LEVEL!

[@evanherk]

Got all correct (but gambled on faineant). Not bad for a 66 year old native speaker of Dutch.

[@juliabickel7024]

I am 76 years old, native speaker of English, college degree, have taught English abroad. I missed 2 words that I have never before seen or heard: faineant, and the one about the diamond sparkling. Take heart, students, if you got at least 10 of these.

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Hi Julia, thanks for your comment- and I wholeheartedly agree that students who get more than even a handful of these words should feel proud!

[@cindyhauert2339]

Nobody ever, in a million years, would use the word "faineant" gmab

[@juliabickel7024]

@@cindyhauert2339 Agreed, yet someone, sometime, must have used it or we would not see it in this test.

[@HiJacques329]

I’m also a native English speaker, and despite getting 5 of them wrong, I did actually get faineant, since it’s one of the French words for lazy and I happen to speak French.

[@aminabelmou4307]

@@HiJacques329 Because of Latin being ancestor to both French and English, French speakers know half the English vocabulary. The other half is known by German speakers. And if you happen to know both French and German, then guess what????? .................You know the two halves of English, .......................that is the whole English vocabulary...............

[@alexmarcus9009]

English is not my first language but I scored 100%. My extraordinary English teacher would have been very proud 😅

[@rafael.silvacamargo]

I remember when I decided to learn English, I only studied English at school, but 1 or 2 months ago I decided to study English everyday and for a long time a day, and now, I saw how much my English has improved, and one of the main reasons was watching your videos, that I needed to use subtitles and 0.75 speed, now I watch without subtitles and can understand everything Thanks

[@angharaddenby3389]

Got all correct - not bad for a first-language Welsh speaker!

[@RaynaWithanR-d3y]

These kind of videos are indeed vocab enhancing

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Thank you, Rayna- I'm glad you feel that way!

[@juliabickel7024]

Always remember, fellow test takers, that the goal of language is communication and understanding. If you know about 1800 words in English, you can accomplish everything you need to do and say in ordinary life. The 1800 words do not include most of what's on this test. If you work in certain specific fields, you have to learn the specific vocabulary of that work. If you love languages and the people who speak them, you will learn what you need to know.

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

All very true- thank you, Julia.

[@paules3437]

"The goal of language is communication and understanding"?? Wait, whaddya mean? hahahahahah

[@paules3437]

Actually, one might dispute this. Is the goal of poetry "communication" in the same way a business letter's goal is communication? Part of language is artistry and celebration, not just communication. I read about a study that looked at clarity of communication between 2 native Eng speakers, and 2 non-Native but fluent Eng speakers in various combos. Turns out the best communication was between non-Native fluent Eng speakers because.... they didn't rely on idioms and metaphors for their business needs. I have had students who weren't native speakers and of course it's always interesting and revealing to discover the idioms in one's language. I had a discussion with a student about why "I'm up for that" and I"m down for (or with) that" mean the same thing! I had another student raised here with Russian parents and she told me when she was young, she'd get the idioms wrong: "Well, you've opened that can of worm so now you have to lie in it." "It's water over the bridge." "It's six of one, a dozen over there."

[@juliabickel7024]

@@paules3437 And I have found that non verbal communication is awesome. Kudos to Brian Wiles for sparking an ongoing conversation.

[@Notme57367]

I only got 3 including guesses but happy that I was able to learn some new words . It is time to use them in my group chat to confuse my friends. I am an Indian teen barely finished secondary education and I am trying this. I might sound i have an inflated ego but I am the best in my whole class when it comes to English. I am sure these words will help in my Olympiad exams. So Thanks❤

[@vivienhodgson3299]

21/21. There were no words I had never heard before, but if you had given me them and asked for a definition, there were several I would have found hard to explain; the multiple choice method worked for me. I speak French, which definitely helped with 'elan' and 'faineant', both of which we pinched from them!

[@korneliakecskemetinebakti2904]

I'm Hungarian and we use quite a few of the words of Latin origin, like elan, exegesis, labile... so yeah.

[@ellianemartinez5038]

80 yr old spanish native speaker missed two words. Wonderful way to learn even a couple of words!

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Fantastic work, Elliane!

[@justinjefferson5831]

Wow that's fantastic. Which did you miss?

[@rahimtalukdar7987]

Except for two or three words,every single word seems to me to come from a different universe.

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

It's a very tricky quiz, Rahim- but I hope you feel like you learning a few new words!

