My thesis is stressing me out a bit, so it may actually be some time before I take the time to make my Μοῖρα rules look presentable. This week, however, I've chosen to de-stress by sequencing the remainder of my Greek 101 vocabulary list. I think it would be nice to introduce, on average, 7-8 words per class, reserving about two weeks free of any vocabulary-specific goals. One could distribute those vocabulary 'zero days' however one wished, without planning them out--a sick day here, a review day there, a party at the end of the class. I know I'd be a much better teacher if I gave myself permission to slow down when it was obvious students needed it, without feeling guilt or pressure for not hitting certain benchmarks. That's the main reason I haven't broken these μαθήματα down into weeks: I don't want to get stuck trying to fit into an inflexible schedule.

Once you remove some of the low-frequency words (now italicized) from Ἑρμῆς Πάντα Κλεπτει and take into account the fact that the vocabulary for the first day is atypical (names, greetings, roll call, and the alphabet = 27 Greek words, more or less), things average out close to how I'd like them to. Still, it might be more realistic for me to try and trim a few words off the list of words I expect students to acquire, and to accept that I'll be consistently glossing a handful of these.

As I continue working on some stories, I'm sure I'll tweak the order of this list; the bold text indicates words I'm already sure I'll want earlier in the semester. It turns out that it's hard to tell a story without conjunctions or adverbs! I haven't yet used ἀρέσκει + dative in any of my drafts, but it seems like a good idea to introduce all of the 'super seven' verbs early in the semester. And am I really going to wait till the last month of class to ask a bunch of college students if they're tired?

How I plan to use this list

As explained elsewhere, I want to be able to teach an Ancient Greek course in which practically all of the time a student might spend on grammar exercises, vocabulary flashcards, or verb paradigms is swapped out for reading texts that they can understand 95-98% of, without too much reliance on glosses. My math suggests that, in a standard one-semester course, such a goal would ideally be attained by reading 40,000-50,000 words of Greek that are composed as much as possible from a vocabulary in the 300-400 word range. Additionally, these 300-400 words should be ones likely to prove useful in their later reading.

I'll therefore be relying on some version of this list while I'm writing short stories and Mad Libs-like sketches for Μοῖρα sessions. Check back from time to time to see whether I make any progress on this!

How you could use this list

However you like, obviously. But if you think that a reading-intensive Greek course with limited vocabulary sounds like something you'd use, consider writing additional Greek texts that would fit roughly into a sequence of Lingua Graeca Per Se Illustrata 1-3, Ἑρμῆς Πάντα Κλέπτει, LGPSI 4-6, and ὁ Κατάσκοπος. If roleplaying games in class don't sound like something you'd ever do in class, feel free to ignore the words bracketed [Moira]. Similarly, if you're never going to use Total Physical Response in the classroom, you can skip right past the words bracketed [TPR]; they're not going to appear in any of the three texts mentioned by other people.

Of course, you might be trying to teach Ancient Greek communicatively in quite a different context. If I were teaching at a seminary, for example, ideally I'd come up with a different list. I'd use tools like this one or this one to match the vocabulary of, say, the gospel of John against existing Koine readers (Mark Jeong's reader comes to mind, though so far I've only read reviews & the preview of it) to create a different 300-400 word list. If you do engage in such a project, please let me know--I'd be keen to follow along.

If you spot an error or omission, if you find this list useful, or if you have suggestions for improvements--again, please comment!

