Citizenship Test Vocabulary: The Full USCIS Reading and Writing Lists for 2026

The citizenship test vocabulary is two lists, not one. USCIS publishes a reading vocabulary list and a writing vocabulary list, they share a good number of words, and they are not the same.

Together they are the most bounded part of the whole interview. Every word that can appear in a sentence you read aloud is on the reading list, and every word that can be dictated to you is on the writing list. Nothing outside them will be put in front of you. Each list runs to roughly 70 entries and fits on one page.

Treating them as a single pile is the mistake USCIS specifically warns against. Its own guidance asks you to keep the lists separate while you practice, because the shared words hide the parts that differ.

The citizenship test vocabulary comes in two official lists, both printed in full below. The reading list carries the six question words. The writing list carries the months, the colors and the numbers. Both share the civics terms and the holidays. Every sentence in the English portion is built from one list or the other.

What’s New in 2026 for Citizenship Test Vocabulary

Neither list changed when the civics test did.

USCIS is implementing the 2025 naturalization civics test to align with Executive Order 14161. That change replaced the 100-question civics list with a bank of 128, for anyone who filed Form N-400 on or after October 20, 2025.

The English portion sits outside it. One reading list and one writing list still cover every applicant, whichever civics version applies. The USCIS study pages reflect that: two civics tracks, labelled Civics (2008 version) and Civics (2025 Version), and a single set of English material for everybody.

So a page telling you the vocabulary changed in 2025 has confused the civics half of the test with the English half.

How USCIS Publishes the Vocabulary Lists

Three free documents carry them.

The reading list is published as M-1178, the Reading Vocabulary Word Strips. It prints every word on a strip you can cut out and rearrange, so a teacher or a study partner can build sentences from them.

The writing list is published as M-715, the USCIS Writing Vocabulary Flash Cards. One word per card, with space on the back to practice writing the word and to build a sentence with it. USCIS designed them for classroom use, but they work just as well alone.

Both lists also appear in M-1122, Preparing for the Naturalization Test: A Pocket Study Guide. It holds the reading list, the writing list, the 100 civics questions for the 2008 test, and a summary of who can apply.

All three download free from the USCIS Citizenship Resource Center. Printed copies can be bought from the U.S. Government Bookstore, though nothing in them costs money online.

The Complete USCIS Reading Vocabulary List

Every word that can appear in a sentence you are asked to read aloud, in the categories USCIS uses.

People

• Abraham Lincoln
• George Washington

Civics

• American flag
• Bill of Rights
• capital
• citizen
• city
• Congress
• country
• Father of Our Country
• government
• President
• right
• Senators
• state, states
• White House

Places

• America
• United States
• U.S.

Holidays

• Presidents’ Day
• Memorial Day
• Flag Day
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Columbus Day
• Thanksgiving

Question words

• How
• What
• When
• Where
• Who
• Why

Verbs

• can
• come
• do, does
• elects
• have, has
• is, are, was, be
• lives, lived
• meet
• name
• pay
• vote
• want

Other function words

• a
• for
• here
• in
• of
• on
• the
• to
• we

Other content words

• colors
• dollar bill
• first
• largest
• many
• most
• north
• one
• people
• second
• south

What the Question Words Tell You

The six question words are the most useful thing on the reading list.

All six of them appear on the reading list: how, what, when, where, who, why. None of them appear on the writing list. That difference is not an accident.

USCIS says its reading word strips can be used to make interrogative sentences that an applicant might be asked to read aloud. In plain terms, reading test sentences are often questions.

That is worth knowing before you sit down. A sentence that begins “Who was” or “What is” reads differently from a statement, and rehearsing that rhythm makes the real one easier.

The Complete USCIS Writing Vocabulary List

Every word that can appear in a sentence dictated to you, in the categories USCIS uses.

People

• Adams
• Lincoln
• Washington

Civics

• American Indians
• capital
• citizens
• Civil War
• Congress
• Father of Our Country
• flag
• free
• freedom of speech
• President
• right
• Senators
• state, states
• White House

Places

• Alaska
• California
• Canada
• Delaware
• Mexico
• New York City
• United States
• Washington
• Washington, D.C.

Months

• February
• May
• June
• July
• September
• October
• November

Holidays

• Presidents’ Day
• Memorial Day
• Flag Day
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Columbus Day
• Thanksgiving

Verbs

• can
• come
• elect
• have, has
• is, was, be
• lives, lived
• meets
• pay
• vote
• want

Other function words

• and
• during
• for
• here
• in
• of
• on
• the
• to
• we

Other content words

• blue
• dollar bill
• fifty, 50
• first
• largest
• most
• north
• one
• one hundred, 100
• people
• red
• second
• south
• taxes
• white

What the Writing Vocabulary Leaves Out

The gaps tell you as much as the entries.

