Vocabulary ladder
War and Peace
Book One, VI
1,371 words. Everyday vocabulary (band A) covers 63% of the text; the hard 10% is 54 entries — all of them below.
A 62.6% (297 types) B 4.4% (49 types) C 3.3% (36 entries) D 1.3% (16 entries) E 1.2% (11 entries) N 7.1% (27 entries)
Band B — common reading vocabulary
A sample of 24 of 49 — you will meet these often; they are explained only at the fullest help level.
- sofa ×3
- intentionally
- elbow
- carriage ×4
- interrupted
- porch ×2
- mon ×2
- forehead
- forgiveness
- glancing
- inability
- dull
- amid
- rubbed · rubbing ×2
- pity
- evident
- kindly
- paused
- shelf
- eager
- modest
- heels
- adjusted · adjusting ×2
- charming
Band C — recognition checklist
All 36 upper-intermediate words in this chapter. Tick the ones you know; the rest are explained at the fullest help level.
- footman
- guardsman
- downy
- indiscretion
- joyfully
- disagreeable
- awkwardness
- pretense
- affectionately
- agreeable
- gracefully
- shrug
- rattle
- cher
- chatter
- contemplate
- stumble
- stout
- converse
- redeem
- snatch
- cloak
- chap
- perpetual
- weary
- tuck
- tutor
- sleepy
- monarch
- meaningless
- childish
- ironically
- nod
- whisper
- splendid
- delightful
Band D — advanced (16 entries)
- sister-in-law
- a husband's or wife's sister
- diplomatist
- a diplomat
- absent-minded
- with the mind elsewhere
- smilingly
- with a smile
- mildness
- gentle mildness
- fixedly
- with a fixed stare
- indifferently
- without care or interest
- eyeglass
- a single lens for one eye
- ungainly
- awkward in shape and motion
- creak
- a thin squeaking sound
- hurriedly
- in a rush
- naïve
- innocently simple
- momentary
- lasting a moment
- shawl ×3
- a cloth wrap for the shoulders
- saber
- a cavalry sword with a curved blade
- plume
- a large ornamental feather
Band E — rare & archaic (11 entries)
- good-natured
- kindly by nature
- three-cornered
- with three corners
- postilion
- a rider who guides carriage horses
- absent-mindedness
- forgetful inattention
- spasmodically
- in sudden jerky fits
- spluttered
- to choke and spit with laughter
- princesse
- princess — French
- revoir ×2
- explained by the text itself
- vicomte ×3
- a French noble rank below count
- soiree
- an evening party — French
- abbé ×4
- a French priest or tutor — French
False friends — common words wearing old senses (0)
Names (11)
- pávlovna ×6
- a patronymic — daughter of Paul; Anna Pávlovna Schérer
- schérer
- Anna Pávlovna Schérer, the Petersburg hostess
- vasíli
- Prince Vasíli Kurágin, the smooth court intriguer
- hippolyte ×12
- Prince Vasíli's dull elder son
- anatole
- Anatole Kurágin, Prince Vasíli's handsome, dissolute son
- lise
- the little princess, Prince Andrew's wife
- annette
- a pet form of Anna
- monsieur
- sir; mister — French
- napoleon
- Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French
- anna ×6
- a woman's name — Anna Pávlovna Schérer and others
- Anna Pávlovna
- the Petersburg hostess