Top 1000 Words

The following are the 1000 most common wordforms in UK English, based on 29 works of literature by 18 authors (4.6 million words) and Rosengren's modified frequency, with case-equated matching. Words can include hyphen and apostrophe.

abs is the absolute frequency (total number of occurrences); r is the range (number of texts in which the word occurs); mod is the modified frequency as defined by Rosengren (1972).


rank  wordform         abs     r        mod

   1  the           225300    29   223066.9
   2  and           157486    29   156214.4
   3  to            134478    29   134044.8
   4  of            126523    29   125510.2
   5  a             100200    29    99871.2
   6  I              91584    29    86645.5
   7  in             73439    29    73206.5
   8  was            63012    29    62339.6
   9  he             59158    29    57504.9
  10  that           55871    29    55328.9
  11  it             55915    29    55284.2
  12  his            47361    29    46378.8
  13  her            50679    29    46365.9
  14  you            46673    29    44545.0
  15  as             42859    29    42712.6
  16  had            40907    29    40343.2
  17  with           40496    29    40303.7
  18  for            38406    29    38117.0
  19  she            40263    29    35959.2
  20  not            34597    29    33885.7
  21  at             31552    29    31445.2
  22  but            30309    29    30030.6
  23  be             30651    29    29962.6
  24  my             31018    29    28018.0
  25  on             26766    29    26543.8
  26  have           26511    29    26067.5
  27  him            25339    29    24924.5
  28  is             24936    29    24423.9
  29  said           25367    29    23592.0
  30  me             25281    29    23526.6
  31  which          22503    29    21234.0
  32  by             20847    29    20429.7
  33  so             20510    29    20209.2
  34  this           20024    29    19618.8
  35  all            19709    29    19296.7
  36  from           17536    29    17356.9
  37  they           17164    29    16650.5
  38  no             16645    29    16476.9
  39  were           16598    29    16440.8
  40  if             15844    29    15640.4
  41  would          15819    29    15582.2
  42  or             14680    29    14437.0
  43  when           14491    29    14346.8
  44  what           14482    29    14319.9
  45  there          13501    29    13358.1
  46  been           13590    29    13311.6
  47  one            13277    29    13166.5
  48  could          12821    29    12349.9
  49  very           13095    29    12311.1
  50  an             12177    29    12009.5
  51  who            11758    29    11302.9
  52  them           11459    29    11062.1
  53  Mr             14720    27    10995.1
  54  we             11526    29    10951.1
  55  now            11253    29    10939.3
  56  more           11022    29    10900.1
  57  out            11226    29    10857.6
  58  do             11046    29    10784.3
  59  are            10604    29    10396.1
  60  up             10804    29    10375.7
  61  their          10884    29    10348.6
  62  your           10733    29    10297.8
  63  will           10572    29    10001.0
  64  little          9898    29     9597.5
  65  than            9468    29     9222.8
  66  then            9256    29     8905.1
  67  some            8924    29     8808.3
  68  into            8790    29     8630.4
  69  any             8921    29     8514.5
  70  well            7990    29     7883.9
  71  much            8007    29     7797.4
  72  about           7927    29     7650.3
  73  time            7636    29     7536.4
  74  know            7813    29     7531.8
  75  should          7659    29     7518.1
  76  man             7868    29     7494.0
  77  did             7666    29     7460.8
  78  like            7774    29     7435.2
  79  upon            8396    29     7415.2
  80  such            7587    29     7280.9
  81  never           7353    29     7229.0
  82  only            7098    29     6945.9
  83  good            7103    29     6920.3
  84  how             6943    29     6787.9
  85  before          6804    29     6754.1
  86  other           6667    29     6559.2
  87  see             6615    29     6505.7
  88  must            6756    29     6448.8
  89  am              6752    29     6246.5
  90  own             6358    29     6233.4
  91  come            6403    29     6195.0
  92  down            6501    29     6130.4
  93  say             6148    29     6001.2
  94  after           6031    29     5955.0
  95  think           6135    29     5944.7
  96  made            6046    29     5919.4
  97  might           6080    29     5906.5
  98  being           6133    29     5867.4
  99  Mrs             7610    25     5742.3
 100  again           5770    29     5560.7
 101  great           5864    29     5544.6
 102  two             5677    29     5536.4
 103  can             5573    29     5437.4
 104  go              5580    29     5381.3
 105  over            5417    29     5268.9
 106  too             5332    29     5259.3
 107  here            5401    29     5251.6
 108  came            5550    29     5239.5
 109  old             5569    29     4970.9
 110  thought         5053    29     4920.4
 111  himself         5098    29     4878.8
 112  where           4899    29     4804.6
 113  our             5278    29     4735.5
 114  may             4941    29     4732.4
 115  first           4793    29     4683.7
 116  way             4815    29     4679.5
 117  has             5044    29     4622.4
 118  though          4776    29     4531.7
 119  without         4570    29     4444.3