Five months are absent: January, March, April, August and December. No dictated sentence will contain them, so there is no point learning to spell them for this test.

There are no complex verb tenses. The verb list runs to ten entries, all of them present, simple past, or the infinitive. Nothing on the list can produce a perfect tense or a conditional.

There are no adjectives beyond colors and sizes, plus first and second. No adverbs at all. No punctuation beyond a full stop, since every sentence is a plain statement.

That is why the writing test is winnable in a fortnight. The whole space of possible sentences is bounded by one page.

What the Two Lists Share

The overlap is the cheap part of your study. Learn it once, use it twice.

Both lists carry capital, Congress, Father of Our Country, President, right, Senators, state, states, White House, United States. The same goes for dollar bill, first, largest, most, north, one, people, second, south.

All seven holidays sit on both: Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving.

The function words match too: for, here, in, of, on, the, to, we. So do the common verbs: can, come, have, has, is, was, be, lives, lived, pay, vote, want.

That is more than half of each list. Spend your first session there and both tests get easier at once.

Where the Two Lists Differ

The differences are short and they tell you what each test looks like.

Only on the reading list. The six question words: how, what, when, where, who, why. Also American flag, Bill of Rights, citizen, city, country, government, America, U.S., colors, many, elects, meet, name, do, does, are, plus the article “a”.

Only on the writing list. All seven months: February, May, June, July, September, October and November. The colors blue, red, white. The numbers fifty, 50, one hundred and 100. The place names Alaska, California, Canada, Delaware, Mexico, New York City and Washington, D.C. Also Adams, American Indians, Civil War, freedom of speech, taxes, free, flag, elect, meets, during, plus the word “and”.

Read those two paragraphs again and the shape of each test appears. Reading sentences are often questions, which is why the question words live there. Written sentences are plain statements about dates, places, numbers. That is why the months and the colors live on the other list.

That is also why USCIS asks you to keep the two apart while studying. Practicing them as one list makes the shared words feel like the whole picture.

How the Vocabulary Is Actually Tested

Two short exercises, near the end of the interview, each with two spare attempts.

For reading, the officer shows you a sentence and asks you to read it aloud. If it does not go correctly, you are shown a second, and then a third. You must read one out of three sentences correctly to demonstrate an ability to read in English. The standard is basic English, which is written into the law as an ability to read simple words and phrases in ordinary usage. It is not a test of accent or of speed, and there is no clock on this part of the appointment. Reading slowly and clearly beats reading fast and stumbling.

For writing, the officer reads a sentence out loud and you write it by hand on the form in front of you. If it is not correct, you get a second sentence, and then a third. You must write one out of three sentences correctly. Spelling is what gets marked, along with whether what you wrote matches what you heard. Capital letters count on names, on months and on holidays. There is no keyboard, no autocorrect and no spellcheck, which is the detail that catches people who prepared everywhere except with a pen.

Speaking is not a separate exam. A USCIS officer judges your ability to speak and understand English during the eligibility interview on your Form N-400, which is the longest part of the appointment.

USCIS publishes the vocabulary rather than the sentences. Nobody outside the agency has the test sentences, and nobody needs them, because the word lists bound the whole exercise.

A Two-Week Plan for Both Vocabulary Lists

Four short sessions, split by list, exactly as USCIS advises.

Session 1: the shared words. Read them aloud and write them by hand in the same sitting. This covers over half of both lists.

Session 2: reading only. Read the whole reading list aloud, one entry at a time, and circle anything that does not come out smoothly. Then read twelve practice sentences aloud. Say the question words at the start of each one clearly.

Session 3: writing only. Write the whole writing list by hand, saying each word aloud as you write it, and write anything you got wrong five more times. Do not skip the short function words, which is how people lose a sentence to “during”. Then have someone dictate three sentences and write those without seeing them.

Session 4: mixed dictation and reading. Three dictated sentences and six read aloud, in one sitting, the way they arrive at the interview. Have your helper show you reading sentences cold, ones you have not looked at that day, and answer ten civics questions out loud first, because the English portion arrives after twenty minutes of talking, not while you are fresh.

Ten minutes a session. Repeat sessions 3 and 4 until three dictated sentences out of three come back spelled correctly. The test only asks for one out of three, so that leaves a wide margin.

If nobody can help, record yourself reading and play it back the next day. Hearing your own stumbles is uncomfortable and it is the fastest way to find them.

The Words That Cost People Marks

Spelling misses cluster in the same few places.

