The Spache Readability Formula compares words in a text to a set list of everyday words (below). The number of words per sentence and the percentage of unfamiliar words determine the reading age. Here is the full word list which the Spache Readability Formula uses:
A
a | able | about | above | across | act | add | afraid | after | afternoon | again | against | ago | air | airplane | alarm | all | almost | alone | along | already | also | always | am | among | an | and | angry | animal | another | answer | any | anyone | appear | apple | are | arm | around | arrow | as | ask | asleep | at | ate | attention | aunt | awake | away
B
| b | baby | back | bad | bag | ball | balloon | bang | bank | bark | barn | basket | be | bean | bear | beat | beautiful | became | because | become | bed | bee | been | before | began | begin | behind | believe | bell | belong | bend | bent | beside | best | better | between | big | bird | birthday | bit | bite | black | blanket | blew | block | blow | blue | board | boat | book | boot | born | borrow | both | bother | bottle | bottom | bought | bow | box | boy | branch | brave | bread | break | breakfast | breath | brick | bridge | bright |
bring | broke | broken | brother | brought | brown | brush | build | bump | burn | bus | busy | but | butter | button | buy | by
C
| c | cabin | cage | cake | call | came | camp | can | candle | candy | can\t | cap | captain | car | card | care | careful | carrot | carry | case | castle | cat | catch | cattle | caught | cause | cent | certain | chair | chance | change | chase | chicken | chief | child | children | church | circle | circus | city | clap | clean | clever | cliff | climb | clock | close | cloth | clothes | clown | coat | cold | color | come | comfortable | company | contest | continue | cook | cool | corner | could | count | country | course | cover | cow |
crawl | cream | cry | cup | curtain | cut
D
| d | Dad | dance | danger | dangerous | dark | dash | daughter | day | dear | decide | deep | desk | did | didn\t | die | different | dig | dinner | direction | disappear | disappoint | discover | distance | do | doctor | does | dog | dollar | done | don\t | door | down | dragon | dream | dress | drink | drive | drop | drove | dry | duck | during | dust
E
| e | each | eager | ear | early | earn | earth | easy | eat | edge | egg | eight | eighteen | either | elephant | else | empty | end | enemy | enough | enter | even | ever | every | everything | exact | except | excite | exclaim | explain | eye
F
| face | fact | fair | fall | family | far | farm | farmer | farther | fast | fat | father | feather | feed | feel | feet | fell | fellow | felt | fence | few | field | fierce | fight | figure | fill | final | find | fine | finger | finish | fire | first | fish | five | flag | flash | flat | flew | floor | flower | fly | follow | food | for | forest | forget | forth | found | four | fourth | fox | fresh | friend | frighten | frog | from | front | fruit | full | fun | funny | fur
G
| g | game | garden | gasp | gate | gave | get | giant | gift | girl | give | glad | glass | go | goat | gone | good | got | grandfather | grandmother | grass | gray | great | green | grew | grin | ground | group | grow | growl | guess | gun
H
| h | had | hair | half | hall | hand | handle | hang | happen | happiness | happy | hard | harm | has | hat | hate | have | he | head | hear | heard | heavy | held | hello | help | hen | her | here | herself | he\s | hid | hide | high | hill | him | himself | his | hit | hold | hole | holiday | home | honey | hop | horn | horse | hot | hour | house | how | howl | hum | hundred | hung | hungry | hunt | hurry | hurt | husband | i | I | ice | idea | if | I\ll | I\m | imagine | important | in | inch | indeed | inside | instead | into | invite | is |
it | it\s | its
I
| i | I | ice | idea | if | I\ll | I\m | imagine | important | in | inch | indeed | inside | instead | into | invite | is | it | it\s | its
J
| j | jacket | jar | jet | job | join | joke | joy | jump | just
K
| k | keep | kept | key | kick | kill | kind | king | kitchen | kitten | knee | knew | knock | know
L
| l | ladder | lady | laid | lake | land | large | last | late | laugh | lay | lazy | lead | leap | learn | least | leave | left | leg | less | let | let\s | letter | lick | lift | light | like | line | lion | list | listen | little | live | load | long | look | lost | lot | loud | love | low | luck | lump | lunch