μάθημα α᾿.
1. χαῖρε/χαίρετε, χαίρω [LGPSI 3, Herm., Kat.]
2. τὸ ὄνομα [Herm., Kat.]
3. μοι [Herm.]
4. ἐστίν [LGPSI 1]
5. τί...; [Herm.]
6. σοι/ὑμῖν [Herm.]
7. ναί [LGPSI 3]
8. καί [LGPSI 1, Herm., Kat.]
9. ἆρα…; [LGPSI 1]
10. οὐχί/οὐκ/ού [LGPSI 1]
11. πάρεστιν [LGPSI 3, Herm., Kat.]
12. ἄπεστιν [Kat.]
13. ἤ [LGPSI 1]
14. πῶς ἔχω/ἔχεις/ἔχει;
15. καλῶς ἔχω/ἔχεις/ἔχει.
16. κακῶς ἔχω/ἔχεις/ἔχει.
17. ὦ… [LGPSI 3]
18. γράφω [Kat.]
19. τοῦτο [LGPSI 5]
20. τὸ γράμμα [LGPSI 1]
21. Ἑλληνικά [LGPSI 1]
22. ᾄδω [LGPSI 3, Herm.]
23. πάντες [Herm.]
24. εὖγε!
25. αἱ λέξεις [LGPSI 1]
26. νέαι [LGPSI 6]
27. ἔρρωσο/ἔρρωσθε!
μάθημα β᾿.
28. τίς/τίνες;
29. ἀνίσταμαι, ἀνάστηθι…[Moira/TPR]
30. καθίζομαι…[Moira/TPR]
31. βάδιζω, βάδιζε, βαδίζετε…[Herm., LGPSI 5]
32. πρός [Herm., LGPSI 5, Kat.]
33. τὴν θύρᾱν, τῆς θύρᾱς [LGPSI 5]
34. ἀπό [LGPSI 5, Kat.]
35. τρέχω…[Moira/TPR]
μάθημα γ᾿.
36. ἀνοίγω [LGPSI 4]
37. κλείω [Moira/TPR]
38. τὸ βιβλίον [Moira/TPR]
39. τύπτω [LGPSI 3]
40. ἡ/ὁ διδάσκαλος [Moira/TPR]
41. ἡ/ὁ μαθητής, αἱ/οἱ μαθηταί [Moira/TPR]
μάθημα δ᾿.
42. τίθημι [LGPSI 4]
43. ἡ δραχμή, τὴν δραχμήν [Kat.]
44. ἐπί [LGPSI 4]
45. ἡ τραπέζη [LGPSI 4]
46. ἐν [LGPSI 1]--also εἰς [Herm.], or is it too confusing to introduce both on same day?
47. δίδωμι [Herm., Kat.]
μάθημα ε᾿.
48. ὁ (γεωγραφικὸς) πίναξ/πινάκιον [TPR]
49. ποῦ [LGPSI 1]
50. ἐνθάδε [LGPSI 3]
51. δέ [LGPSI 1]
52. ποταμός [LGPSI 1]
53. νῆσος [LGPSI 1]
54. μέν [LGPSI 1]
55. μεγάλη [LGPSI 1]
56. μῑκρός [LGPSI 1]
57. μακρός [only for Moira/TPR...unless I missed it somewhere in one of the texts]
58. πόλις [LGPSI 1]
μάθημα Ϛ'.--LGPSI 1a
59. ἀλλά [LGPSI 1]
60. πολλαί [LGPSI 1]
61. ὀλίγοι [LGPSI 1]
62. τὸ πέλαγος [LGPSI 1]
63. ἡ ἀρχή [LGPSI 1]
64. ἐπαρχίᾱ [LGPSI 1]
μάθημα ζ᾿.
65. εἷς/μία/ἕν [LGPSI 1]
66. δύο [LGPSI 1]
67. ἀριθμός [LGPSI 1]
68. τρεῖς/τρία [LGPSI 1]
69. τέσσαρες/τέσσαρα [LGPSI 2]
70. πέντε [only Moira?]
71. ἕξ [only Moira?]
72. μείζων (ἤ) [LGPSI 6]
73. ἀριθμῶμεν [LGPSI 4]
74. πόσα/πόσοι; [LGPSI 2, Kat.]
μάθημα η᾿--LGPSI 1b.
75. χί-λια [LGPSI 1]
76. πρῶτον [LGPSI 1]
77. δεύτερον [LGPSI 1]
78. τρίτον [LGPSI 1]
79. ἑπτά [LGPSI 1]
80. ὀκτώ [Kat.]
81. ἔννεα [Moira]
82. δέκα [Kat.]
83. ἕνδεκα [Moira]
84. δώδεκα [Moira]
85. συλλαβή [LGPSI 1]
μάθημα θ'.
86. ὁ ἀνήρ [LGPSI 2]
87. ἄνθρωποι [LGPSI 6]
88. ἡ γυνή [LGPSI 2]
89. ὁ παῖς/παιδίον [LGPSI 2]
90. ἡ κόρη [LGPSI 2]
91. ὁ πατήρ [LGPSI 2]
92. ἡ μήτηρ [LGPSI 2]
93. ὁ υἱός [LGPSI 2]
94. ἡ θυγάτηρ [LGPSI 2]
95. ὁ ἀδελφός [Herm., LGPSI 5]
μάθημα ι'--LGPSI 2
96. δοῦλος/δούλη [LGPSI 2]
97. δεσπότης/δέσποινα [LGPSI 2]
98. ἡ οἰκίᾱ [LGPSI 2]
99. κύ-ριος [LGPSI 2]
100. οἰκεῖ [LGPSI 2]
101. οἴκαδε [Herm.]
