By age five, what is the approximate size of a child's receptive vocabulary?

By age five, a child's receptive vocabulary—meaning the number of words they can understand—typically reaches about 2,000 words. This development reflects the rapid growth of language skills during early childhood, where children are exposed to a variety of experiences and conversations that help them learn and comprehend new words.

During this formative stage, children begin to grasp more complex language concepts and start to understand words beyond their immediate environment, including terms related to various subjects they might encounter in stories, play, or interactions with peers and adults. The estimate of 2,000 words aligns with linguistic research and typical language development milestones, indicating a significant expansion in a child's ability not just to hear words, but to understand their meanings in different contexts. This receptive vocabulary serves as a foundation for further language development and literacy skills in later years.