Reading vs Writing Vocabulary: The 58 Words Apart in 2026

USCIS states that the reading and writing vocabulary lists are not the same. It never says how they differ, which leaves applicants studying one pile and hoping it covers both tests.

It does not. We compared the two official files word by word, and the answer to reading vs writing vocabulary is that only 40 of 98 entries appear on both.

The reading list holds 64 entries and the writing list holds 75. Forty appear on both. Twenty-four are reading only and thirty-four are writing only, so 58 of the 98 unique entries sit on one list and not the other. Studying them as a single pile wastes time on words one test will never ask for.

What’s New in 2026 for Both Lists

Neither list moved, and both are older than most applicants expect.

The 2025 civics test replaced the 100-question bank with 128 for anyone filing Form N-400 on or after 20 October 2025. The USCIS study page covers that change.

The English half sat outside it. The reading vocabulary and the writing vocabulary both carry a 07/14 revision stamp, meaning July 2014.

So the split described here is stable. Learn it once and it stays true.

The Numbers

Counted from the official files rather than from any secondary source.

• Reading list: 64 entries across 8 categories
• Writing list: 75 entries across 8 categories
• On both lists: 40 entries
• Reading only: 24 entries
• Writing only: 34 entries
• Unique entries across both: 98

The categories differ too. Reading has question words and no months. Writing has months and no question words.

Reading vs Writing Vocabulary: The Reading-Only Words

Twenty-four entries, and six of them explain the whole shape of the reading test.

The six question words are How, What, When, Where, Who and Why. They appear on the reading list and nowhere else, which tells you every reading sentence is a question.

Two people appear only here in full form: Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.

Several civics words are reading only: American flag, Bill of Rights, citizen in the singular, city, country, government.

Some verbs too. Do and does, elects, meet and name.

The full set is, are, was and be also sits on the reading list alone.

Plus America and U.S. Plus colors and many. Plus the article a.

None of these will appear in a sentence you are asked to write.

What Only the Writing List Has

Thirty-four entries, weighted towards places and dates.

All seven months are writing only: February, May, June, July, September, October and November. Only seven of twelve appear, because each one holds a holiday or founding date.

Most place names are writing only: Alaska, California, Canada, Delaware, Mexico, New York City, Washington and Washington, D.C.

The colours and numbers are writing only: blue, red, white, fifty and 50, one hundred and 100.

Several civics words too: American Indians, citizens in the plural, Civil War, free, freedom of speech, taxes, and flag on its own.

Plus Adams, Lincoln without a first name, the verbs elect and meets, and the joining words and and during.

The Traps in the Overlap

Some words appear on both lists in different forms, and this is where careless study costs marks.

The reading list has citizen. The writing list has citizens. Different words for the purposes of each test.

The reading list has meet. The writing list has meets.

The reading list has right. The writing list also has right, singular on both, so rights as a plural is on neither. A practice sentence using rights has drifted off the list.

The reading list has elects. The writing list has elect.

These distinctions matter most when checking practice material. Our page on what the 36 writing test list is covers how circulating sentence sets go wrong on exactly these forms.

Which Half to Study First

Order the work by weight rather than alphabetically.

Start with the 40 shared words. Each one can appear in a sentence you read and a sentence you write, so effort there counts twice.

Then take the 34 writing-only words. Spelling by hand is harder than reading aloud, and this group holds the months, the place names and the numbers, which are the fiddly ones.

Finish with the 24 reading-only words. Six are question words you already know, and the rest are short.

That order front-loads the highest value and leaves the easiest group last. See the vocabulary definitions for what each word means, and both lists on one printable page.

FAQ

Are the reading and writing vocabulary lists the same?

No. The reading list holds 64 entries and the writing list holds 75, sharing only 40. That leaves 58 entries appearing on one list and not the other, which is why studying them as a single pile wastes time.

How many words are on both lists together?

Ninety-eight unique entries. Some are two words, such as White House, and some give several forms, such as state and states or fifty and 50.

Why does the reading list have question words?

Because reading sentences are questions. The six question words How, What, When, Where, Who and Why appear on the reading list and on no other, which tells you the format before you sit the test.

Why are only seven months on the writing list?

Each of the seven holds a holiday or a founding date used in test sentences. February, May, June, July, September, October and November appear. The other five have no reason to be there.

Why the Lists Diverge

The split is not arbitrary. It follows the format of each test.

Reading sentences are questions shown on a screen, so the reading list carries the six question words and general vocabulary that any question might use.

Writing sentences are statements dictated aloud, so the writing list carries months, place names and numbers, which is what a factual statement about American government tends to contain.

That also explains the plural forms. A statement says citizens vote. A question asks what one right of a citizen is. Each list holds the form its own test needs.

Once you see that, the 58 unshared entries stop looking like a random difference and start looking like two lists built for two different jobs.

Using the Split in Practice

Two habits make the difference on the day.

When you check a practice sentence, check it against the right list. A reading sentence must use only reading vocabulary, and a writing sentence only writing vocabulary. Material that mixes them is teaching you words the test will not use.

When you drill, keep the two piles physically apart. One stack for reading, one for writing, one for the shared forty. Merging them is how people end up spelling months they will never be asked to write.

Our reading and writing practice sentences are built this way, each checked word by word against its own official file. See 40 reading sentences and 40 writing sentences.

Verdict on Reading vs Writing Vocabulary

USCIS tells you the lists differ and leaves you to work out how. The answer is that 40 of 98 entries are shared and 58 are not.

Studying reading vs writing vocabulary as one pile means learning months you will never read and question words you will never write. Splitting them takes ten minutes and removes a third of the work.

Learn the 40 shared entries first, then the 34 writing-only ones, then the 24 reading-only ones. And watch the singular and plural forms, because that is where practice material most often drifts off the official list.