 120  went            4945    29     4435.4
 121  us              4611    29     4320.7
 122  away            4462    29     4304.1
 123  day             4385    29     4295.7
 124  make            4334    29     4260.6
 125  these           4372    29     4175.4
 126  young           4467    29     4161.3
 127  nothing         4271    29     4125.3
 128  long            4183    29     4124.2
 129  shall           4264    29     4107.6
 130  sir             4732    29     4073.5
 131  back            4312    29     4056.0
 132  don't           5158    27     3985.0
 133  house           4078    29     3916.0
 134  ever            3917    29     3792.4
 135  yet             3909    29     3765.9
 136  take            3824    29     3763.2
 137  every           4051    29     3748.6
 138  hand            3924    29     3747.7
 139  most            3968    29     3690.6
 140  last            3713    29     3636.9
 141  eyes            3813    29     3636.2
 142  its             3833    29     3602.2
 143  miss            5092    28     3493.9
 144  having          3621    29     3493.0
 145  off             3637    29     3490.6
 146  looked          3709    29     3468.0
 147  even            3651    29     3449.3
 148  while           3463    29     3397.4
 149  dear            3952    29     3377.4
 150  look            3518    29     3377.3
 151  many            3504    29     3376.0
 152  life            3447    29     3373.6
 153  still           3495    29     3370.4
 154  mind            3437    29     3342.6
 155  quite           3700    29     3320.9
 156  another         3388    29     3313.3
 157  those           3442    29     3261.3
 158  just            3456    29     3238.0
 159  head            3447    29     3230.8
 160  tell            3304    29     3223.9
 161  better          3240    29     3186.5
 162  always          3400    29     3182.0
 163  saw             3282    29     3174.1
 164  seemed          3346    29     3144.8
 165  put             3205    29     3100.1
 166  face            3375    29     3084.8
 167  let             3144    29     3082.2
 168  took            3177    29     3057.3
 169  poor            3182    29     3037.5
 170  place           3068    29     2997.4
 171  why             3178    29     2995.5
 172  done            3051    29     2981.2
 173  herself         3499    28     2971.1
 174  found           3057    29     2950.8
 175  through         3044    29     2940.4
 176  same            3043    29     2922.2
 177  going           3110    29     2909.4
 178  under           2968    29     2904.5
 179  enough          2959    29     2894.0
 180  soon            3093    29     2881.3
 181  home            3027    29     2871.0
 182  give            2921    29     2853.4
 183  indeed          3236    29     2851.0
 184  left            2864    29     2834.6
 185  get             3074    29     2819.8
 186  once            2870    29     2819.7
 187  mother          3571    27     2716.9
 188  heard           2738    29     2684.6
 189  myself          3080    29     2671.6
 190  rather          2755    29     2669.1
 191  love            2874    28     2664.5
 192  knew            2760    29     2641.6
 193  got             2913    29     2631.6
 194  lady            3400    27     2630.7
 195  room            2785    29     2628.6
 196  something       2754    29     2620.7
 197  yes             3049    28     2620.6
 198  thing           2897    29     2590.8
 199  father          2778    28     2562.1
 200  perhaps         2631    29     2527.8
 201  sure            2704    29     2527.4
 202  heart           2635    29     2522.1
 203  oh              2941    28     2517.0
 204  right           2632    29     2515.0
 205  against         2566    29     2513.8
 206  three           2633    29     2467.1
 207  men             2743    28     2458.7
 208  night           2582    29     2431.2
 209  people          2521    29     2429.3
 210  door            2616    29     2421.5
 211  told            2465    29     2395.3
 212  round           2616    29     2387.7
 213  because         2561    29     2371.9
 214  woman           2697    28     2369.1
 215  till            2622    29     2336.4
 216  felt            2589    29     2329.3
 217  between         2377    29     2329.1
 218  both            2413    29     2319.3
 219  side            2383    29     2297.7
 220  seen            2321    29     2284.0
 221  morning         2345    29     2283.3
 222  began           2413    29     2258.7
 223  whom            2460    29     2256.4
 224  however         2429    29     2254.9
 225  asked           2522    29     2245.0
 226  things          2482    29     2243.1
 227  part            2329    29     2235.6
 228  almost          2327    29     2212.4
 229  moment          2272    29     2187.2
 230  looking         2360    29     2174.8
 231  want            2213    29     2093.5
 232  far             2154    29     2091.2
 233  hands           2236    29     2088.8
 234  gone            2159    29     2080.0
 235  world           2146    29     2054.7
 236  few             2091    29     2017.3
 237  towards         2084    28     1988.4
 238  gave            2053    29     1971.7
 239  friend          2205    29     1971.3
 240  name            2088    29     1965.2
 241  best            2001    29     1949.8
 242  word            2002    29     1942.5
 243  turned          2045    29     1940.1
 244  kind            2012    29     1932.7
 245  cried           2248    29     1917.5
 246  since           1989    28     1904.8
 247  anything        2162    28     1897.9
 248  next            1942    29     1880.2
 249  find            1912    29     1877.6
