Other word than many

1.79
1. Much употребляется с неисчисляемыми существительными (в единственном числе), а many – с исчисляемыми во множественном числе:

I haven’t got much time.
I don’t know many of your friends.

□ Иногда much может употребляться перед исчисляемыми существительными в единственном числе:

There’s not much point in going on.

□ Many может употребляться после других определителей (the, my, its, his, her и т.п.):

Among the many unknowns after the earthquake is the extent of damage to the foundations of buildings.
The gallery is exhibiting some of his many famous paintings of ships.

2. Much и many могут употребляться как местоимения (если при этом смысл ясен):

You haven’t eaten much.
Did you find any mushrooms? — Not many.

Как правило, это звучит достаточно формально:

There is no guarantee of a full recovery. Much depends on how well she responds to treatment.
The government’s policies have done much to reduce unemployment.
Many (= many people) have argued that she is the finest poet of our generation.
Not once did I see a tiger in the jungle, although I heard many.

Перед другими определителями (the, my, this и т.п.) или местоимениями употребляется much/many of:

You can’t see much of a country in a week.
How much of the house do you want to paint this year?
I won’t pass the exam: I’ve missed too many of my lessons.
How many of you are there?

There’s not much meat left. (не ‘There’s not much of meat left’.)
Many shops open on Sunday mornings. (не ‘many of shops’ )

Of после much/many обычно не употребляется, если нет другого определителя (артикля или личного):

She didn’t eat much breakfast. (не ‘ … much of breakfast’.)
There aren’t many large glasses left. (не ‘ … many of large glasses left’.)

Но much of употребляется перед именами и географическими называниями:

I’ve seen too much of Haward recently.
Not much of Denmark is hilly.

□ Иногда возможно такое употребление:

He’s not much of a success/gentleman.

3. В разговорной речи much и many, как правило употребляются только в вопросительных и отрицательных предложениях. В утвердительных предложениях они звучат очень формально (особенно much) и вместо них употребляются другие, равнозначные по смыслу, слова и обороты:

He’s got lots of men friends, but he doesn’t know many women. (More natural than ‘He’s got many men friends…’)
Did you buy any clothes? .- Yes, lots. (не ‘Yes, many’)
How much money have you got? — I’ve got plenty. (не ‘I’ve got much’.)

a) a lot of и lots of

Эти выражения употребляются в основном в разговорной речи и могут употребляться с неисчисляемыми существительными и множественным числом исчисляемых (глагол согласуется в числе с существительным, а не с a lot of/lots of):

A lot of time is needed to learn a language.
Lots of patience is needed, too. (не ‘Lots of patience are needed, too’.)
A lot of my friends want to emigrate. (не ‘A lot of my friends wants… ’)
Lots of us think it’s time for an election.

There’s not a lot of meat left. (не ‘There’s not a lot meat left’.)

b) plenty of означает «достаточно» или «больше, чем достаточно»:

Don’t rush. There’s plenty of time.
Plenty of shops take cheques.
There’s no need to worry. We’ve got plenty of money.
Have some more coffee. — No, thank you. I’ve had plenty.

We took lots of food and drink on our walk through the hills/ …plenty of…
Jim doesn’t look well. He’s lost a lot of weight (не ‘plenty of‘)
Plenty of shops open on Sunday mornings. (не ‘Plenty shops’)

4. В более формальном стиле употребляются

a) much и many:

We have much (work) to do/many obstacles to overcome before we can claim that real progress has been achieved.
Much has been written about unemployment.
In the opinion of many economists, …
Much debate has been heard about Thornton’s new book.
There could be many explanations for this.
Much of her fiction describes women in unhappy marriages.

b) a great/good deal of, a large/considerable/substantial amount of и a large/considerable/great/substantial number of

Эти выражения звучат несколько более формально, чем a lot of и lots of:

A great/good deal of и a large amount of употребляются с неисчисляемыми существительными:

