Most Common Written Word In English
It’s short, simple, and used more than any other word in English, but most of us barely notice it. Can you guess what it is?
The most common written word in English is “the”. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, our little definite article tops the list, followed by other Germanic function words like and, but, and that. While English has borrowed from over 350 languages, its backbone comes from Germanic roots — that’s why it’s classified as a Germanic language, like Dutch and German, rather than a Romance language such as French. Even our most-used noun (time), verb (be), and adjective (good) come from those same sturdy origins.
Isn’t it fascinating how such a tiny word holds together so much of our language? If you’ve come across a cool fact, share it with us in the forum—we love learning something new every day!