 250  half            1941    29     1874.1
 251  hope            1987    29     1871.2
 252  called          1896    29     1863.5
 253  nor             2050    29     1863.4
 254  words           1921    29     1858.1
 255  hear            1908    29     1857.5
 256  brought         1899    29     1855.7
 257  set             1942    29     1854.9
 258  each            1925    29     1845.7
 259  replied         2295    29     1835.8
 260  wish            1970    29     1829.9
 261  voice           1919    29     1826.0
 262  whole           1897    29     1819.0
 263  together        1859    29     1811.1
 264  manner          1942    29     1809.5
 265  new             1889    29     1771.8
 266  believe         1863    29     1755.5
 267  course          1869    29     1749.1
 268  least           1831    29     1743.0
 269  years           1824    29     1739.3
 270  answered        2129    29     1736.2
 271  among           1818    29     1726.9
 272  stood           1930    29     1720.6
 273  sat             1903    29     1717.7
 274  speak           1773    29     1715.2
 275  leave           1740    29     1714.8
 276  work            1853    29     1689.6
 277  keep            1742    29     1679.9
 278  taken           1689    29     1667.1
 279  end             1698    29     1652.3
 280  less            1741    29     1651.8
 281  present         1764    29     1646.1
 282  family          1874    28     1644.5
 283  often           1711    29     1620.5
 284  wife            1797    29     1614.2
 285  whether         1644    29     1586.7
 286  master          2096    28     1578.0
 287  coming          1644    29     1577.2
 288  mean            1657    29     1576.8
 289  returned        1818    29     1561.4
 290  evening         1649    29     1557.4
 291  light           1678    28     1556.8
 292  money           1728    28     1547.3
 293  cannot          1691    29     1499.1
 294  whose           1615    29     1494.1
 295  boy             1924    29     1471.3
 296  days            1511    29     1450.7
 297  near            1529    29     1447.7
 298  matter          1512    29     1444.4
 299  suppose         1490    29     1428.9
 300  gentleman       1868    28     1422.2
 301  used            1495    29     1421.0
 302  says            1736    29     1405.8
 303  really          1600    29     1404.0
 304  rest            1458    28     1393.4
 305  business        1461    29     1393.0
 306  full            1424    29     1390.7
 307  help            1435    29     1373.6
 308  child           1495    29     1373.4
 309  sort            1489    29     1371.2
 310  passed          1449    29     1367.7
 311  lay             1510    29     1361.8
 312  small           1434    29     1355.2
 313  behind          1416    29     1349.4
 314  girl            1569    26     1342.8
 315  feel            1474    29     1340.2
 316  fire            1461    29     1336.4
 317  care            1348    29     1334.2
 318  alone           1368    29     1330.9
 319  open            1351    29     1319.1
 320  person          1465    29     1316.0
 321  call            1333    29     1314.1
 322  given           1352    29     1298.1
 323  I'll            1778    26     1295.4
 324  sometimes       1319    29     1288.8
 325  making          1322    29     1286.8
 326  short           1346    29     1282.6
 327  else            1369    29     1277.7
 328  large           1337    29     1269.8
 329  within          1338    29     1268.5
 330  chapter         1414    28     1259.1
 331  true            1306    29     1250.2
 332  country         1409    29     1247.4
 333  times           1277    29     1226.8
 334  ask             1271    29     1224.1
 335  answer          1284    29     1223.3
 336  air             1278    29     1219.2
 337  kept            1263    29     1214.1
 338  hour            1274    29     1213.1
 339  letter          1356    29     1209.6
 340  happy           1360    29     1197.1
 341  reason          1268    29     1189.0
 342  pretty          1266    29     1180.2
 343  husband         1418    27     1173.4
 344  certain         1246    28     1171.5
 345  others          1266    29     1170.0
 346  ought           1273    29     1169.3
 347  does            1293    29     1154.7
 348  known           1205    29     1153.1
 349  it's            2068    23     1151.3
 350  bed             1249    29     1138.6
 351  table           1231    28     1138.2
 352  that's          1578    26     1136.7
 353  ready           1161    29     1135.7
 354  read            1165    29     1127.0
 355  already         1177    29     1126.5
 356  pleasure        1225    29     1125.7
 357  either          1187    29     1125.3
 358  means           1178    29     1116.5
 359  spoke           1142    29     1114.7
 360  taking          1138    29     1111.2
 361  friends         1203    29     1110.8
 362  talk            1176    29     1109.0
 363  hard            1205    29     1107.3
 364  walked          1198    29     1095.1
 365  turn            1128    29     1092.0
 366  strong          1154    28     1087.1
 367  thus            1227    27     1081.6
 368  yourself        1157    29     1076.5
 369  high            1136    29     1075.5
 370  along           1248    29     1071.8
 371  above           1125    29     1070.9
 372  feeling         1240    29     1070.9
 373  glad            1123    29     1065.4
 374  children        1246    29     1062.8
 375  doubt           1143    29     1062.0
 376  nature          1172    27     1060.9
 377  themselves      1111    29     1056.2
 378  black           1233    28     1045.1
 379  hardly          1138    29     1043.1
 380  town            1174    28     1040.3