[@paules3437]

Boom! Got 'em all! But then, I'm a word nerd and an English teacher (even got "faineant" thanks to my undergrad French degree... but see comment reply below). I would also add I have an M.A. in English... except that's not nec related. I know a lot of MA's in English who don't know basic grammar or fancy vocabulary!

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Fantastic work getting all of them!

[@MmmSsjs]

Thank you for this great information. Keep it up.❤❤❤

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Thanks so much!

[@DawitAlemayehu-sq6hk]

An immense tribute to your exceptional videos. and continue with this exceptional caliber of work and make a lot of videos like this A LOT. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Thank you very much, Dawit- and I'm so glad you found the video to be useful!

[@tomkovjak666]

Actually, level 3 was the easiest for me. These words are international and Latin-based; therefore, they exist in many languages. It’s more a matter of general education whether you know them or not. The most difficult English words for non-native speakers are those used extremely rarely and only in literature. They are short and of Germanic origin, like ‘lithe’ and ‘fay... I'm Polish, so my native tongue will help with the Latin words (we have our own adaptations that are similar) but will never help with the obsolete Germanic words.

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Very interesting, Tom- thanks for your comment!

[@mcn872]

Neither lithe nor fey are extremely rarely used words.

[@tomkovjak666]

​@@mcn872Lithe ok, rare but you come across that once in a while. Fey? Never seen that one in my life.

[@nicholasharvey1232]

I only got 15 of these, and I'm a native English speaker but with no post-secondary education.

[@joulemaitre3185]

Thank you for making these sophisticated quizes

[@sandrastorer5628]

Missed 2. Faineant was definitely a new one to me!

[@russellbrown7024]

I got about half correct, mostly in round one. This was better than I expected to do given the subject - I never considered vocabulary or language my strong suit (I handle numbers and math much better on any day). Several terms I have never heard or seen written, including several in the answers, not just the questions. Difficult to get an answer correct when all the terms appear foriegn.

[@rogerwhite95]

76 year old male. Missed one, Sartorial. Had to make an educated guess on a couple.! LOL I attribute skills to my lifelong love of reading. Thank you for posting this.

[@E-Stories-Vocabulary-Boost]

The videos you create are top-notch, and they serve as a model for my own learning. I’ve subscribed and will continue to learn from you.❤🎉

[@AudreySpence-cc9qm]

Gloaming was an easy word for me. There's a Scottish song which starts 'Roaming in the gloaming wi' a lassie by your side'

[@johnopalko5223]

I knew it from "In the Gloaming," a song from 1877. Very popular with barbershop quartets.

[@CarlSteyn]

I once had a Long Player of Sir Harry Lauder singing various Scottish ballads, with this song being the main feature.

[@seibertmccormick184]

I knew the word Gloaming from a Scottish song as well. From the song "Loch Lomond" - "with the moon coming out in the gloaming."

[@rosslewchuk9286]

74 years of age: 18/21 Got me with meretricious, coruscate & sybaritic. Good fun way to learn new words❗🌝👍

[@CarlSteyn]

I am 83 and not native English speaking. I learnt only by reading both English and American literature voraciously and finding word meanings in my Roget's. I missed 2, # 15: bromide, wavering between two options and guessing wrongly, and # 20 labile, which l cannot recall ever encountering before.

[@snarkykat]

I'm a native English speaker and have consistently scored off the scale on vocabulary tests, but I missed plenty of the words on this quiz. I will use it as a learning opportunity.

[@Ron-z3x]

I didn't know all 21 words, but I love these exercises

[@RaynaWithanR-d3y]

Fantastic job, well done Brian wiles 💯

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Much appreciated!

[@joanhoffman3702]

Never encountered faineant before today. I missed 3 of the first 20. They were all words I had encountered, but didn’t have a firm grasp of the definition. I just subscribed. In my case, it pays to be a voracious reader!

[@alankent]

I am quite impressed. I only got 10 correct answers (not including guesses). People generally surprised at my expansive vocabulary. I attribute it to reading and having parents who were educators. But here I am, clueless to the meaning of more than half of the questions.

[@vincenzoditoma5757]

Chapeau to your honesty!

[@andyl8055]

Just over two thirds, and some of them through a process of deduction (eg coruscate).

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Very nice, Andy!

