Top 100 Vocabulary List for Primary 1: Essentials

Here’s a Top 100 Vocabulary List for Primary 1 (suitable for 7-year-olds), organized into four new categories that are useful for young learners in the 21st century. These categories are Everyday Activities, School Life, Emotions & Social Skills, and Nature & Surroundings. The list includes simple meanings and example sentences tailored to a young student’s understanding. Here’s the list of 100 vocabulary words organized into the four categories, in a simple list form:

Everyday Activities

1. Breakfast
2. Homework
3. Clean
4. Wash
5. Read
6. Play
7. Eat
8. Drink
9. Sleep
10. Exercise
11. Walk
12. Run
13. Write
14. Draw
15. Color
16. Cook
17. Help
18. Listen
19. Look
20. Share
21. Pack
22. Brush
23. Wear
24. Open
25. Close

School Life

26. Teacher
27. Classroom
28. Desk
29. Pencil
30. Book
31. Recess
32. Eraser
33. Crayon
34. Lunchbox
35. Glue
36. Backpack
37. Paper
38. Friend
39. Quiz
40. Principal
41. Chalk
42. Board
43. Uniform
44. Library
45. Schedule
46. Classmate
47. Grade
48. Homework
49. Test
50. Desk

Emotions & Social Skills

51. Happy
52. Sad
53. Angry
54. Scared
55. Excited
56. Nervous
57. Love
58. Brave
59. Kind
60. Friendly
61. Patient
62. Helpful
63. Proud
64. Respect
65. Share
66. Listen
67. Smile
68. Help
69. Polite
70. Shy
71. Curious
72. Honest
73. Respectful
74. Fair
75. Calm

Nature & Surroundings

76. Tree
77. Sun
78. Moon
79. Sky
80. Cloud
81. Rain
82. River
83. Lake
84. Ocean
85. Sand
86. Mountain
87. Flower
88. Grass
89. Wind
90. Leaf
91. Rock
92. Snow
93. Forest
94. Desert
95. Island
96. Garden
97. Bug
98. Animal
99. Waterfall
100. Star

These words are essential for young learners in Primary 1, helping them describe everyday activities, school experiences, emotions, and the natural world around them.