 381  sense           1126    29     1040.2
 382  saying          1090    29     1039.8
 383  deal            1130    29     1036.5
 384  account         1159    28     1035.2
 385  use             1103    29     1032.1
 386  white           1209    29     1025.1
 387  bad             1101    29     1025.0
 388  everything      1243    27     1022.4
 389  can't           1380    26     1021.7
 390  neither         1119    29     1019.8
 391  wanted          1158    29     1019.4
 392  mine            1104    29     1018.6
 393  close           1095    29     1017.3
 394  return          1101    28     1012.7
 395  dark            1207    29     1011.7
 396  fell            1095    29     1009.2
 397  subject         1136    28      998.7
 398  bear            1028    28      997.2
 399  appeared        1060    28      993.6
 400  fear            1081    29      984.7
 401  state           1049    29      984.2
 402  thinking        1045    29      981.8
 403  also            1101    29      976.2
 404  point           1031    28      969.7
 405  therefore       1332    27      968.7
 406  fine            1059    29      966.6
 407  case            1002    29      965.8
 408  doing           1004    29      964.7
 409  held            1024    29      963.6
 410  certainly       1098    29      957.5
 411  walk            1010    29      957.2
 412  lost             975    29      952.4
 413  question        1013    29      951.1
 414  company         1049    28      949.1
 415  continued       1076    29      944.5
 416  fellow          1117    28      943.2
 417  truth           1056    28      943.2
 418  water           1133    29      941.0
 419  possible        1024    29      936.0
 420  hold             986    29      934.2
 421  afraid          1003    29      932.9
 422  bring            957    29      930.7
 423  honour          1247    29      930.4
 424  low              977    29      930.3
 425  ground          1015    29      929.5
 426  added           1006    29      927.0
 427  five             970    29      922.5
 428  remember         979    29      922.4
 429  except          1004    29      918.0
 430  power           1011    27      917.7
 431  seeing           977    29      913.5
 432  dead            1019    29      905.2
 433  I'm             1464    24      905.1
 434  usual            944    29      902.8
 435  able             991    29      900.8
 436  second           925    29      900.3
 437  arms            1015    28      896.3
 438  late             929    29      894.4
 439  opinion         1051    29      889.7
 440  window          1002    28      886.6
 441  brother         1135    26      883.9
 442  live             913    29      883.4
 443  four             943    29      881.7
 444  none             949    29      878.9
 445  death            948    28      878.5
 446  arm              961    29      878.2
 447  road             968    28      877.7
 448  hair             989    29      876.2
 449  sister          1290    26      876.2
 450  entered          960    27      874.9
 451  sent             911    29      874.2
 452  married         1040    25      872.8
 453  longer           933    29      872.7
 454  immediately     1028    28      871.2
 455  god             1110    27      870.9
 456  women           1031    26      870.7
 457  hours            886    29      870.1
 458  ten              901    29      867.3
 459  understand       912    29      866.8
 460  son              998    29      859.9
 461  horse           1147    28      858.6
 462  wonder           892    29      856.3
 463  cold             931    29      855.2
 464  beyond           908    28      854.1
 465  please           881    29      852.6
 466  fair             936    29      851.9
 467  became           891    28      849.0
 468  sight            881    29      846.6
 469  met              883    29      846.2
 470  afterwards       895    28      826.1
 471  eye              917    29      824.8
 472  year             889    29      823.7
 473  show             892    28      815.4
 474  general          923    29      814.6
 475  itself           854    29      804.8
 476  silence          883    29      799.8
 477  lord             998    27      799.0
 478  wrong            847    29      798.8
 479  turning          846    29      798.2
 480  daughter        1009    26      795.2
 481  stay             836    29      794.8
 482  forward          847    27      794.0
 483  O               1125    25      793.1
 484  interest         847    29      792.1
 485  thoughts         869    28      792.1
 486  followed         839    29      792.0
 487  won't           1075    25      789.3
 488  different        818    29      788.5
 489  opened           826    29      786.3
 490  several          940    29      784.7
 491  idea             880    28      778.8
 492  received         904    27      774.6
 493  change           835    29      774.3
 494  laid             818    29      772.2
 495  strange          829    29      769.1
 496  nobody           889    27      768.9
 497  fact             853    29      767.3
 498  during           856    28      764.7
 499  feet             932    29      758.1
 500  tears            806    29      757.9
 501  run              838    29      757.1
 502  purpose          824    29      756.4
 503  character        866    27      755.9
 504  body             896    29      754.9
 505  ran              854    29      754.3
 506  past             797    29      752.7
 507  order            894    28      751.6
 508  need             790    28      749.5
 509  pleased          846    28      748.4
 510  trouble          780    29      747.2