[@vietashroffoliver2521]

Thank you very much. I learned 5 new words

[@margaretsparksrittenhouse8787]

I knew 18 out of 21, 2 of which were in part 1. 😂 I am 65, a native born English speaker with some college. I recently had to take a 2 hour psych/cog test after a brain illness to determine how it was all working. I did extremely well in the language department, excelled in my vocab. However, my “in my head” math skills have gone to he**.

[@aminabelmou4307]

sorry to hear about your brain illness. Please don't be discouraged abouth math; by today's standards, you're still very young and can get much much better with adequate health care. Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Very well done, Margaret! Seems like your language/vocab skills are extremely astute (although I'm sorry you had to deal with a brain illness).

[@YassineMilod]

Hello Brian, we need a video about the recommended kind of books and other media for different levels of English proficiency. I always recommend short stories for beginners or bilingual books (usually in their favorite subject or specialty). For Intermediate level I gave them a copy of The Hitchhiker 's Guide to The Galaxy.

[@marilyncallan-cx7rk]

I was shocked to get 19 out of 21, an A. A lifetime reader, I'm 89 years old. No degree but autodidactic as I've been told. Still can't believe it. Missed the last 2 questions, words I[ve never heard of before this.

[@alexmarcus9009]

I thoroughly enjoyed this test.

[@scloftin8861]

20. OK, I kinda guessed the last one. and meretricious tripped me up as I'd only ever run into it in a joke ... Wishing one a Meretricious and a Happy New Year.

[@theophilos0910]

The only reason I scored 20/21 words correctly (I missed ‘coruscate’, darn it !!) on this quiz is because when as a 17-year old I did my A-levels in Beds. (which included (3) English Literature examinations) I began to compile a note-book of my own-listing ‘fun and rare English & Foreign words’ - which over a year of reading British authors (like Charlotte Bronte with her somewhat pretentious vocabulary at times in her novels) who don’t have the self-same vocabulary as the Americans (I was born & raised in Hollywood, so you can imagine the teen-age culture shock I endured !) My list eventually came out to 1,561 fun ‘English’ words - the vast majority of which are very rarely (if ever) used in modern English (outside of academic journals !) v.g. ‘Stochastic’ (‘randomly probable’) … &c. -but the really fun words are the ‘foreign’ imports into English from other languages such as French, Latin, Greek, German & Hindi &c. (such as ‘Paranaesis’ [‘exhortation’], or Mjolnir [= Thor’s Hammer] or ‘Deknamen’ [‘coded language’] !! LoL

[@sylvisterling8782]

I got all of them, even sussing out Fainéant, a word I had not heard of until today! Basically, I paused the video and looked at the word. I remembered the archaic word 'fain' as applied to intended actions and 'faked it'.

[@DawnDavidson]

20/21. Missed meretricious. Guessed a bit on faineant, but it was an educated guess. Interesting quiz. Thanks!

[@barbarasiegel3118]

Made it to 18..learned new words thanks!!

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Amazing, Barbara- and I'm glad you picked up some new vocabulary!

[@jimmshorts]

That was fun. I learned much. I knew a majority of the words but not all.

[@darvoid66]

That was fun and informative.

[@julieshelley-fd5kp]

I am an English Lit major--have not heard of half these words.. LOL..

[@aminabelmou4307]

don't confuse language and litterature, which is a quite small specialised part of language and has its own code, usage and vocabulary.......................

[@ruginniu4718]

I missed 3 but this test was spectacular for it brought back words I had forgotten.

[@GreenpeacerLiz56]

Great-Great-Great video. I love (trying) to learn new things. While I am better than some at communicating, I found words I thought I knew I didn't and only was correct with the word FEY because of my interest in SciFi-Fantasy. Oh well, live and continue to try to learn. Thankfully we have computers these days to spellcheck and find synonyms whereas in the past we had to go from dictionary to dictionary.

[@michaelc3656]

I think I got about a third of these, and half of those were guesses. Never heard of many of these words. Now I can insert them into conversations and feel smart. :)

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Haha, I fully support inserting these words into conversations to feel smart! Thanks for watching, Michael.

[@aminabelmou4307]

Yes, it would certainly enhence your exchanges, but be carreful not to sound pedantic...............................

[@adminadmin-bd9ji]

Thank you, so much ❤

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Thanks for watching!

[@kb27787]

A "Bromide" is indeed a chemical compound, however, it is not by default a base--just anything containing bromine. "Labile" however (speaking as a chemist) is not the same as "volatile". A volatile solvent easily evaporates (hexanes, diethyl ether etc.) but when something (let's say a functional group or protecting group) is acid-labile, (or base-labile, etc.) it means the group can be removed from the rest of the molecule (deprotected) by acid (or base) to expose the reactive part of the molecule.