Top 100 Vocabulary Words for Primary 1 Students with meaning and examples

Word	Meaning	Example Sentence
Everyday Activities (25 words)
Breakfast	The first meal of the day.	I eat cereal for breakfast every morning.
Homework	Schoolwork done at home.	I do my homework after school every day.
Clean	Free from dirt or mess.	I clean my room before bedtime.
Wash	To clean with water and soap.	I wash my hands before eating.
Read	To look at and understand words in a book.	I like to read storybooks.
Play	To have fun with games or toys.	I play with my friends during recess.
Eat	To put food in your mouth and swallow it.	I eat lunch with my friends.
Drink	To take liquid into your mouth and swallow it.	I drink water when I’m thirsty.
Sleep	To rest your body with your eyes closed.	I sleep early on school nights.
Exercise	Physical activity to make your body strong.	We exercise during PE class.
Walk	To move by putting one foot in front of the other.	I walk to school with my parents.
Run	To move quickly on your feet.	We run around the playground during recess.
Write	To use a pen or pencil to make letters or words.	I write my name on my homework.
Draw	To make a picture with a pen or pencil.	I like to draw animals in my notebook.
Color	To add color to a picture.	I color my drawings with crayons.
Cook	To prepare food.	My mom and I cook dinner together.
Help	To do something for someone.	I help my friend find her pencil.
Listen	To pay attention to sounds.	I listen to my teacher in class.
Look	To see something with your eyes.	Look at the beautiful rainbow!
Share	To let someone else use what you have.	I share my toys with my brother.
Pack	To put things into a bag or container.	I pack my school bag every night.
Brush	To clean with a brush.	I brush my teeth twice a day.
Wear	To put clothes on your body.	I wear my uniform to school.
Open	To move something so that it is no longer closed.	I open my book to start reading.
Close	To move something so it is not open.	I close the door when I leave the room.
School Life (25 words)
Teacher	A person who helps students learn.	My teacher reads us stories every day.
Classroom	A room where students learn together.	Our classroom is very colorful.
Desk	A table for writing or studying.	I keep my books on my desk.
Pencil	A tool for writing or drawing.	I use my pencil to write my homework.
Book	A set of printed pages bound together.	I bring my favorite book to school.
Recess	A short break during school.	We go outside for recess.
Eraser	A small piece used to remove pencil marks.	I use an eraser to fix my mistakes.
Crayon	A stick of colored wax used for drawing.	I color with crayons in art class.
Lunchbox	A box that holds food for lunch.	I bring a sandwich in my lunchbox.
Glue	A sticky substance used to attach things.	I use glue to stick paper together.
Backpack	A bag with straps for carrying school items.	I carry my backpack every day.
Paper	A thin material used for writing or drawing.	I write my answers on the paper.
Friend	Someone you like and spend time with.	My best friend sits next to me in class.
Quiz	A short test to check learning.	We have a spelling quiz every Friday.
Principal	The head of a school.	The principal talked to us during assembly.
Chalk	A white or colored stick used for writing on a board.	My teacher writes on the board with chalk.
Board	A large flat surface where teachers write information.	I read the instructions on the board.
Uniform	Special clothes worn by students in school.	We wear uniforms at our school.
Library	A place with many books.	I borrow books from the library.
Schedule	A plan that shows the times of school activities.	My schedule tells me when my classes start.
Classmate	A person who is in the same class as you.	I play games with my classmates.
Grade	A score for schoolwork.	I got a good grade on my math test.
Homework	Work assigned to do outside of class.	I do my homework after school.
Test	An exam to check knowledge or skills.	We have a math test next week.
Emotions & Social Skills (25 words)
Happy	Feeling good and positive.	I feel happy when I play with my friends.
Sad	Feeling upset or down.	I feel sad when my friend is absent.
Angry	Feeling strong dislike or displeasure.	I get angry when someone is unkind.
Scared	Feeling fear.	I feel scared when there’s a loud noise.
Excited	Feeling very happy and eager.	I feel excited on my birthday.
Nervous	Feeling worried about something.	I feel nervous before a test.
Love	A strong feeling of liking.	I love spending time with my family.
Brave	Having courage, not afraid.	I feel brave when I try new things.
Kind	Being nice and caring to others.	It’s important to be kind to everyone.
Friendly	Acting nice and pleasant to others.	My friend is very friendly to everyone.
Patient	Able to wait without getting upset.	I am patient when my turn takes time.
Helpful	Ready to give help to others.	My friend is helpful when I have questions.
Proud	Feeling pleased about something you did well.	I feel proud when I get good grades.
Respect	A feeling of admiration for someone.	We should show respect to our teachers.
Share	To let others use something you have.	I share my toys with my brother.
Listen	To pay attention to sounds or someone talking.	I listen when my friend talks to me.
Smile	An expression of happiness on your face.	I smile when I’m happy.
Help	To do something for someone.	I help my friend when they need it.
Polite	Showing good manners.	We should be polite and say “please” and “thank you.”
Shy	Feeling nervous or uncomfortable around others.	I feel shy when meeting new people.
Curious	Eager to learn and know new things.	I am curious about animals and plants.
Honest	Telling the truth.	Being honest is important in friendships.
Respectful	Showing kindness and care for others.	I am respectful to my teachers and classmates.
Fair	Treating everyone the same.	It’s fair when everyone gets a turn.
Calm	Relaxed and not upset or excited.	I feel calm when I listen to music.
Nature & Surroundings (25 words)
Tree	A tall plant with a trunk and branches.	The big tree gives us shade.
Sun	The star that gives us light and warmth.	The sun shines brightly during the day.
Moon	The object that lights up the night sky.	I see the moon before bedtime.
Sky	The space above us.	The sky is blue on a sunny day.
Cloud	A white or gray shape in the sky made of water droplets.	There are many clouds in the sky today.
Rain	Water falling from the sky.	I use an umbrella when it rains.
River	A large stream of water that flows through land.	We saw a river on our nature walk.
Lake	A large area of water surrounded by land.	We visited a lake last weekend.
Ocean	The huge body of saltwater that covers most of the earth.	I love to see the ocean waves.
Sand	Tiny grains of rock on beaches and deserts.	We play in the sand at the beach.
Mountain	A high, steep hill.	Mountains are tall and covered in trees.
Flower	A plant with petals that blooms.	My favorite flower is a rose.
Grass	The green plants that cover the ground.	We sit on the grass during picnics.
Wind	The natural movement of air.	The wind makes the trees move.
Leaf	The flat part of a plant that grows on branches.	Leaves turn brown in autumn.
Rock	A solid mineral material found on the ground.	I found a smooth rock in the park.
Snow	White ice crystals that fall in cold places.	I want to see snow someday!
Forest	A large area covered with trees.	We went for a walk in the forest.
Desert	A dry area with little water and few plants.	The desert is very hot and sandy.
Island	A piece of land surrounded by water.	Singapore is an island country.
Garden	A place where plants and flowers are grown.	I help my mom water the plants in our garden.
Bug	A small insect.	I saw a ladybug on a leaf.
Animal	A living creature that is not a plant.	My favorite animal is a cat.
Waterfall	A place where water falls from a height.	We visited a beautiful waterfall.