 511  whatever         786    29      746.9
 512  dinner           860    29      744.0
 513  happened         808    29      743.1
 514  sitting          802    29      741.8
 515  getting          850    29      737.7
 516  there's         1046    26      735.9
 517  besides          808    29      735.1
 518  soul             830    26      731.0
 519  ill              774    28      729.7
 520  early            767    27      728.3
 521  rose             891    29      725.9
 522  aunt            1411    20      725.5
 523  hundred          831    29      724.5
 524  minutes          831    29      722.5
 525  across           848    29      721.6
 526  carried          781    29      720.7
 527  sit              755    29      712.5
 528  observed         861    25      711.5
 529  suddenly         832    29      710.5
 530  creature         767    29      709.6
 531  conversation     803    29      707.9
 532  worse            737    29      707.2
 533  six              758    29      705.6
 534  quiet            760    29      705.5
 535  chair            802    28      703.9
 536  doctor          1125    25      702.3
 537  tone             831    29      701.8
 538  standing         771    29      700.9
 539  living           754    28      700.5
 540  sorry            770    29      700.1
 541  stand            745    29      698.6
 542  meet             717    29      697.5
 543  instead          725    29      697.1
 544  wished           788    27      695.4
 545  ah               827    27      691.8
 546  lived            729    28      688.7
 547  try              751    29      686.8
 548  red              867    29      685.6
 549  smile            728    29      683.9
 550  sound            749    29      683.7
 551  expected         719    29      680.9
 552  silent           727    29      673.1
 553  common           711    29      673.0
 554  meant            739    29      672.5
 555  tried            751    29      671.8
 556  until           1036    25      670.9
 557  mouth            768    29      668.7
 558  distance         712    29      666.5
 559  occasion         791    26      665.5
 560  cut              748    28      664.0
 561  marry            827    22      663.3
 562  likely           710    29      663.2
 563  length           741    28      658.0
 564  story            704    28      655.8
 565  visit            754    29      653.7
 566  deep             692    29      650.4
 567  seems            674    29      649.8
 568  street           870    26      648.0
 569  remained         723    27      647.1
 570  become           680    29      642.2
 571  led              676    29      639.3
 572  speaking         691    29      637.4
 573  natural          679    29      636.8
 574  giving           668    29      635.3
 575  further          730    28      633.7
 576  struck           675    29      633.7
 577  week             695    29      629.5
 578  loved            749    26      627.8
 579  drew             689    29      626.5
 580  seem             661    29      626.2
 581  church           739    26      622.9
 582  knows            660    29      622.9
 583  object           725    24      622.3
 584  ladies           878    23      622.0
 585  marriage         814    22      620.5
 586  book             670    29      619.8
 587  appearance       677    27      619.5
 588  pay              683    28      619.0
 589  I've            1003    23      618.6
 590  obliged          741    28      618.0
 591  particular       656    29      605.7
 592  pass             628    29      605.5
 593  thank            663    28      602.5
 594  form             700    26      601.4
 595  knowing          678    29      601.0
 596  lips             674    29      600.4
 597  knowledge        671    28      599.6
 598  former           691    25      598.9
 599  blood            697    26      597.8
 600  sake             638    27      597.2
 601  fortune          764    26      597.0
 602  necessary        680    25      596.6
 603  presence         661    26      591.9
 604  feelings         833    26      588.3
 605  corner           695    29      587.5
 606  beautiful        642    29      586.3
 607  talking          654    29      584.6
 608  spirit           613    27      584.5
 609  ago              622    29      583.9
 610  foot             659    29      582.7
 611  circumstances    650    28      582.0
 612  wind             699    29      581.1
 613  presently        644    28      580.1
 614  comes            627    29      579.1
 615  attention        684    28      578.1
 616  wait             600    29      576.4
 617  play             662    29      574.8
 618  easy             613    29      574.6
 619  real             614    29      574.0
 620  clear            623    29      573.4
 621  worth            610    29      572.9
 622  cause            610    29      570.6
 623  send             591    29      570.1
 624  spirits          674    26      569.7
 625  chance           617    29      569.2
 626  didn't           997    20      568.5
 627  view             615    28      568.4
 628  pleasant         624    29      566.8
 629  party            695    29      566.4
 630  beginning        615    29      566.0
 631  horses           758    28      566.0
 632  stopped          651    29      565.7
 633  notice           589    29      565.0
 634  duty             607    27      564.4
 635  he's             895    22      564.2
 636  age              588    29      562.5
 637  figure           603    29      561.1
 638  leaving          580    29      559.6
 639  sleep            610    29      559.5
 640  entirely         653    28      558.7
