Typing Words Practice

Q: Can I use the typing practice words as a timed test?

Yes. Under More options, set the test length to 30 or 60 seconds. Lines keep coming until the clock stops, and the result gives words per minute and accuracy. This browser keeps your best for each length.

Q: Why practise the most common words?

They come round most often: in the count behind this list the, of and and are 7.14%, 4.16% and 3.04% of all words. A word typed that often is worth typing cleanly.

Type the 50 most common English words, five to a line in rank order, with no timer.

Type each word and press space after it. No timer. The run ends with the text. the of and to in a is that for it as was with be by on not he I this are or his from at which but have an had they you were their one all we can her has there been if more when will would who so no

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Practise

–This run

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No timer: the run ends with the text, or when you press Finish. Words per minute is correct characters divided by five; accuracy is correct keystrokes out of all keystrokes.

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Next step Words done? Put them into sentences Next: the commonest letter runs

All 80 lines

The 50 in rank order, five to a line 10

the of and to in Ranks 1 to 5: from the (7.14% of all words counted) to in (2.27%).
a is that for it Ranks 6 to 10: from a (2.06% of all words counted) to it (0.77%).
as was with be by Ranks 11 to 15: from as (0.77% of all words counted) to by (0.63%).
on not he I this Ranks 16 to 20: from on (0.62% of all words counted) to this (0.51%). I is the one capital in the list.
are or his from at Ranks 21 to 25: from are (0.50% of all words counted) to at (0.46%).
which but have an had Ranks 26 to 30: from which (0.42% of all words counted) to had (0.35%).
they you were their one Ranks 31 to 35: from they (0.33% of all words counted) to one (0.29%).
all we can her has Ranks 36 to 40: from all (0.28% of all words counted) to has (0.22%).
there been if more when Ranks 41 to 45: from there (0.22% of all words counted) to when (0.20%).
will would who so no Ranks 46 to 50: from will (0.20% of all words counted) to no (0.19%).

Show all 80 lines (70 more)

One word a line: ranks 1 to 20 20

the the the the Rank 1 of 50: 7.14% of all words counted. The hands take turns on every letter.
of of of of Rank 2 of 50: 4.16% of all words counted. The hands take turns on every letter.
and and and and Rank 3 of 50: 3.04% of all words counted. The hands take turns on every letter.
to to to to Rank 4 of 50: 2.60% of all words counted. The hands take turns on every letter.
in in in in Rank 5 of 50: 2.27% of all words counted. Right hand alone.
a a a a Rank 6 of 50: 2.06% of all words counted. Left little finger, on its home key.
is is is is Rank 7 of 50: 1.13% of all words counted. The hands take turns on every letter.
that that that that Rank 8 of 50: 1.08% of all words counted.
for for for for Rank 9 of 50: 0.88% of all words counted. The hands take turns on every letter.
it it it it Rank 10 of 50: 0.77% of all words counted. The hands take turns on every letter.
as as as as Rank 11 of 50: 0.77% of all words counted. Left hand alone.
was was was was Rank 12 of 50: 0.74% of all words counted. Left hand alone.
with with with with Rank 13 of 50: 0.70% of all words counted. The hands take turns on every letter.
be be be be Rank 14 of 50: 0.65% of all words counted. Left hand alone.
by by by by Rank 15 of 50: 0.63% of all words counted. The hands take turns on every letter.
on on on on Rank 16 of 50: 0.62% of all words counted. Right hand alone.
not not not not Rank 17 of 50: 0.61% of all words counted.
he he he he Rank 18 of 50: 0.55% of all words counted. The hands take turns on every letter.
I I I I Rank 19 of 50: 0.52% of all words counted. Right middle finger, with the left Shift key held.
this this this this Rank 20 of 50: 0.51% of all words counted.

One word a line: ranks 21 to 40 20

are are are are Rank 21 of 50: 0.50% of all words counted. Left hand alone.
or or or or Rank 22 of 50: 0.49% of all words counted. The hands take turns on every letter.
his his his his Rank 23 of 50: 0.49% of all words counted.
from from from from Rank 24 of 50: 0.47% of all words counted.
at at at at Rank 25 of 50: 0.46% of all words counted. Left hand alone.
which which which which Rank 26 of 50: 0.42% of all words counted.
but but but but Rank 27 of 50: 0.38% of all words counted. The hands take turns on every letter.
have have have have Rank 28 of 50: 0.37% of all words counted.
an an an an Rank 29 of 50: 0.37% of all words counted. The hands take turns on every letter.
had had had had Rank 30 of 50: 0.35% of all words counted.
they they they they Rank 31 of 50: 0.33% of all words counted. The hands take turns on every letter.
you you you you Rank 32 of 50: 0.31% of all words counted. Right hand alone.
were were were were Rank 33 of 50: 0.31% of all words counted. Left hand alone.
their their their their Rank 34 of 50: 0.29% of all words counted. The hands take turns on every letter.
one one one one Rank 35 of 50: 0.29% of all words counted.
all all all all Rank 36 of 50: 0.28% of all words counted.
we we we we Rank 37 of 50: 0.28% of all words counted. Left hand alone.
can can can can Rank 38 of 50: 0.22% of all words counted.
her her her her Rank 39 of 50: 0.22% of all words counted.
has has has has Rank 40 of 50: 0.22% of all words counted.