Mr. Lucas has spent a great deal of time in the Far East.
A good deal of the exhibition was devoted to her recent work.
I’ve thrown out a large amount of old clothing.
A large amount of the food was inedible/ Much of…

A large number of употребляется с существительными во множественном числе:

A large number of problems still have to be solved. (более естественно, чем
‘A large amount of problems …’ / ‘A great deal of problems …’ )
The book contains a large number of pictures, many in colour/ …many…

c) оборот many a с существительным в единственном числе:

The manager must have spent many a sleepless night worrying about his team selection.
Many a pupil at the school will be pleased that Latin is no longer compulsory.

d) обороты a good/great many:

She has a good/great many friends in New Zealand.

e) обороты far too many/ far too much (со значением «слишком много»)

Far too many students failed the end-of-year math exam.
Far too much time is wasted filling in forms.

□ Выражения с of обычно не употребляются перед такими словами как pounds, или miles:

It cost several pounds. (не ‘It cost a lot of pounds’.)
They lived many miles from the town. (не ‘They lived plenty of miles from
the town’.)

□ Обычно many (а не a lot of/lots) употребляются со словами, обозначающими время (days, minutes, months, weeks, years) и с числами + of (например: thousands of voters, millions of pounds):

We used to spend many hours driving to Melbourne and back.
He was the founder of a company now worth many millions of pounds.

□ Выражения с of могут употребляться как местоимения, если смысл ясен:

How much did it cost? — A lot. (= A lot of money.)
We should be all right for cheese — I’ve bought plenty.
He does not often speak, but when he does he says a great deal.

□ A lot и a great deal могут употребляться как наречия:

On holiday we walk and swim a lot.
The government seems to change its mind a great deal.

□ Выражения so much/many, as much/many и too much/many звучат вполне естественно в разговорной речи в утвердительных предложениях:

There was so much traffic that it took me an hour to get home.
I play as much tennis as I can.
You make too many mistakes.
She won’t drink this coffee. There’s too much sugar in it.
There was so much sugar in the coffee that she could’t drink it.

□ Much употребляется как наречие в вопросах и отрицательных предложениях:

Do you work much at weekends? I don’t travel much these days.
She’s much older than her brother.
I don’t drive much faster than you.

□ Much в формальном стиле может употребляться перед некоторыми глаголами (выражающими удовлетворение и предпочтение) в утвердительных предложениях:

I much appreciate your help.
We much prefer the country to the town.
I didn’t much enjoy the concert.

Very much употребляется как наречие (обычно не ставится перед существительным):

I very much like your new hairstyle.
Thank you very much.
There’s a whole lot of water coming under the door. (before noun) ( не ‘There’s very much water coming … ’ )

Much и many имеют степени сравнения (причем одинаковые):

George did more work/exercises than anyone else.
So he did the most work/ exercises

1.80
MORE

1. More употребляется как сравнительная степень much и many:

We need more time (не ‘ … more of time’.)
More university students are having to borrow money these days.

2. Если смысл ясен, more можно употреблять в качестве местоимения:

I’d like some more, please.

Перед другими определителями (a, the, my, this и т.п.) и местоимениями употребляется more of:

Three more of the missing climbers have been found.
Could I have some more of that smoked fish?
I don’t think any more of them want to come.

И more of употребляется перед именами и географическими названиями:

It would be nice to see more of Ray and Barbara.
Five hundred years ago, much more of Britain was covered with trees.

3. Употребляются обороты one more/ two more… и т.п..

There’s just one more river to cross.

4. More употребляется (по соответствующим правилам) для образования сравнительной степени прилагательных и наречий):

As you get older you get more tolerant.
Please drive more slowly.

5. More может употребляться как наречие:

I couldn’t agree more.
I hate this job more and more as the years go by.

1.81
MOST

1. The most употребляется как превосходная степень much и many:

Susan found the most blackberries (больше других).
The most work is often done by the quietest worker.