 641  twenty           591    29      554.7
 642  fall             583    28      553.8
 643  promise          606    28      552.1
 644  months           609    28      551.6
 645  broken           590    29      551.1
 646  heavy            623    29      551.0
 647  secret           584    29      549.7
 648  thousand         633    29      546.2
 649  happiness        710    23      544.3
 650  comfort          639    29      543.3
 651  minute           610    29      543.0
 652  act              571    29      541.8
 653  human            616    28      541.8
 654  fancy            578    29      541.7
 655  strength         598    28      541.3
 656  showed           601    26      535.9
 657  pounds           608    29      535.6
 658  nearly           603    29      535.3
 659  probably         610    26      535.3
 660  captain         1074    21      535.1
 661  piece            576    29      534.6
 662  school           838    25      532.3
 663  write            575    29      527.4
 664  laughed          628    29      527.0
 665  reached          631    28      527.0
 666  repeated         596    28      526.1
 667  walking          581    29      526.1
 668  father's         597    27      524.6
 669  heaven           593    26      518.8
 670  beauty           606    25      517.9
 671  shook            567    29      516.9
 672  sun              600    28      516.1
 673  waiting          562    29      515.1
 674  moved            563    28      514.0
 675  bit              639    29      513.9
 676  desire           597    25      512.6
 677  news             573    28      510.9
 678  front            611    29      510.3
 679  effect           564    27      509.8
 680  laugh            535    29      508.4
 681  uncle            816    21      507.6
 682  fit              538    29      506.7
 683  miles            565    28      506.4
 684  handsome         549    29      506.0
 685  caught           548    29      505.3
 686  hat              602    28      504.0
 687  regard           608    26      503.9
 688  gentlemen        624    26      503.2
 689  supposed         541    27      502.4
 690  easily           552    29      501.6
 691  impossible       568    29      500.8
 692  glass            569    29      499.5
 693  resolved         634    25      498.1
 694  grew             561    29      497.9
 695  consider         554    29      496.6
 696  green            587    28      494.9
 697  considered       536    29      494.8
 698  unless           554    29      492.8
 699  stop             569    29      492.7
 700  forth            608    26      492.5
 701  expect           533    28      492.0
 702  perfectly        600    28      491.3
 703  altogether       516    29      491.2
 704  surprise         557    29      491.2
 705  sudden           514    29      490.8
 706  free             524    29      490.3
 707  exactly          546    29      489.9
 708  grave            514    29      489.6
 709  carriage         702    26      488.6
 710  believed         541    29      487.9
 711  service          536    26      487.8
 712  angry            521    29      486.9
 713  putting          524    29      486.0
 714  carry            523    29      485.3
 715  everybody        612    27      484.5
 716  mentioned        582    25      484.4
 717  looks            520    28      484.0
 718  scarcely         594    27      483.2
 719  society          553    26      482.0
 720  affection        628    24      481.0
 721  exclaimed        663    26      480.7
 722  dress            525    28      480.2
 723  die              528    28      479.4
 724  earth            542    27      478.2
 725  latter           565    25      476.8
 726  garden           569    28      476.2
 727  step             504    28      474.8
 728  perfect          502    28      474.1
 729  countenance      571    25      473.6
 730  liked            556    28      473.6
 731  dare             564    26      472.9
 732  pain             514    27      472.6
 733  companion        541    27      471.7
 734  journey          501    29      470.2
 735  paper            517    29      470.0
 736  opportunity      531    28      469.4
 737  makes            509    28      468.3
 738  honest           552    28      467.4
 739  arrived          543    26      465.5
 740  you'll           744    24      464.5
 741  bright           540    29      464.3
 742  pity             493    28      463.8
 743  directly         528    28      463.7
 744  cry              530    28      463.6
 745  trust            517    27      462.6
 746  fast             518    29      461.5
 747  ye              1051    25      461.4
 748  warm             501    28      459.5
 749  danger           524    28      459.2
 750  trees            573    29      458.8
 751  breakfast        505    28      457.9
 752  rich             490    29      457.9
 753  engaged          521    28      457.5
 754  proper           554    29      456.5
 755  talked           554    27      454.3
 756  respect          504    27      454.1
 757  fixed            478    29      453.7
 758  hill             609    27      453.7
 759  wall             554    26      450.7
 760  determined       524    28      450.4
 761  wild             525    29      450.4
 762  shut             509    29      450.3
 763  top              553    28      450.3
 764  plain            481    28      449.9
 765  scene            508    27      449.5
 766  sweet            491    28      448.9
 767  especially       529    27      447.9
 768  public           523    25      447.8
 769  acquaintance     569    26      446.9
 770  forget           471    29      444.0