M
| m | machine | made | magic | mail | make | man | many | march | mark | market | master | matter | may | maybe | me | mean | meant | meat | meet | melt | men | merry | met | middle | might | mile | milk | milkman | mind | mine | minute | miss | mistake | moment | money | monkey | month | more | morning | most | mother | mountain | mouse | mouth | move | much | mud | music | must | my | n | name | near | neck | need | needle | neighbor | neighborhood | nest | never | new | next | nibble | nice | night | nine | no | nod | noise | none | north |
nose | not | note | nothing | notice | now | number
N
| n | name | near | neck | need | needle | neighbor | neighborhood | nest | never | new | next | nibble | nice | night | nine | no | nod | noise | none | north | nose | not | note | nothing | notice | now | number
O
| o | ocean | of | off | offer | often | oh | old | on | once | one | only | open | or | orange | order | other | our | out | outside | over | owl | own
P
| p | pack | paid | pail | paint | pair | palace | pan | paper | parade | parent | park | part | party | pass | past | pasture | path | paw | pay | peanut | peek | pen | penny | people | perfect | perhaps | person | pet | pick | picnic | picture | pie | piece | pig | pile | pin | place | plan | plant | play | pleasant | please | plenty | plow | picket | point | poke | pole | policeman | pond | poor | pop | postman | pot | potato | pound | pour | practice | prepare | present | pretend | pretty | princess | prize | probably | problem | promise |
protect | proud | puff | pull | puppy | push | put
Q
| q | queen | queer | quick | quiet | quite
R
| r | rabbit | raccoon | race | radio | rag | rain | raise | ran | ranch | rang | reach | read | ready | real | red | refuse | remember | reply | rest | return | reward | rich | ride | right | ring | river | road | roar | rock | rode | roll | roof | room | rope | round | row | rub | rule | run | rush
S
| s | sad | safe | said | sail | sale | salt | same | sand | sang | sat | save | saw | say | scare | school | scold | scratch | scream | sea | seat | second | secret | see | seed | seem | seen | sell | send | sent | seven | several | sew | shadow | shake | shall | shape | she | sheep | shell | shine | ship | shoe | shone | shook | shoot | shop | shore | short | shot | should | show | sick | side | sight | sign | signal | silent | silly | silver | since | sing | sister | sit | six | size | skip | sky | sled | sleep | slid | slide | slow | small |
smart | smell | smile | smoke | snap | sniff | snow | so | soft | sold | some | something | sometimes | son | song | soon | sorry | sound | speak | special | spend | spill | splash | spoke | spot | spread | spring | squirrel | stand | star | start | station | stay | step | stick | still | stone | stood | stop | store | story | straight | strange | street | stretch | strike | strong | such | sudden | sugar | suit | summer | sun | supper | suppose | sure | surprise | swallow | sweet | swim | swing
T
| t | table | tail | take | talk | tall | tap | taste | teach | teacher | team | tear | teeth | telephone | tell | ten | tent | than | thank | that | that\s | the | their | them | then | there | these | they | thick | thin | thing | think | third | this | those | though | thought | three | threw | through | throw | tie | tiger | tight | time | tiny | tip | tire | to | today | toe | together | told | tomorrow | too | took | tooth | top | touch | toward | tower | town | toy | track | traffic | train | trap | tree | trick | trip | trot | truck | true
| trunk | try | turkey | turn | turtle | twelve | twin | two
U
| u | ugly | uncle | under | unhappy | until | up | upon | upstairs | us | use | usual
V
| v | valley | vegetable | very | village | visit | voice
W
| w | wag | wagon | wait | wake | walk | want | war | warm | was | wash | waste | watch | water | wave | way | we | wear | weather | week | well | went | were | wet | what | wheel | when | where | which | while | whisper | whistle | white | who | whole | whose | why | wide | wife | will | win | wind | window | wing | wink | winter | wire | wise | wish | with | without | woke | wolf | woman | women | wonder | won\t | wood | word | wore | work | world | worm | worry | worth | would | wrong
X - Y
| x | y | yard | year | yell | yellow | yes | yet | you | young | your
Z
| z | zoo |