В разговорной речи the иногда опускается:

Who earns (the) most money in your family?

2. Most (в этом значении без артикля) означает «большинство»:

Most children like ice cream. (не ‘The most children… ’ )
Most cheese is made from cow’s milk.
Most Swiss people understand French. (не ‘Most of Swiss people…’)
Most people want a peaceful life.

Most of употребляется перед именами и географическими названиями:

I’ve read most of Shakespeare.
The Romans conquered most of England.

В этом значении most уже не превосходная степень much/many, а фактически самостоятельный определитель.

□ The majority of (=most / most of) употребляется обычно с множественным числом:

The majority of criminals are non-violent.

3. Если смысл ясен, most можно употреблять в качестве местоимения:

Some people had difficulty with the lecture, but most understood.

Перед другими определителями (a, the, my, this и т.п.) и местоимениями употребляется most of:

Most of the people here know each other.
Most of my friends live abroad. (не ‘most my friends… ’)
Most of us thought he was wrong.
He’s eaten two pizzas and most of a cold chicken.

4. (The) most употребляется (по соответствующим правилам) для образования превосходной степени прилагательных и наречий:

I wasn’t as clever as the others, but I was the most beautiful.
I work most efficiently in the early morning.

5. (The) most может употребляться как наречие (артикль часто опускается в разговорной речи):

They all talk a lot, but your little girl talks (the) most.
The truth hurts most.

Как наречие most может иметь значение «очень» в формальном стиле:

That is most kind of you.
Thank you for a most interesting afternoon.
The experience was most distressing.

□ Mostly означает «в большинстве, но не во всех случаях»

Your little girl talks the most. (не ‘…talks mostly’.)
She mostly talks about her friends.

• #1

hello, everyone.
How can I differentiate «a few»,»several»,»a number of»,»a lot of» and «many» ?
If I say «There are ___ people in the classroom.», I think every one can be used. But I guess defferent number of people should correspond to different word.Then how to use them?

Thank you!

• #2

It’s fairly subjective.

I’d just say something like:

A few: More than one but less than maybe three to five.

Several: More than two but less than five or so.

A number of: More than two or three. I don’t know if there’s an upper limit on this. One could say «I have a number of options.» could be ten, could be a hundred.

A lot: A large number, maybe like 25 or more (very very subjective)

Many: Same as a lot.

Hard question to answer.

• #3

Thank you haywire!
That is really a hard question

• #4

A couple is two.
A few is three or four.
Several is up to five.
A number of is indeterminate.
A lot of is more than five and less than infinity.
Many — see a lot.

.,,

• #5

I like the explanation by .,, (btw, where are you in Australia? I’ve got tons of questions about AusEng ) but you should keep in mind that many times the criteria to choose the proper word is totally subjective: you forgot to mention «few» which can mean ‘three or four’, but it will be preferred over «a few» depending on the speaker’s intention.

• #6

Thank you for all of your explainations!
But I always think «few» means «no» or «nothing», «nobody».Is it means three or four?

• #7

A couple is two.
A few is three or four.
Several is up to five.
A number of is indeterminate.
A lot of is more than five and less than infinity.
Many — see a lot.

.,,

For me a couple of is not exactly two. It means approximately 2, sometimes 3, or even 4.

Few is not the same as a few. Few means not many, fewer than expected.

But all the figures given are not hard and fast. They depend on the context. A few countries in the world can be 10 or 20. Several countries can be 40 or 50. And a few stars can be over a hundred.

• #8

But all the figures given are not hard and fast. They depend on the context. A few countries in the world can be 10 or 20. Several countries can be 40 or 50. And a few stars can be over a hundred.

Quite right! A number described as «a few» is always relative to what it might have been (and smaller than it might have been).
There were a few people in the crashed car: probably not more than 4.
There were a few people on the bus: probably not more than 12.
There were a few people in the stadium: probably not more than 100.

