BE850 Ogden's Basic English

Master 850 essential words to express the whole world in English. Bilingual definitions, UK/US audio, flashcards, fully offline.

Say everything with just 850 words — that was the vision of linguist C.K. Ogden when he created Basic English in 1930.

BE850 turns these 850 carefully selected core words into an elegant digital study handbook. Perfect for English beginners, young learners, ESL/EFL students, teachers, and anyone curious about the Basic English system.

Five Clear Categories • Operations (100): verbs, prepositions, conjunctions • General Things (400): abstract nouns • Picturable Things (200): concrete, visible objects • Qualities (100): common adjectives • Opposites (50): paired antonym adjectives

Bilingual Definitions Each word includes a Chinese definition, English explanation, example sentence, and Chinese translation of the example.

UK & US Pronunciation Switch between British and American English speech. Tap to hear any word, definition, or example sentence read aloud.

IPA Phonetics Both UK and US IPA transcriptions are shown for every word.

Flashcard Practice Full-screen card mode: see the word on the front, tap to reveal the meaning. Filter by category, shuffle order, enable auto-speak. Swipe to mark words as "Got it" or "Review".

Progress Tracking See your viewed, remembered, and review counts at a glance.

Synonym Expansion Each word comes with 2–3 synonyms to broaden your vocabulary network.

Simplified / Traditional Chinese Toggle between Simplified and Traditional Chinese display with one tap.

Bilingual Interface Switch the app UI between Chinese and English at any time.

Fully Offline All data is built into the app. No internet required, no ads, no sign-up. Learn anytime, anywhere — on your commute, in class, or on the go.

Based on Charles Kay Ogden's Basic English (1930). The word list is in the public domain; definitions and examples are original.