102. οἴκοθεν [Herm.]
μάθημα ια'.
103. ἐμοῦ/μου [LGPSI 2]
104. σου/σοῦ [LGPSI 2
105. ἑκατόν (100) [LGPSI 2]
106. πεντήκοντα (50) [LGPSI 2]
107. εἴκοσι(ν) [Moira]
108. παίζωμεν! [LGPSI 5]
109. ἡ Τύχη [Moira]
110. βάλλω [LGPSI 5, Kat.]
111. ὁ κύβος [Moira]
112. νῑκάω [Herm., Kat.]
113. πολύ [LGPSI 3]
114. ἴσος [Moira]
μάθημα ιβ'. (what kind of game do you want to play?)
115. βούλομαι [Herm.]
116. ποῖος [Moira/TPR]
117. ὁ μῦθος [Kat.]
118. τὸ πρόσωπον [LGPSI 3]
119. κρείσσων [Moira]
120. βασιλεύς [Herm.]
121. ξενικός [Moira]
122. θεός [Herm., Kat.]
123. ἀληθής [LGPSI 5, Kat.]
124. ἐγγύς [LGPSI 6]
125. πόρρω [LGPSI 6, Kat.]
μάθημα ιγ'. (when and where should our game be set?)
126. πότε…; [Kat.]
127. γίγνομαι [Herm., Kat.]
128. ἡμέτερος [Kat.]
129. ἐν (if not earlier)
130. αἰῶν [Moira]
131. ἔξω (?) [LGPSI 5]
132. ὁ τόπος [LGPSI 1, Kat.]
133. ὁ ἀγρός [LGPSI 5]
134. ἡ ὕ-λη [Moira]
135. τὸ ὄρος [Herm.]
μάθημα ιδ'. (character generation and Invoke/Compel rules--will likely take two class periods)
136. ὑ-μεῖς [LGPSI 5, Kat.]
137. ἡμεῖς [Herm., Kat.]
138. τὸ στοιχεῖον [Moira]
139. τὸ τόλμημα [Moira]
140. οἶδα, οἶσθα, οἶδε [LGPSI 4, Kat.]
141. ἀναγκάζω or παρέχω [Moira]
142. ἐπικλέω [Moira]
143. δέχομαι [Moira]
μάθημα ιε'. (the Fate rules)
144. ποιέω [Herm., Kat.]
145. εἰ [Kat.]
146. προσβάλλω [Moira]
147. ἀμύ-νω [Moira]
148. ὑπερβάλλω [Moira]
149. ὠφελέομαι [Moira]
μάθημα ιϚ'.
150. δύναμαι [Herm., Kat.]
151. ἡ πῡραμίς [Moira]
152. ἡ κλῖμαξ [Moira]
153. ἡ πρᾶξις [Moira]
154. ὁ λόγος [Moira]
155. ἁμαρτάνω [Moira]
156. μετὰ [Herm., LGPSI 5, Kat.]
157. ἡ ἀριστείᾱ [Moira]
μάθημα 18-20ish--LGPSI 3
158. ἀγαθός [LGPSI 3]
159. ἀκούω - I hear [LGPSI 3, Kat.]
160. ἀποκρί-νεται [LGPSI 3]
161. αὐτός - he, it [LGPSI 3, Kat.]
162. γελάω [Herm., LGPSI 3]
163. δακρ-ὔει [LGPSI 3]
164. διὰ τί; [LGPSI 3]
165. ἔρχομαι - I go, come [Herm., LGPSI 3, Kat.]
166. ἐρωτάω - I ask [LGPSI 3, Kat.]
167. ἔτι [LGPSI 3]
168. καθεύδω - I rest, sleep [LGPSI 3, Kat.]
169. καὶ δὴ καί [LGPSI 3]
170. λέγω - I say [LGPSI 3, Kat.]
171. νῦν - now [LGPSI 3, Kat.]
172. ὁράω - I see [Herm., LGPSI 3, Kat.]
173. ὀργίζομαι - I get angry [LGPSI 3, Kat.]
174. ὀρθῶς [LGPSI 3]
175. ὅτι - that [Kat.], because [LGPSI 3]
176. οὐδέ - neither, nor [LGPSI 3, Kat.]
177. οὐδείς - no one [LGPSI 3, Kat.]
178. οὖν - and so, therefore [LGPSI 3, Herm., Kat.]
170. παίω - I strike [LGPSI 3]
180. πονηρός - wicked [LGPSI 3]
181. σῑγάω - I am silent [LGPSI 3, Kat.]
182. ὅς, ἥ, ὅ [LGPSI 3, Kat.]
μάθημα 21-23ish--HPK
183. ἀποκτείνω [Herm.]
184. βαρύς [Herm.]
185. τὸ βέλος [Herm.]
186. αἱ βόες [Herm.]
187. γάρ [Herm.]
188. διαλέγομαι [Herm.]
189. ἑαυτῆς [Herm.]