 771  history          522    28      444.0
 772  pale             505    29      443.4
 773  pray             506    27      442.0
 774  books            498    28      440.7
 775  afternoon        529    28      440.4
 776  man's            482    28      439.5
 777  otherwise        460    29      439.5
 778  mention          522    27      439.0
 779  position         593    26      437.8
 780  speech           472    29      437.6
 781  gate             507    28      437.5
 782  'em              660    22      436.9
 783  boys             818    28      435.6
 784  yours            468    29      435.0
 785  drink            475    29      434.7
 786  slowly           533    29      434.6
 787  broke            461    29      434.5
 788  clothes          494    28      434.0
 789  fond             483    29      434.0
 790  pride            475    27      433.7
 791  watch            486    29      432.8
 792  sooner           535    27      429.6
 793  settled          484    29      428.2
 794  paid             465    28      427.9
 795  reply            500    27      427.9
 796  tea              596    23      427.5
 797  lie              484    29      427.0
 798  running          482    29      426.4
 799  died             454    28      424.7
 800  gentle           461    28      423.7
 801  particularly     488    27      423.7
 802  allowed          463    28      423.5
 803  outside          514    27      422.7
 804  placed           483    28      421.9
 805  joy              461    28      421.5
 806  hearing          449    29      421.4
 807  note             468    27      420.8
 808  condition        498    25      420.3
 809  follow           442    29      420.1
 810  begin            470    29      419.9
 811  neck             489    27      419.0
 812  serious          464    27      418.8
 813  hurt             477    29      418.3
 814  kindness         490    28      417.8
 815  mere             464    26      417.3
 816  farther          521    27      417.2
 817  changed          437    29      416.8
 818  o'clock          504    29      416.4
 819  passing          458    29      415.9
 820  girls            539    25      415.7
 821  force            447    26      414.2
 822  situation        507    27      413.6
 823  greater          493    25      412.6
 824  expression       473    26      412.0
 825  eat              488    29      411.4
 826  reading          447    28      410.8
 827  spoken           433    29      410.4
 828  raised           447    29      409.3
 829  anybody          495    24      408.2
 830  started          449    29      408.0
 831  following        436    26      406.5
 832  although         705    25      406.2
 833  sea              681    26      405.5
 834  proud            458    28      405.4
 835  future           452    25      405.1
 836  quick            445    29      404.2
 837  safe             435    29      404.1
 838  temper           458    29      401.7
 839  laughing         457    29      401.6
 840  ears             451    27      401.3
 841  difficulty       430    29      399.7
 842  meaning          439    28      399.2
 843  servant          459    27      399.1
 844  sad              437    29      399.0
 845  advantage        461    28      398.3
 846  appear           453    27      398.2
 847  offer            429    28      397.5
 848  breath           467    29      396.4
 849  opposite         443    29      396.3
 850  number           429    29      395.7
 851  miserable        418    29      395.0
 852  law              445    27      394.7
 853  rising           416    29      394.6
 854  favour           474    26      394.4
 855  save             453    29      394.3
 856  twice            419    29      394.1
 857  single           424    28      393.5
 858  blue             471    28      393.0
 859  noise            438    29      392.5
 860  stone            467    27      391.4
 861  mistress         566    23      390.9
 862  surprised        469    27      390.2
 863  allow            438    27      390.0
 864  spot             482    28      389.2
 865  burst            406    28      388.8
 866  keeping          418    29      388.5
 867  line             445    29      388.0
 868  understood       412    29      387.4
 869  court            541    25      387.2
 870  finding          407    27      387.1
 871  direction        469    29      386.9
 872  anxious          460    27      386.2
 873  pocket           450    28      385.6
 874  around           524    28      385.4
 875  conduct          470    26      385.4
 876  loss             422    25      385.2
 877  fresh            411    28      385.1
 878  below            433    28      382.8
 879  hall             541    27      381.6
 880  satisfaction     467    24      381.4
 881  land             503    29      381.0
 882  telling          402    29      379.1
 883  passion          464    28      378.1
 884  floor            439    28      378.0
 885  break            407    28      377.8
 886  lying            448    27      377.5
 887  waited           428    29      377.3
 888  closed           435    28      376.9
 889  meeting          445    25      376.9
 890  trying           470    27      376.4
 891  seat             413    28      376.2
 892  king             677    26      376.0
 893  confidence       445    27      375.7
 894  offered          402    28      375.4
 895  stranger         436    27      375.0
 896  somebody         428    28      374.1
 897  matters          426    27      374.0
 898  noble            505    27      373.8
 899  pardon           435    28      373.6
 900  private          426    25      373.1