I think «several» and «a number of» usually mean «about the number I would expect» and «a lot of» and «many» mean «more than I would expect». Again, the corresponding numbers depend on the context.

• #9

So it seems my conception was correct — several means a bit more than a few . I’m afraid they are not interchangeable. Or are they?
N. — Could you lend me a couple of French books?
S. — Sorry, I only have a few and I need them myself.
T. — I’ve got several and I could bring you a couple.

• #10

So it seems my conception was correct — several means a bit more than a few . I’m afraid they are not interchangeable. Or are they?
N. — Could you lend me a couple of French books?
S. — Sorry, I only have a few and I need them myself.
T. — I’ve got several and I could bring you a couple.

Not interchangeable in most situations and your examples are perfect.

• #11

Quite right! A number described as «a few» is always relative to what it might have been (and smaller than it might have been).
There were a few people in the crashed car: probably not more than 4.
There were a few people on the bus: probably not more than 12.
There were a few people in the stadium: probably not more than 100.

I think «several» and «a number of» usually mean «about the number I would expect» and «a lot of» and «many» mean «more than I would expect». Again, the corresponding numbers depend on the context.

So can I draw a conclusion that [ «few» means «fewer than what I expexted, but no nothing», «several» and «a number of» usually mean «about the number I would expect» and «a lot of» and «many» mean «more than I would expect». The corresponding numbers depend on the context.]?

• #12

So can I draw a conclusion that [ «few» means «fewer than what I expexted, but no nothing», «several» and «a number of» usually mean «about the number I would expect» and «a lot of» and «many» mean «more than I would expect». The corresponding numbers depend on the context.]?

Yes, that is how I would use these terms, though I am not sure that there is complete agreement about them among native speakers of English.

And I do not mean to imply that by using one of them I would be explicitly referring to my own expectations. I mentioned «expectations» as a way of indicating the sort of number indicated by each of these imprecise expressions, as already suggested by viera.

• #13

Thank you, and I think i can understand what you mean.

• #14

.

Several: More than two but less than five or so.

.

Is ‘several’ only about a quantity of someting (up to 5) or about anything else?
These sentences are from a test. The student must choose between ‘several’ and ‘some’:

1.-Have you got only one picture of your son?
— No, I’ve got (some, several). You can take one of them.

2. There are (some, several) theatres in this city and they are very good.

What does the student have to be guided by choosing between ‘some’ and several? There is no further context, just these sentences.

• #16

I’ve followed the links and my conclusion is as follows:

A: Have you got only one picture of your son?
B: No, I’ve got several. You can take one of them.

B has 2-5 pictures, but he is not sure about the exact number.

A: Have you got only one picture of your son?
B: No, I’ve got some. You can take one of them.

B has some photos. They are more than 5.

The same goes for the theaters.

Is my interpretation correct? As I’ve said the examples above are part of a test and if a student is to make a choice one of the variants is suposed to be right an the other wrong. What do you think?

• #17

Your second example should also be «several.» Can’t come up with a reason, though.

• #18

Several is, for me, the most questionable and the most subjective. I’m not originally from Indiana (which is in the Midwestern U.S.), but I’ve lived here a long time and have more or less acclimated. However, one of the things that’s continued to puzzle me is how people here will sometimes use several in sentences in which I’d use many or quite a few, and the only way you can tell that they mean many is by context and tone of voice. For example, someone in his 50s or 60s will be talking about something that happened when he was in high school, and he’ll say, «Oh, this was several years ago.»

But in general, I agree with what the others have said. I also agree with Viera that while «a couple» is around 2, but it might be as many as 3.

Last edited: Jun 5, 2012

• #19

I thought long and hard about your question, dec-sev, helped by looking at the OED and reminding myself that the meaning of several used today has drifted from its original meaning so that there is very little difference between several and some. I’d see the question as a very unfair one for English learners.

Several suggests that you have a number of separately identifiable objects. Some suggests that you have a number of objects that are not necessarily distinguishable from each other.

