A grown-up may know tens of thousands of words.
You start with just one word as a baby and keep collecting more your whole life. That is a giant word collection!
💡 First Words — Fun Facts
Fun “Did you know?” facts about First Words — tap through 10 at a time!
Some children learn two languages at once and say first words in both.
A child who hears Vietnamese and English can learn words from each one. Their brain keeps both languages tidy.
By the time they turn three, many children know hundreds of words.
Every day they hear new words and remember them. Little by little, their word bag gets bigger and bigger.
Little children often learn names for family and food first.
Words like "mama," "milk," and "more" come early because those are the things babies love most.
Babies understand many words before they can say them.
A baby might not talk yet, but they know what "milk" or "bye-bye" means. Their ears learn before their mouths do.
"Mama" and "Dada" are common first words for babies all around the world.
These sounds are easy for little mouths to make. That is why so many babies say them first.
Many babies say their very first word around one year old.
Before that, babies babble and coo. Then one day a real word pops out, and everyone cheers!