One word a line: ranks 41 to 50 10

there there there there Rank 41 of 50: 0.22% of all words counted.
been been been been Rank 42 of 50: 0.22% of all words counted.
if if if if Rank 43 of 50: 0.21% of all words counted. The hands take turns on every letter.
more more more more Rank 44 of 50: 0.21% of all words counted.
when when when when Rank 45 of 50: 0.20% of all words counted. The hands take turns on every letter.
will will will will Rank 46 of 50: 0.20% of all words counted.
would would would would Rank 47 of 50: 0.20% of all words counted.
who who who who Rank 48 of 50: 0.20% of all words counted.
so so so so Rank 49 of 50: 0.19% of all words counted. The hands take turns on every letter.
no no no no Rank 50 of 50: 0.19% of all words counted. Right hand alone.

Short lines made of the 50 words, part 1 10

it was not the one they had
we were all there with her
this is the one that you have
there is no more for you
who would have been there
if you can be there by one
which one of you has it
all of this is from her
when will they be with you
I had one but he has more

Short lines made of the 50 words, part 2 10

it is as it was and will be
you can have it if you will
this is his and that is for you
so it is on or it is not
it was their will to be there
this is an all in one
not a one of you was there
he was at it from one on
so be as you were with her
who are they and which are you

How this list was compiled: The 50 words and their order are from Peter Norvig, "English Letter Frequency Counts: Mayzner Revisited", https://norvig.com/mayzner.html (read 2026-10-09): its table of the top 50 words in the Google Books Ngrams data, English version 20120701, with each word's share of all the words counted. The percentages in the notes are that table's figures. The count joins capital and small spellings and keeps only words written with the 26 letters, so I stands in it as a one-letter word and a contraction such as don't is not counted as a word. The list stops at 50 because the table does. Spellings were checked against the ENABLE word list, https://norvig.com/ngrams/enable1.txt (read 2026-10-09), which holds 48 of the 50; a and I, which that list leaves out as one-letter words, were allowed. The lines made of the 50 words were written for this page, and each uses those words only and all 50 turn up in them. Which hand types a word is worked out from this site's type the alphabet list, for a QWERTY keyboard. Licence: The Google Books Ngrams data is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License (stated at https://storage.googleapis.com/books/ngrams/books/datasetsv3.html, read 2026-10-09); a word's rank and share are facts from the table built on it. The ENABLE word list is in the public domain (release statement quoted at http://wordlist.aspell.net/scowl_v1-readme/). The lines and the notes are original to this site.

How it works

Typing words practice on the 50 words English uses most, in the order of a published count of printed books. Type them five to a line, each one alone, then in short lines. No timer at first.

Read the full guide

The 50 words, in rank order

The, of, and, to, in, a, is, that, for, it, as, was, with, be, by, on, not, he, I, this, are, or, his, from, at, which, but, have, an, had, they, you, were, their, one, all, we, can, her, has, there, been, if, more, when, will, would, who, so, no.

Word typing practice, three ways

The page opens on the ten ranked lines, the of and to in first. After them the main button moves on: one word a line, written four times, then short lines such as it was not the one they had. Under More options, Practise picks one set, or all mixed.

The left hand alone types was, were and are; the right hand alone types in, on, you and no.
I is the one capital in the list, so it is the one word that needs Shift.

Questions and answers

What are the most common English words?

In a published count of English in printed books the first ten are the, of, and, to, in, a, is, that, for and it. None of the 50 has more than five letters; the longest are which, their, there and would.

Can I use the typing practice words as a timed test?

Yes. Under More options, set the test length to 30 or 60 seconds. Lines keep coming until the clock stops, and the result gives words per minute and accuracy. This browser keeps your best for each length.

Why practise the most common words?

They come round most often: in the count behind this list the, of and and are 7.14%, 4.16% and 3.04% of all words. A word typed that often is worth typing cleanly.

Why is I on the list as a word?

The count joins capital and small spellings, so I is counted as a one-letter word and stands at rank 19. It keeps only words written with the 26 letters, so a contraction such as don't is not on the list.