This list provides a strong foundational vocabulary for young students to describe their everyday experiences, school life, emotions, and natural surroundings. These words help Primary 1 students express themselves and learn about the world around them.

Are these words for a Primary 1 Student in Singapore? 

Yes, these words are carefully selected to be accessible and useful for a Primary 1 student in Singapore. They focus on familiar, everyday concepts that a 7-year-old would encounter in their daily life, school, and surroundings. They also support foundational language development and include basic social skills vocabulary, which is essential for young learners.

What about other essential words for a Primary 1 student? Maybe a bit more advanced?

Here’s a challenging yet useful vocabulary list for Primary 1 students in Singapore. These words are more advanced than the basic vocabulary set but still accessible with guidance. They cover topics relevant to young students’ expanding curiosity and experiences, aiming to stretch their language skills in engaging and practical ways.

Advanced Vocabulary List for Primary 1 Students

1. Attention
2. Balance
3. Brave
4. Careful
5. Celebrate
6. Collect
7. Community
8. Connect
9. Curious
10. Dangerous
11. Decision
12. Describe
13. Direction
14. Discover
15. Dislike
16. Effort
17. Encourage
18. Environment
19. Example
20. Explain
21. Explore
22. Family
23. Favorite
24. Gentle
25. Group
26. Healthy
27. Imagine
28. Important
29. Independent
30. Information
31. Insect
32. Interesting
33. Introduce
34. Journey
35. Kindness
36. Knowledge
37. Laugh
38. Lesson
39. Listen
40. Memory
41. Message
42. Observe
43. Ordinary
44. Organize
45. Patient
46. Pattern
47. Picture
48. Practice
49. Prepare
50. Problem
51. Protect
52. Question
53. Quietly
54. Respect
55. Responsible
56. Safe
57. Secret
58. Separate
59. Similar
60. Simple
61. Special
62. Spirit
63. Strength
64. Surprise
65. Teamwork
66. Temperature
67. Thankful
68. Together
69. Understand
70. Visit
71. Wonder
72. Amazing
73. Apologize
74. Arrange
75. Behave
76. Believe
77. Blame
78. Careless
79. Challenge
80. Change
81. Choice
82. Compare
83. Complain
84. Confuse
85. Control
86. Create
87. Decide
88. Design
89. Different
90. Difficult
91. Discover
92. Discuss
93. Finish
94. Guess
95. Improve
96. Introduce
97. Notice
98. Share
99. Solution
100. Truth

Here is the above table of 100 advanced words for Primary 1 students with meanings and examples in a Singaporean context. This list is designed to stretch their language skills while still being useful in daily conversations and interactions.

