Vocabulary ladder
Anna Karenina
Part ONE, 10
2,511 words. Everyday vocabulary (band A) covers 58% of the text; the hard 7% is 76 entries — all of them below.
A 57.5% (380 types) B 6.4% (116 types) C 3.1% (56 entries) D 1.4% (29 entries) E 0.7% (15 entries) N 5.4% (32 entries)
Band B — common reading vocabulary
A sample of 24 of 116 — you will meet these often; they are explained only at the fullest help level.
- disturbed
- enjoyment
- ribbons
- lace
- refusal
- straightforward
- thoughtful
- vodka ×2
- skating
- roast
- swallowing
- immense
- prompted ×2
- fond ×2
- midst
- positively
- champagne
- continually
- glanced
- piercing
- sleeves
- fare ×4
- sighed ×2
- conscience
Band C — recognition checklist
All 56 upper-intermediate words in this chapter. Tick the ones you know; the rest are explained at the fullest help level.
- starchy
- dewy
- waistcoat
- recollect
- overcoat
- sideboard
- foretold
- pearly
- standstill
- saucer
- porridge
- rehearse
- foresee
- unworthy
- gallant
- shan
- bitterly
- attentive
- dissatisfaction
- fling
- haste
- conceive
- awfully
- coarse
- blanc
- excellency
- purposely
- restrained
- dart
- hateful
- tread
- tokens
- oyster
- acquaintance
- cabbage
- hesitation
- oneself
- sparkle
- exquisite
- waiter
- fuss
- tuck
- refrain
- suppress
- rehearsal
- gaze
- vanish
- blink
- greet
- comfortably
- stud
- await
- amusing
- queer
- resumed
- velvet
Band D — advanced (29 entries)
- looking-glasses
- mirrors
- mother-of-pearl
- the shining lining of some shells
- white-headed
- with a white head
- dining-room
- the dining room
- savageness
- wildness
- loving-kindness
- tender mercy
- uncorking
- to pull the cork from
- wine-glass
- a glass for wine
- ringlets
- a curl of hair
- capons
- a cock fed up for the table
- gaily
- merrily
- coat-tails ×2
- the tails of a coat
- joyously
- joyfully
- peculiarity
- a special odd feature
- scowled
- to frown darkly
- perceptible
- just able to be seen
- loathsome
- disgusting
- quivering ×2
- trembling finely
- appetizer
- a small dish taken to sharpen hunger
- steed
- a riding horse
- bustle
- hurried stir and fuss
- radiance
- shining light
- isn
- is not
- shudder
- a shiver of horror
- sullying
- to stain or spoil
- eyelids
- the eye's cover of skin
- loathing ×2
- deep disgust
- napkin · napkins ×3
- a table cloth for the lap
- chandelier
- a hanging branched light
Band E — rare & archaic (15 entries)
- macédoine
- a mixture of fruits or vegetables, in French
- poulard
- a hen fed up for the table
- printanière ×2
- of the spring, in French
- vinaigre
- vinegar, in French
- pertinacious
- stubbornly persistent
- declaimed
- to recite grandly
- brimful
- full to the brim
- estragon
- a herb used in cooking, in French
- unworthiness
- lack of worth
- poudre
- powder, in French
- turbot ×2
- a large flat sea fish
- cravat
- a cloth tied round the neck
- obediently
- doing as told
- riz
- rice, in French
- toilette
- dressing — French
False friends — common words wearing old senses (2)
- awful
- full of awe — the old sense here
- state
- ceremony; pomp — the old sense here
Names (22)
- arkadyevitch ×28
- a Russian patronymic, meaning son of Arkady
- bonina
- a Russian family name in its female form
- brenteln
- a Russian family name
- golistin
- a Russian family name
- grinevitch
- a Russian patronymic, meaning son of Grigory
- shahovskaya
- a Russian family name in its female form
- shtcherbatskys ×2
- the Shtcherbatsky family
- oblonsky ×5
- Anna's brother, a genial Moscow official
- soupe
- soup, in French
- flensburg ×2
- a town of the German north
- levins
- the Levin family
- beaumarchais
- the French writer of comedies
- nuits
- a French wine
- chablis ×2
- a French white wine
- russe
- Russian, in French
- cachet
- a seal or stamp of distinction, in French
- nikolay ×2
- a Russian man's name; also Levin's elder brother
- stepan ×28
- a Russian man's name; also Oblonsky's first name
- tatar ×10
- of the roving peoples of central Asia; also a waiter's nickname
- levin ×28
- a landowner who farms his own estate in the country
- kitty ×2
- the youngest of the Shtcherbatsky sisters
- Stepan Arkadyevitch
- Oblonsky, Anna's brother, by his first name and patronymic