[@elainepotgieter9403]

My English is pretty good but, I just learnt a lot of new words 😅 Thank you Brian

[@francesmeyer8478]

I got fifteen correct. I have a pretty good vocabulary but this was a difficult quiz.

[@darkpitcher5242]

19 out of 21 if it hadn't been multiple choice I think I would have only 17 thank I really enjoyed this quiz

[@arlenem6659]

Well, I got a C. Not too bad, but for about 1/2, I did a process of elimination. I like these tests 😊

[@8House]

Didn't know fey, meretricious and sybaritic. Guessed right on 5 others. This was humbling.

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

It's a very tricky quiz- but your score is really quite strong, well done!

[@winstonelston5743]

9: I've always seen _meretricious_ defined as _to or for, by, with, or from prostitutes._ I believe it was Alexander Woollcott who used it in the sentence _I wish you a meretricious and a happy new year._ Post script: I looked it up, and the prostitution reference is one meaning of the word. Got them all.

[@justinjefferson5831]

lol

[@kevinfleming3603]

I usually breeze through these. This one was tough. I got about half of these.

[@drexelmildraff7580]

19 out of 21. Faineant is the only word I hadn't encountered before. Got a top 800 score on the Verbal GRE test (the SAT for graduate school) even though I had majored in math, but that was a few decades ago.

[@ML-ss5ki]

Once more, thanks a lot Brian; as usual, your quiz was very entertaining! Again, being Spanish, having studied Latin and a bit of Greek and speaking French and German make the test easy, 20/21. As a matter of fact, 11 of those 21 words (vacilar, hermano, apoteosis, meretriz, hirsuto, exégesis, histriónico, sartorio, coruscante, sibarita, lábil) can also be found in Spanish with no or minimal alterations, add the French faineant, elan, and fée, the Greek kingfisher halcyon, and we have 15 with close to no effort. Gloaming stumped me. But my English is not very good, believe me. I wish my command of spoken English were half as good as my knowledge of (predominantly) obscure words :) Anyway, congratulations and keep up the good work!

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Terrific score! (And I'm glad I could find at least one word that was new to you!)

[@juliabickel7024]

"The mist of May is in the gloaming" a line from a song in a musical --- can't think of the name of the musical -- the one about the town that appeared only once a century -- the young man is caught in the time warp

[@jackgallo5616]

14 out of 21. A couple of the ones I missed appeared “semi-familiar”, but the meaning thereof slipped my mind.

[@kimbirch1202]

Its no wonder some of these words are never used , when there are more common alternatives, that everyone understands. After all, the only purpose of language is to communicate effectively.

[@mxxx5315]

Hi brian I'm Libyan girl my native language is Arabic and i love the English language and your videos and your kids are so cute god bless them and i love when you talk arabic hope i see you talk in libyan accent ❤❤

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Thank you so much!

[@mohamedkhaled667]

Hi Brian I'm Egypt boy my native Arabic i can't speak English please help me iam 20 years

[@colleenkochman9656]

missed exegesis and faineant...won't miss them the next time! Thanks.

[@williambarnes3868]

21/21. But last was an informed guess!

[@badgerclan17]

I missed 3, including faineant, which was the only one I had never heard of before (the other 2 I misremembered the meaning). I feel pretty good about that score.

[@mc4661]

I'm 78, and left school at 15 after a very choppy education. My first job was stacking tins in Tesco's. I kid you not. Have since become a published writer in a small way. (That’s not false modesty, unfortunately.) Got 17, guessed 1.

[@YomnaRamadan-c1x]

I love watching you very much ❤❤❤❤❤

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Thank you very much, Yomna!

[@YomnaRamadan-c1x]

@@BrianWilesLanguages My pleasure Brian ♥

[@YomnaRamadan-c1x]

@@استغفراللهاستغفراللهالعظيم-ز9ظ تمام انا عارفه بس انت عارفه انا عندى كام سنه انا عندى 11سنه يعنى اد اولاده وانا متقبله النصيحة ومرسى جدا ليك شكرا

[@venomps123]

make a video about words you must avoid cuz i think a lot of ppl say them without to know their meanings, thanks for the video which i couldn't answer any question of it but was a good source for strong vocab.

[@mimsietwo632]

Emulate is one of those words. I used it incorrectly till very recently.