Word	Meaning	Example Sentence
Attention	Focusing on something or someone	The teacher asked us to pay attention in class.
Balance	Keeping steady without falling	I tried to balance on one foot during PE.
Brave	Not afraid to face something difficult	My friend was brave when he tried the big slide at the playground.
Careful	Thinking about safety and being cautious	Be careful crossing the road at the traffic light.
Celebrate	To have fun and show happiness on a special day	We celebrate National Day with a big parade.
Collect	To gather things together	I collect stamps with pictures of Singapore landmarks.
Community	A group of people who live together	We cleaned up our community park on the weekend.
Connect	To join or link together	I use the Wi-Fi to connect my tablet to the internet.
Curious	Wanting to learn or know more	I was curious about how hawker centers make food so quickly.
Dangerous	Not safe, may cause harm	It is dangerous to run near the swimming pool.
Decision	Choosing one option from many	I made a decision to study before playing.
Describe	To explain how something looks or feels	Can you describe the taste of chicken rice?
Direction	The path or way to go	My dad showed me the direction to our new school.
Discover	To find something new	We discovered a secret spot in the Botanic Gardens.
Dislike	To not like something	I dislike eating spicy food.
Effort	Trying hard to do something	I put effort into finishing my homework neatly.
Encourage	To give support or confidence	My teacher encouraged me to try my best in art class.
Environment	The surroundings where we live	We must protect our environment by recycling.
Example	A sample or instance of something	My teacher gave an example of how to write neatly.
Explain	To make something clear so it’s understood	I explained my drawing to my classmates.
Explore	To look around and find out new things	We explored the Science Centre in Jurong.
Family	A group of people related to each other	My family visits the zoo together on weekends.
Favorite	Liked more than others	My favorite food is chicken rice from the hawker centre.
Gentle	Soft and careful, not rough	We were gentle when holding the baby chicks at the farm.
Group	A number of people or things together	We worked in a group to finish our project.
Healthy	Being well and strong	Eating fruits and vegetables keeps me healthy.
Imagine	To think of something that isn’t real	I imagine I am a superhero when I play.
Important	Very valuable or necessary	It’s important to be on time for school assembly.
Independent	Doing things by yourself without help	I am independent when I pack my school bag every day.
Information	Facts or details about something	I found information about animals in a book.
Insect	A small creature with six legs	I saw an insect flying near the flowers at East Coast Park.
Interesting	Something that catches your attention or curiosity	The story about dinosaurs was very interesting.
Introduce	To present someone or something for the first time	I introduced my new friend to my class.
Journey	A trip from one place to another	Our journey to Sentosa was exciting.
Kindness	Being nice and helpful to others	Showing kindness to others makes everyone happy.
Knowledge	Facts and information about something	Reading books gives us knowledge about many things.
Laugh	To make sounds showing happiness	We laugh when we hear funny jokes.
Lesson	A time for learning something	We have a music lesson every Friday.
Listen	To pay attention to sounds	I listen carefully when my teacher explains something.
Memory	Things you remember from the past	I have a happy memory of visiting Universal Studios.
Message	Information sent to someone	I left a message for my mom on the fridge.
Observe	To watch or look at something carefully	We observe birds in the park during our nature walks.
Ordinary	Regular or usual, not special	Today was just an ordinary day at school.
Organize	To arrange things in a neat way	I organize my books on the shelf at home.
Patient	Waiting without getting upset	I was patient while waiting for my turn on the swing.
Pattern	A design that repeats itself	The tiles in the MRT station have a cool pattern.
Picture	A drawing or photo of something	I drew a picture of Marina Bay Sands for my art class.
Practice	To do something again to get better	I practice playing the piano every evening.
Prepare	To get ready for something	I prepare my school bag before going to bed.
Problem	Something that needs to be solved	I solved the math problem with my teacher’s help.
Protect	To keep something safe	We protect ourselves from the sun by wearing hats.
Question	Something you ask to get information	I asked a question about space in science class.
Quietly	Without making much noise	We walk quietly in the library.
Respect	To show admiration and care	We show respect by listening to others.
Responsible	Taking care of something properly	I am responsible for feeding my pet fish every day.