There are some theatres in the town would do as a simple statement of fact, like I have some apples. Add the additional they are very good and you are identifying them as having the potential to differ from each other (even though, in this case, they are all good).

There are several theatres in town and they are all very good becomes the appropriate way of saying it. You could go further:
There are several theatres in town. Some are very good. Here some is used to bundle them together as all the same — these are the good ones, those are the bad ones.

Likewise with your photographs. The conversation matters.
I have some photos of my son. You can have one. That’s perfectly natural.

but

A: Have you got only one picture of your son?
B: No, I’ve got several. You can take one of them.

The several is a response to the only one in the question. You have a number of photos, not just one, and you are quite happy to peel one of them off to give to A.

I feel that suggesting that some or several means less than 5 or more than 5 is nonsense. If I have about half a pack of cards I could say I have several cards, which equates to about 26. However, several is limited, and I doubt anybody would use several if they meant about 100.

The other difference, of course, is that several cannot apply to uncountables.

• #20

When would you say «this was several years ago» and when «This was some years ago»?
P.S.
@Andygc: Thank you for your exhaustive explanation!

Last edited: Jun 5, 2012

• #21

For example, someone in his 50s or 60s will be talking about something that happened when he was in high school, and he’ll say, «Oh, this was several years ago.»

I would see that as a perfectly normal use of several. The OED dates that usage back to 1661 with the meaning

As a vague numeral: Of an indefinite (but not large) number exceeding two or three; more than two or three but not very many. (The chief current sense.)

several, adj., adv., and n.
Second edition, 1989; online version March 2012. <http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/176914>; accessed 05 June 2012. Earlier version first published in New English Dictionary, 1912.

• #22

When would you say «this was several years ago» and when «This was some years ago»?

I wouldn’t — but other people here in Indiana (native-born Hoosiers — I am merely a transplant ) do it fairly often. I have never completely figured out a pattern for when they say «some years» and when they say «several,» but as far as I can tell, it’s used when they want to emphasize that there were more than a few of whatever they’re talking about. It seems paradoxical to use a word such as several that normally means «not that many» to emphasize the fact that it was really «quite a few,» but that is indeed what they seem to do.

I think this is a peculiarity in the speech of people from Indiana and perhaps surrounding areas, so I wouldn’t want you to think it’s something you can expect from a majority of native speakers. I brought it up only because it’s an example of how much variation there is among native speakers on the topic of several, many, some, a few, etc.

Like Andy said, it really isn’t a fair question for English learners. Asking the question seems to imply that there are right and wrong answers, and lots of times, there really are not. So much depends on context, tone of voice, and idiom that it really is very hard to quantify even vaguely.

• #23

When would you say «this was several years ago» and when «This was some years ago»?

These two seem to me to be equivalent for practical purposes. Both are stressing that the event was not recent and I do not think that one suggests an earlier event than the other, though both imply that it was probably more than three years ago.

However, you can say, ‘this was some time ago’, which also means that it was not recent, but the time scale might not be measured in years. For instance, ‘I bought this milk some time ago’ means it is not perfectly fresh but it may only be a week old.

You can intensify the expression to imply an even earlier event than that by saying, ‘This was quite some time ago’. Here you are stressing that the event was considerably earlier than one might have expected. Similarly, you can say, ‘this was quite some years ago’, or more naturally, ‘this was quite a few years ago’.

But you cannot say, ‘this was quite several years ago’. I think this reflects a very subtle distinction between ‘several’ and ‘some’. ‘Several’ focuses on a number of countable things whereas ‘some’ can also be applied to a quantity of something, as previously noted by Andygc.

• #24

I would see that as a perfectly normal use of several. The OED dates that usage back to 1661 with the meaning

As a vague numeral: Of an indefinite (but not large) number exceeding two or three; more than two or three but not very many. (The chief current sense.)

several, adj., adv., and n.
Second edition, 1989; online version March 2012. <http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/176914>; accessed 05 June 2012. Earlier version first published in New English Dictionary, 1912.