 901  sharp            506    29      372.2
 902  evil             434    26      372.0
 903  weeks            421    28      371.6
 904  justice          445    26      370.3
 905  hot              429    29      370.2
 906  cast             423    26      369.4
 907  letters          434    27      368.7
 908  youth            397    27      368.7
 909  lives            396    29      368.4
 910  health           399    28      367.7
 911  finished         395    29      367.0
 912  hoped            415    28      366.3
 913  holding          402    29      365.8
 914  touch            417    27      364.8
 915  spite            424    29      363.9
 916  delight          427    27      363.2
 917  bound            415    28      363.1
 918  consequence      431    25      363.1
 919  rain             420    28      361.8
 920  wouldn't         638    20      361.8
 921  third            396    28      361.5
 922  hung             427    28      361.3
 923  ways             399    28      361.2
 924  weather          407    27      361.1
 925  written          395    28      360.8
 926  difference       409    26      360.2
 927  kitchen          453    27      359.4
 928  she's            607    21      359.2
 929  mother's         476    26      359.0
 930  persons          472    26      358.8
 931  quarter          386    28      357.7
 932  promised         383    29      357.6
 933  hopes            405    28      357.2
 934  brown            493    27      357.0
 935  nay              609    24      356.1
 936  seven            385    29      355.8
 937  simple           417    27      355.8
 938  wood             484    29      354.6
 939  beside           484    23      353.8
 940  middle           410    29      353.8
 941  ashamed          387    29      353.2
 942  lose             369    29      353.0
 943  dreadful         396    28      352.9
 944  move             375    29      351.7
 945  generally        412    27      351.4
 946  cousin           567    21      350.3
 947  surely           410    25      350.2
 948  satisfied        432    26      350.1
 949  bent             393    29      349.9
 950  shoulder         426    27      349.9
 951  art              497    27      349.8
 952  field            430    29      349.2
 953  quickly          433    28      349.2
 954  thrown           374    28      348.8
 955  tired            392    29      347.0
 956  share            385    27      346.8
 957  pair             397    28      346.1
 958  to-morrow        419    25      346.1
 959  aware            421    23      345.1
 960  colour           371    28      344.8
 961  writing          376    29      344.8
 962  whenever         368    29      344.3
 963  quietly          393    29      343.0
 964  fool             395    27      342.9
 965  forced           392    26      342.5
 966  touched          364    28      341.8
 967  smiling          379    28      339.4
 968  taste            381    28      338.7
 969  dog              456    26      338.5
 970  spent            386    28      337.1
 971  steps            379    28      337.1
 972  worst            368    28      336.9
 973  legs             436    25      336.7
 974  watched          412    28      336.7
 975  ay               487    24      335.9
 976  thee             925    20      335.2
 977  eight            380    28      335.1
 978  worthy           405    25      333.7
 979  wrote            386    28      333.1
 980  manners          428    28      332.6
 981  proceeded        402    25      331.8
 982  frightened       389    28      330.5
 983  somewhat         409    25      330.5
 984  born             351    27      330.2
 985  greatest         427    24      329.6
 986  charge           368    26      329.5
 987  degree           426    23      329.5
 988  shame            349    28      329.4
 989  places           362    28      329.2
 990  ma'am            553    19      329.0
 991  couldn't         592    20      328.6
 992  tongue           359    29      328.6
 993  according        385    26      328.5
 994  box              419    27      328.0
 995  wine             385    29      327.6
 996  filled           364    28      327.1
 997  servants         421    27      327.1
 998  calling          342    29      326.6
 999  fallen           345    29      326.6
1000  supper           368    27      325.8

Distribution of modified frequency:

[GRAPH]

Omitted in compiling this list: John London England English George Tom. The texts range from 26000 words (Alice in Wonderland) to 360000 (David Copperfield).

Absolute frequency is a notoriously noisy indicator of the commonness of a word; a particular word may occur a large number of times in total but in only a few texts. For a discussion of the problem see the introduction of Russian Learners' Dictionary by Nicholas J. Brown (1996).

Rosengren's modified frequency of a word is defined as follows

                n
      KF  =  ( sum d_i * sqrt(x_i/d_i) ) ** 2
               i=1

x_i is the number of occurrences in the ith text, and d_i is the (fractional) size of the text. KF stands for korrigierte Frequenz (corrected frequency).

Modified frequency has the property that it is less than or equal to the absolute frequency, with equality if and only if the word is evenly distributed (same relative frequency in all texts).

The ratio mod/abs can be taken as a measure of the evenness of distribution of a word. On that basis the most evenly distributed words in the above list are

      in to a at as with before for and on

and the most unevenly

      thee ye captain aunt boys couldn't king it's wouldn't didn't

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