190. εἰς [Herm.]
191. ἐκ [Herm.]
192. ἐλαύνω [Herm.]
193. θαυμαστός [Herm.]
194. κλέπτω [Herm.]
195. λανθάνω [Herm.]
196. ἡ λύρᾱ [Herm.]
197. λυρίζω [Herm.]
198. ὁ μήν [Herm.]
199. ἡ νύξ [Herm.]
200. ἡ ἡμέρᾱ [Herm.]
201. τὸ ξίφος [Herm.]
202. ὅδε [Herm.]
203. οὔτε...οὔτε [Herm.]
204. τὸ παιδίον [Herm.]
205. πέρδομαι [Herm.]
206. πταίρω [Herm.]
207. ἡ πυράγρᾱ [Herm.]
208. ἡ ῥάβδος [Herm.]
209. τὸ σπήλαιον [Herm.]
210. τὸ τόξον [Herm.]
211. ἡ τρίαινα [Herm.]
212. ἡ χελώνη [Herm.]
213. τὸ χρῆμα [Herm.]
μάθημα 24-25ish--LGPSI 4
214. ἀμφορεύς - jar [LGPSI 4]
215. ἀποχωρέω [LGPSI 4]
216. ἀσπάζομαι [LGPSI 4]
217. βλέπω [LGPSI 4]
218. ἔνειμι - I am in [LGPSI 4, Kat.]
219. ἔπειτα [LGPSI 4]
220. κατηγορέω (accuse, denounce, speak against) [LGPSI 4]
221. κελεύω [LGPSI 4]
222. κενός [LGPSI 4]
223. μόνος - alone, only [LGPSI 4, Kat.]
224. οἶνος [LGPSI 4]
225. οἰνών (wine cellar) [LGPSI 4]
226. οὐδαμῶς - not at all [LGPSI 4, Kat.]
227. πάλιν - again, back [LGPSI 4, Kat.]
228. πλήρης [LGPSI 4]
229. ὁ σάκκος [LGPSI 4]
μάθημα 26-32ish--LGPSI 5
230. ἄγγελος - messenger [LGPSI 5, Kat.]
231. αἰσχρός [LGPSI 5]
232. ἅμα [LGPSI 5]
233. ἄνευ - without [LGPSI 5, Kat.]
234. ἀπέρχομαι - I go away [LGPSI 5, Kat.]
235. ἄστυ [LGPSI 5]
236. αὐλή [LGPSI 5]
237. οἱ γονεῖς (the parents) [LGPSI 5]
238. δεῦρο [LGPSI 5]
239. δήλως [LGPSI 5]
240. ἐκεῖνος - that [LGPSI 5, Kat.]
241. ἐπανέρχομαι [LGPSI 5]
242. ἑτέρᾱ [LGPSI 5]
243. ζητέω [LGPSI 5]
244. ἵππος - horse [LGPSI 5, Kat.]
245. καλός - good, fine, pretty [LGPSI 5, Kat.]
246. κῆπος (garden, orchard, plantation) [LGPSI 5]
247. κόπτω [LGPSI 5]
248. λαλέω [LGPSI 5]
249. ματαίως (in vain) [LGPSI 5]
250. ἡ ὁδός [LGPSI 5]
251. οἰκήματα [LGPSI 5]
252. οἴμοι [LGPSI 5]
253. ὀφθαλμὸν [LGPSI 5]
254. ὀχέομαι (rides) [LGPSI 5]
255. περί - around, about [LGPSI 5, Kat.]
256. περίστῡλον [LGPSI 5]
257. πολλάκις - many times, often [LGPSI 5, Kat.]
258. πορεύομαι [LGPSI 5]
259. προσέρχομαι [LGPSI 5]
260. σύν - with [LGPSI 5, Kat.]
261. σφαῖρα [LGPSI 5]
262. ὐπέρ +acc. [LGPSI 5]
263. φίλος - friend [LGPSI 5, Kat.]
μάθημα 33-34ish--LGPSI 6
264. ἄγω - I carry, lead [LGPSI 6, Kat.]
265. ἀρχαία [LGPSI 6]
266. ἡ θαλάσσης [LGPSI 6]
267. κεῖμαι [LGPSI 6]
268. μεταξύ (between) [LGPSI 6]
269. οὕτω(ς) - like this, like that [LGPSI 6, Kat.]
270. ποῖ [LGPSI 6]
271. πόθεν [LGPSI 6]
272. πρό - before, in front of [LGPSI 6, Kat.]
273. πύλαι [LGPSI 6]
274. τείχη [LGPSI 6]
275. φέρω - I carry, bring [LGPSI 6, Kat.]
276. ὡς - as, like, that, in [LGPSI 6, Kat.]
277. ὥσπερ [LGPSI 6]
μάθημα 35-42ish--Kat.
278. ἀγγέλλω - I announce, report [Kat.]
279. ἀγορά - market [Kat.]
280. ἀεί - always [Kat.]