• February. The first R is silent when you say it, and people leave it out when they write it.
• September, October, November. All three end the same way, which is exactly what slips under pressure.
• Washington. Two Ts and an NG. It shows up three times on the writing list, as a person, a state and a city.
• Independence Day. Three Ns, and an E where people write an A.
• Presidents’ Day. The apostrophe sits after the S.
• Thanksgiving. One word, no hyphen, and the K is easy to lose.
• Congress. Two S letters at the end.
• citizens. A Z, and an S on the end when the sentence needs the plural.
• freedom of speech. Three words, and the entry people shorten.

Write those nine by hand five times each. Ten minutes, and most of the risk in the writing test disappears.

Numbers deserve a note. The writing list carries “fifty” and “50” as separate entries, and the same goes for “one hundred” and “100”. Write whichever form you were given. Do not convert between them.

For reading, the trouble is different. The long names are easy to recognize and awkward to say: Independence, Washington, Congress, Thanksgiving. Say each one aloud until it comes out cleanly.

Practice Sentences From Each List

USCIS publishes the vocabulary rather than the sentences, so these are built from the official words. Anyone claiming to hold the official set is guessing.

Reading sentences tend to be questions, because the question words live on that list.

• Who was the first President
• What is the capital of the United States
• When do we vote for President
• Where is the White House
• Why do people come to America
• How many states are in the United States
• Who elects Congress
• What is the Bill of Rights
• Where does Congress meet
• When is Independence Day
• Who lives in the White House
• What is the largest state

Writing sentences tend to be plain statements about dates, places or numbers.

• Citizens vote in November
• Alaska is the largest state
• Memorial Day is in May
• Adams was the second President
• The United States has fifty states
• We pay taxes

Read the reading sentences aloud, then have somebody point at one at random and ask you to read it cold. Have someone dictate the writing sentences while you write them by hand. That is one ten-minute session covering both halves of the English test.

For a full reading set, see our 40 citizenship reading test sentences, every word checked against the reading list. If you have seen a circulating writing sentence set, we cover what the 36 writing test list is and how to check it against the writing vocabulary.

Where the Vocabulary Fits in the Interview

Both exercises arrive near the end of a longer appointment.

An officer calls your name and places you under oath. They review your Form N-400 with you, which takes up most of the time and doubles as your speaking test. The civics questions come next.

Then the English portion: one sentence to read aloud out of three, and one dictated sentence to write out of three.

By that point you have been talking for twenty minutes. The vocabulary is not the hard part. Doing something unfamiliar while slightly tense is, which is the whole argument for rehearsing both exercises until they are automatic.

If you do not pass a portion, USCIS generally schedules a second opportunity within 60 to 90 days and retests you only on the part you missed. You leave holding Form N-652, which records one of three outcomes: granted, continued, or denied. A missed English portion is marked continued rather than denied.

For the meaning of every word on both lists, see citizenship test vocabulary definitions.

The full word-by-word split is in reading vs writing vocabulary, and both lists sit on one printable page, with the overlap marked, on our citizenship test vocabulary PDF page.

See also citizenship test spelling and dictation practice.

FAQ

How many words are on the citizenship test vocabulary lists?

Each list runs to roughly 70 entries, and they overlap by more than half. Together they fit on two pages, which makes the English portion the most bounded part of the naturalization test.

Are the reading and writing vocabulary lists the same?

No. They share the civics terms, the holidays and most function words. The reading list adds the six question words. The writing list adds the months, the colors, the numbers and more place names. USCIS advises keeping the two lists separate when you practice.

Where can I download the official vocabulary lists?

From the USCIS Citizenship Resource Center. The reading list is published as word strips in document M-1178, the writing list as flash cards in M-715, and both appear inside pocket study guide M-1122.

Are the test sentences published anywhere?

No. USCIS publishes the vocabulary rather than the sentences. Practice sentences built from the official words cover the same ground, since no other words can appear.

Do I need to know every word to pass?

You need to read one sentence correctly out of up to three, and write one sentence correctly out of up to three. Since every sentence is built from these lists, reading the whole reading list aloud a few times is the most efficient reading preparation. For writing, spelling is what is marked, so practicing the words that trip you is worth more than practicing the whole list evenly.

Did the vocabulary change with the 2025 civics test?

No. The 2025 change affected the civics questions only. Both English vocabulary lists are the same for applicants on either version of the civics test.

Verdict: Learning the Citizenship Test Vocabulary

The citizenship test vocabulary is two short lists, published free, that overlap by more than half and cover every sentence you could be asked to read or write. Learn the shared words once, then treat the differences as two separate jobs, exactly as USCIS recommends.

Read the reading list aloud, paying attention to the six question words. Write the writing list by hand rather than typing it. Drill the months and the holidays, because that is where the spelling misses cluster, and say the long names out loud until they stop catching.

Two pages of ordinary words, four ten-minute sessions, and half the naturalization test stops being a source of worry.