Learn English vocabulary by roots (Latin & Greek)
Vietnamese learners pick up Chinese fast thanks to Hán–Việt — because so many Chinese characters already live inside Vietnamese. English has a very similar mechanism: about 60% of academic English vocabulary comes from Latin and Greek roots. Learn a few dozen roots and you can guess the meaning of whole word families instead of memorizing words one by one.
This is "English's Hán–Việt." (Where does learning-by-root come from? See the pillar: Learning Chinese through Hán–Việt.)
Why roots are faster
Take one root: spect / spec means to look. Know it, and you instantly unlock:
- inspect — look into → examine
- spectator — one who looks → viewer
- respect — look back (regard) → respect
- perspective — a look-through → point of view
One root → four or five words. That's why learners who know roots read academic text far faster.
The most useful roots
| Root | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| port | carry | import, export, transport, portable |
| spect / spec | look | inspect, spectator, respect |
| dict | say | dictionary, predict, contradict |
| struct | build | structure, construct, instruct |
| tele | far | telephone, television, telescope |
| bio | life | biology, biography, antibiotic |
| graph | write, draw | photograph, autograph, graphic |
| geo | earth | geography, geology, geometry |
| aud | hear | audio, audience, auditorium |
| vis / vid | see | vision, visible, video |
How to study (just like Hán–Việt)
- Anchor by the root. Meet a new word, split the root: transport = trans (across) + port (carry) → carry across.
- Combine to guess. Know tele (far) + vis (see) → television = "see from afar."
- Review by root cluster. Learn port and pull in import/export/transport — one root, a whole family, exactly like 生 pulling in học sinh, sinh viên, sản sinh.
Don't forget pronunciation
Guessing meaning is only half. The other half is saying it right — English stress and word endings differ a lot from Vietnamese. Shadowing (listening and repeating almost instantly) builds reflexes fast; Shadola scores your pronunciation so you know what to fix. (New to shadowing? Read What is shadowing.)
Frequently asked questions
How many roots do I need? Around 50–100 common roots cover most academic vocabulary. Start with the table above.
Which level is this for? Best once you're past the basics and want to accelerate vocabulary — especially for academic reading and IELTS.
Start now
Pick 5 roots from the table, unlock one word family a day, and subscribe for more study tips. Want to sound clearer? Try Shadola.