281. ἀλλήλων - each other [Kat.]
282. ἄν - grammatical particle [Kat.]
283. ἀναγιγνώσκω - I read [Kat.]
284. ἀποθνῄσκω - I die [Kat.]
285. ἀπόλλυμι - I destroy [Kat.]
286. ἀρέσκω - I please [Kat.]
287. ἄρχω - I begin, rule [Kat.]
288. αὔριον - tomorrow [Kat.]
289. γιγνώσκω - I learn, recognize [Kat.]
290. δειπνέω - I have a meal [Kat.]
291. δεσμωτήριον - prison [Kat.]
292. δέω - I lack [Kat.]
293. δή - intensifier [Kat.]
294. διά - because of, through [Kat.]
295. διέρχομαι - I go through [Kat.]
296. διότι - because [Kat.]
297. διώκω - I chase [Kat.]
298. ἐάν - if [Kat.]
299. ἐάω - I allow [Kat.]
300. εἰκών - statue [Kat.]
301. ἐκκλησία - gathering, meeting [Kat.]
302. ἔμπορος - merchant [Kat.]
303. ἐννοέω - I consider [Kat.]
304. ἐξέρχομαι - I go out, come out [Kat.]
305. ἐπεί - when, since [Kat.]
306. ἐπιστολή - letter [Kat.]
307. ἔργον - work [Kat.]
308. ἔτος - year [Kat.]
309. εὖ - well [Kat.]
310. εὐθύς - immediately, suddenly [Kat.]
311. εὑρίσκω - I find [Kat.]
312. ἡγεμών - leader [Kat.]
313. ἤδη - already [Kat.]
314. ἥμισυς - half [Kat.]
315. θάνατος - death [Kat.]
316. ἵνα - in order to, so that [Kat.]
317. ἴσως - maybe [Kat.]
318. ἰχθύς - fish [Kat.]
319. καλέω - I call [Kat.]
320. κάλλιστος - best, prettiest [Kat.]
321. κάμνω - I am tired [Kat.]
322. καταβάλλω - I knock down [Kat.]
323. καταλαμβάνω - I seize, arrest [Kat.]
324. κατασκοπέω - I spy [Kat.]
325. κατάσκοπος - spy [Kat.]
326. κίνδυνος - danger [Kat.]
327. κλέπτης - thief [Kat.]
328. κόραξ - crow [Kat.]
329. κωμῳδία - comedy (type of play) [Kat.]
330. λιμήν - harbor [Kat.]
331. λούω - I wash [Kat.]
332. μάχη - battle [Kat.]
333. μάχομαι - I fight [Kat.]
334. μένω - I wait, remain [Kat.]
335. μῑσέω - I hate [Kat.]
336. μύρμηξ - ant [Kat.]
337. ἡ ναῦς - ship [Kat.]
338. νεκρός - corpse [Kat.]
339. νομίζω - I think [Kat.]
340. ξύλινος - wooden [Kat.]
341. οἶκος - house [Kat.]
342. οἰκτίρω - I pity [Kat.]
343. ὅπου - where [Kat.]
344. ὅστις - whoever, whatever [Kat.]
345. οὐδέποτε - never [Kat.]
346. παύω - I stop [Kat.]
347. πειράω - I try [Kat.]
348. ποιητής - poet [Kat.]
349. πόλεμος - war [Kat.]
350. ποτε - at some point [Kat.]
351. προφήτης - prophet [Kat.]
352. πτώχος - beggar [Kat.]
353. πωλέω - I sell [Kat.]
354. σῖτος - food [Kat.]
355. στρατιώτης - soldier [Kat.]
356. ταχέως - quickly [Kat.]
357. τοιοῦτος - this [Kat.]
358. τότε - then [Kat.]
359. φεύγω - I flee, escape [Kat.]
360. φημί - I say [Kat.]
361. φιλέω - I love [Kat.]
362. φοβέομαι - I fear [Kat.]
363. φύλαξ - guard [Kat.]
364. φυλάττω - I guard [Kat.]
365. χαλεπός - difficult [Kat.]
366. χρήσιμος - useful [Kat.]
367. ὠνέομαι - I buy [Kat.]