By age eight, the average child knows approximately how many words?

By age eight, the average child knows approximately how many words?

• A. 5,000
• B. 10,000
• C. 28,300
• D. 50,000

Answer: (C)

By eight, children have already accumulated a large and rapidly expanding vocabulary through reading, conversation, and classroom learning. They understand and can use a substantial number of words—not just the ones they actively say, but many they recognize in listening and reading as well. An estimate around twenty-eight thousand words captures this mid-range growth well: it reflects substantial vocabulary knowledge without implying adult-level breadth. The smaller numbers would underestimate what eight-year-olds typically know, while fifty thousand would be closer to an adult vocabulary.

By eight, children have already accumulated a large and rapidly expanding vocabulary through reading, conversation, and classroom learning. They understand and can use a substantial number of words—not just the ones they actively say, but many they recognize in listening and reading as well.

An estimate around twenty-eight thousand words captures this mid-range growth well: it reflects substantial vocabulary knowledge without implying adult-level breadth. The smaller numbers would underestimate what eight-year-olds typically know, while fifty thousand would be closer to an adult vocabulary.