In context — and I blame myself for not making this clearer — the meaning of several actually is «quite a few.» If you have a person in his 50s talking about something that occurred while he was in high school and saying it happened «several years ago» (and this is something that’s happened to me many times since I moved to Indiana), several would refer to more than 30. That to me seems closer to «many» than to «a few.» But as I said earlier, this isn’t how I use the word, it’s merely how I’ve heard the word used by others.

• #25

I agree with Viera about «couple» which means not only 2 but also just generally ‘a few’ and so can refer to 2, 3 and even more sometimes. I use it this way and the dictionary says it’s okay, but I do get corrected by people sometimes. I say «I went to France a couple of years ago» and someone says «No, you went to France three years ago.»

• #26

There is a common thread in these responses, a consensus of sorts. The initial number that represents a «few» is mostly stated as 3. However the upper number representations are scattered. Taking all points of view into account, find the common thread(s), and the majority’s opinion. Subsequently, 2 definitively represents a pair, the first number that represents a few is 3 (which makes perfect sense because it is the first number greater than 2), the first number representing several is 4, and so on. Nevertheless, I find it interesting that the responses to this post span more than a few years (3), and more than several years (4). This question has been answered from October 2006, until March 2013, which definitely qualifies as «a number» of years (to say the least).

• #27

When would you say «this was several years ago» and when «This was some years ago»?

I would say either in most circumstances. «Some years ago» does rather emphasize that it was a long time ago, but I’d say «several» easily overlaps «some».

To some extent it depends on the age of the speaker — like the other words discussed earlier, they’re kind of about what portion of the whole you mean. So for me, at 65, «some years ago» invokes a longer time span than it would coming from a 20yo.

Last edited by a moderator: May 13, 2015

• #28

I too admire Angygc’s thorough explanation of several. Also, to me, it’s somehow got a different register or feel about it, one of lackadaisical casualness about the number or choices involved, a kind of shrugging of the shoulders to indicate, «but I’m not too excited about this, and it might tire me to go into more detail.»

• #29

In context — and I blame myself for not making this clearer — the meaning of several actually is «quite a few.» If you have a person in his 50s talking about something that occurred while he was in high school and saying it happened «several years ago» (and this is something that’s happened to me many times since I moved to Indiana), several would refer to more than 30. That to me seems closer to «many» than to «a few.» But as I said earlier, this isn’t how I use the word, it’s merely how I’ve heard the word used by others.

In the Midwestern States as well as many other rural areas in the States, people commonly use «some, «a few,» or «several,» in a colloquial way that means a lot more than expressed. It’s sort of a charming, casual, sarcastic or facetious way of saying it; it has become so embedded in the cultural jargon that, if asked, people probably wouldn’t say or feel they’re being that way. It’s kind of «cutesie» or even a type of verbal irony. «It was some years ago,» means it was more than a couple…a lot more probably. «Quite a few» when broken down, literally means a very small amount yet always functions as an indeterminately larger amount than is worth counting at the present moment. «Several years ago…» The only thing certain about that one is that it wasn’t recent (like last year) and it wasn’t before, say, WWII.

• #30

I think my question fits here.
Is it proper to give a short answer «Many.» for «how many»-question? Or only the answer «A lot of.» is possible?
For example:
— How many DevOps does it take to change a lightbulb?
— Many.

• #31

No, ‘many’ doesn’t work as an answer here. ‘A lot’ is possible, but we would usually give a more precise answer in reply to a ‘How many . . . ?’ question.

Even in a joke.

(What’s the answer to ‘How many DevOps does it take to change a lightbulb?’)

• #32

No, ‘many’ doesn’t work as an answer here. ‘A lot’ is possible, but we would usually give a more precise answer in reply to a ‘How many . . . ?’ question.

Even in a joke.

(What’s the answer to ‘How many DevOps does it take to change a lightbulb?’)