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Thanks for this idea- I'll see what I can do!

[@UROTSUKIDOYI]

Learned a lot from this one👌

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

I'm very glad to hear that, Carlos!

[@M3ak_Ana]

Good luck Brah

[@toddmcdaniels1567]

I missed 7. Got 14 correct.

[@catchloe1989-k9l]

I got 18, scored a B.

[@justinjefferson5831]

I got 'em all. Btw "apotheosis" does not mean the highest point in something's development. It means elevation to the status of a god.

[@gusloader123]

@justinjefferson5831 ---> I agree with you. The Page owner needs to fix the definition. My Webster's New World Dictionary, Third College Edition has 3 definitions of the word. None of which are what the Channel host said.

[@TheJhtlag]

I was kind of expecting "apogee" or some word that hasn't yet come to mind. (He has finally "arrived"?) I can see it being used in a sarcastic way when someone is getting gushed over, in say the media.

[@LitVolWashCounty]

I wonder if one could juggle, could one then vascillate the vegetables?😊

[@connieroberts5152]

18 out of 21 correct

[@PavleSurla]

As a C1 certificate holder, I only managed to get 7 of these words correctly. 😅 A great piece of exercise, nevertheless.

[@thorstambaugh1520]

Got it. Believe it or not I have read fiction authors who have used all these words in their books

[@Spam_Unlikely]

Missed three as a native German speaker. If the difficult words had been spoken but not printed, I would not have recognized them. They mostly live in books.

[@ggpa9246]

Well I got four correct

[@markhellman-pn3hn]

question #2 is an OPINION question !! ... im to smart too finnish this quiz !! ... im a genious !!

[@rabidsamfan]

Knew 20, guessed correctly on the last one.

[@Igigigig8Bubibigug7]

اذيك يا براين وحشتنا في مصر❤

[@LSDaichi]

i seriously couldn't get past level 2, lol, i knew the boy's grin was playful, but puckish is more specific, new word added i guess, thx

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

It's a tough quiz, to be sure. But I'm glad you learned at least one new word!

[@kyawzayarwin8027]

Definitely as hard as hell. Well in the previous video 4 months ago, I was fluent and now I only got 2 right.

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

This quiz definitely goes beyond a fluent level- it's really tough.

[@kennethkimball6000]

13

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Not bad at all, Kenneth- hope you enjoyed the quiz!

[@winstonelston5743]

Perhaps you might look into the word _tenebrescent._

[@justinjefferson5831]

Yes. And 'pygmoid'.

[@HERNANFERNANDEZMD]

15! Really hard test.

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Well done, Hernan!

[@Jo-Bell]

❤❤ ‏‪0:20‬‏

[@flinch622]

I think all this means is... did you read Buckely growing up or not? Every column he wrote had me going to a dictionary 3 or 4 times as a teenager.

[@محمداحمدالجوميس]

يا ابرين انت ليه ما بتجيش مصر عايزين نشوفك في مصر

[@DanyDanielle2]

7 wrong answers - I am not fluent in English, but being French and loving etymology can help.

[@stevesmith291]

I wasn't sure if gloaming was dawn or dusk. I guessed wrong. The others I got right.

[@gillesjoly3811]

Ouch! Only got 16 right. Thanks!

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Still a strong score! And thanks for watching.

[@alonzo2220]

Wow, that was hard But as an 18 year old egyptian I am proud to get 18 of them🎉

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Amazing work, Alonzo- I hope you feel proud!

[@fritzrauer9360]

I translate English books to German, but faineant is new to me. Got all the others.

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Glad I could find one that was new to you- very well done, Fritz!

[@justinjefferson5831]

It's from French.

[@Biblically-accurate-medic]

I’m genuinely surprised on how’d I got like half of these correct considering most of my vocab knowledge is from the internet

[@isabelaepifani3222]

not a native speaker and I got 3 in round 1 - 4 in round 2 and 3 in round 3... progressing...

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Excellent score, Isabela!

[@Alina-pt1qc]

I got 5 or 6/21. However, in general I know about 22,000 words.

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Knowing 22,000 words is quite an achievement- nice work, Alina!

[@jeenamas]

Felled by faineant!!😞

[@johnopalko5223]

That was a tough one! I only got 20 right. I missed "meretricious."

[@ledoledo5161]

Your videos are very painful to the brain but i know it useful

[@thephilosophicalagnostic2177]

I got 19 right, fainient and meretricious wrong