Safe	Free from harm or danger	We feel safe in school with our teachers.
Secret	Something kept hidden or unknown	My friend told me a secret about his birthday surprise.
Separate	To keep apart or divide	We separate our trash to recycle paper and plastic.
Similar	Almost the same	My sister and I have similar school bags.
Simple	Easy to understand or do	The instructions for the game are simple.
Special	Better or different from usual	We had a special meal at a restaurant for my birthday.
Spirit	The energy or feeling in something	Our class spirit was strong during Sports Day.
Strength	The power to do something well	My strength helps me carry my heavy school bag.
Surprise	Something unexpected	My friends planned a surprise party for me.
Teamwork	Working together with others	We use teamwork to finish our group project.
Temperature	How hot or cold something is	The temperature outside is very hot today.
Thankful	Feeling happy for something good	I am thankful for my teachers’ help in learning.
Together	With someone else, not alone	We worked together to clean up the classroom.
Understand	To know the meaning of something	I understand my homework better after asking questions.
Visit	To go to see a place or person	We visit my grandparents every weekend.
Wonder	To feel curious about something	I wonder how MRT trains run so fast.
Amazing	Very surprising or wonderful	The view from Marina Bay Sands is amazing.
Apologize	To say sorry for something	I apologize when I bump into someone.
Arrange	To put things in a particular order	I arrange my crayons in a rainbow pattern.
Behave	To act in a particular way	We behave well in class by listening to the teacher.
Believe	To think something is true	I believe that being kind makes the world better.
Blame	To say someone is responsible for something	I don’t blame my friend for the accident; it was a mistake.
Careless	Not paying enough attention to what you’re doing	I was careless and spilled my drink.
Challenge	Something that is hard to do	Learning to ride a bike is a challenge, but I did it!
Change	To make or become different	I change my clothes after getting home from school.
Choice	The act of picking between two or more things	My favorite choice at recess is playing on the slides.
Compare	To see how two things are similar or different	We compare our drawings to learn from each other.
Complain	To say you are unhappy about something	I complain when the food is too spicy for me.
Confuse	To mix up or not understand	I was confused about how to solve the math problem.
Control	To make something do what you want	I control the volume on my tablet.
Create	To make something new	I create colorful artwork during art class.
Decide	To choose what to do	I decide what book to read before bed.
Design	To make a plan or drawing	I design my art project carefully with many colors.
Different	Not the same	My friend’s shoes are different from mine.
Difficult	Hard to do	The puzzle was difficult, but I finished it.
Discuss	To talk about something with others	We discuss the best ideas for our class project.
Discover	To find something new	I discovered a new playground in the neighborhood.
Finish	To complete something	I finish my homework before playing games.
Guess	To try to answer without being sure	I guess how many candies are in the jar.
Improve	To make something better	I improve my reading skills by practicing every day.
Notice	To see or become aware of something	I notice the sun setting in the evening.
Solution	An answer to a problem	We find a solution to share the toys fairly.
Truth	What is real or correct	It’s important to tell the truth to friends and family.

These words give young learners slightly more challenging vocabulary to describe their surroundings, thoughts, and interactions, encouraging them to develop language skills suited for everyday communication and early critical thinking.

Explanation of Categories and Why These Words Are Useful

1. Social & Emotional Skills: Words like patient, brave, respect, and responsible are foundational for understanding social interactions and managing emotions in primary school.
2. Everyday Experiences: Words such as celebrate, prepare, imagine, and explore encourage children to talk about everyday experiences, family events, and their imagination.
3. Critical Thinking: Words like observe, compare, decide, and solution are slightly advanced but foster early thinking and problem-solving skills, helping children articulate ideas and make sense of their world.
4. Language & Expression: Words like describe, explain, arrange, and thankful encourage richer expression and communication, broadening vocabulary for storytelling, conversations, and sharing experiences.

These top 100 vocabulary words provide a balanced mix of familiar concepts and more challenging language, promoting cognitive development, social awareness, and expressive skills in young learners.

How to Improve Primary 1 English with Vocabulary Lists