Thanks. Original joking dialogue looks as follows:
-How many DevOps does it take to change a lightbulb?
-First you burn down the house, and rebuild it automatically to the point where the lightbulb wasn’t burnt out.

Funny, but it also seems that answering question is not their professional feature) and ‘many’ can’t be answer hidden in question, as we found out

Have you heard language experts say that English has more words than other languages? The claim is made but it’s practically impossible to verify.

Steven Frank, the author of The Pen Commandments claims that English has 500,000 words with German having about 135,000 and French having fewer than 100,000.

But wait…

A blog post for The Economist agrees that English is rich in vocabulary, but comparisons with other languages can’t be made for several reasons.

The simplest problem in comparing the size of different languages is inflection.

Do we count “run”, “runs” and “ran” as three separate words? Another problem is multiple meanings. Do we count “run” the verb and “run” the noun as one word or two? What about “run” as in the long run of a play on Broadway? According to a recent NPR article, “run” has at least 645 different meanings!

When counting a language’s words do we count compounds? Is “every day” one word or two? Are the names of new chemical compounds words? Answering the question, “What is the richest language?” becomes more and more complicated.

Estoy, Estás, Está—One Word or Three?

Some languages inflect much more than English. The Spanish verb “estar” has dozens of forms—estoy, estás, está, “I am,” “you are,” “he is” and so on.

Does that make Spanish richer in word count?

Some languages inflect much less (Chinese is famously ending-free). So, whether we count inflected forms will have a huge influence on final counts.

Moreover, many languages habitually build long words from short ones.

German is obvious; it is a trifle to coin a new compound word for a new situation. For example, is the German Unabhängigkeitserklärung—declaration of independence—one word?

Given the possibilities for compounds, German would quickly outstrip English, with the constant addition of new legitimate German “words”, which Germans would accept without blinking.

A Sentence that Translates as One Word

The Turkish language is similar in this way.

Turkish not only crams words together but does so in ways that make whole, meaningful sentences.

“Were you one of those people whom we could not make into a Czechoslovak?” translates as one word in Turkish.

You write it without spaces, pronounce it in one breath in speaking, it can’t be interrupted with digressions, and so forth.

Counting the Words in the Dictionary

Another way of measuring the vocabulary in a language and comparing counts is by counting the number of words listed in a standard authoritative dictionary in that language.

From a list on Wikipedia, here’s one such comparison. This is a list of dictionaries considered authoritative or complete by approximate number of total words or headwords, included.

These figures do not include entries with senses for different word classes (such as noun and adjective) and homographs.

Wikipedia says it’s possible to count the number of entries in a dictionary, but it’s not possible to count the number of words in a language:

Language	Words in the Dictionary
Korean	1,100,373
Japanese	500,000
Italian	260,000
English	171,476
Russian	150,000
Spanish	93,000
Chinese	85,568

Which language has the most words? Maybe it’s English.

The Oxford Dictionary says it’s quite probable that English has more words than most comparable world languages. The reason is historical.

English was originally a Germanic language, related to Dutch and German. English shares much of its grammar and basic vocabulary with those languages.

After the Norman Conquest in 1066 English was hugely influenced by Norman French, which became the language of the ruling class for a considerable period, and by Latin, which was the language of scholarship and of the Church.

Very large numbers of French and Latin words entered the language. This melding of languages means English has a much larger vocabulary than either the Germanic languages or the members of the Romance language family according to Oxford.

English builds its vocabulary through a willingness to accept foreign words. And because English became an international language, it has absorbed vocabulary from a large number of other sources.

So, which language is richest in words?

Let us ask a different, and we think more important question:

Does it really matter?

Whatever languages you translate or interpret in—Chinese, Japanese, Russian, sign language, or others—you are bound to have a rich body of words to work with.

But if you want to dig deeper into the subject, check out Part 2 on the Arabic language.

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Sources:

Economist

Oxford Dictionaries

Wikipedia