How to Use the Official KET and PET Vocabulary Lists
Hiroki Obara · DeveloperAlphaGeorgeHow-To
Cambridge English publishes a free vocabulary list for A2 Key (KET) and another for B1 Preliminary (PET). Both are PDFs on the exam’s preparation page. When I opened them in November 2026, both covers said “August 2025” and “Additions in green”, so words added in this edition are printed in green.
Each list serves two exams. The KET list is for A2 Key and A2 Key for Schools, and the PET list is for B1 Preliminary and B1 Preliminary for Schools.
Where to Download Them
The KET list is under “Vocabulary list” in the Exam essentials section of the A2 Key preparation page. The link reads “A2 Key for Schools and A2 Key vocabulary list”. The file name contains 2020, but the document inside is the August 2025 edition, 32 pages long.
The PET list is under the “Vocabulary list” heading on the B1 Preliminary preparation page. Here the link reads “B1 Preliminary for Schools vocabulary booklet”, and the text next to it describes a booklet of classroom activities. The file it opens is the B1 Preliminary and B1 Preliminary for Schools vocabulary list, 53 pages long.
The lists are updated regularly. A printout from a few years ago, or a copy passed on by someone else, may be an older edition, and the date on the cover tells you which one you have.
Where the Lists Come From
The first pages of each list explain it.
Both lists were first developed with external consultants as a guide for the item writers who produce exam materials. The KET list drew on the Council of Europe’s Waystage (1990) specification, and the PET list on Threshold (1990), together with other words that corpus evidence shows are high frequency. Today they are published as a guide for teachers preparing students for the exams.
Words are added or removed with reference to the Cambridge Learner Corpus, a collection of over 44 million words of English written by learners around the world, and the English Vocabulary Profile developed from it.
The lists contain two kinds of words: receptive vocabulary, which candidates are expected to understand but which is not the focus of a question, and productive vocabulary, which candidates need to know to answer a question. Both introductions also say the list does not include every word that may appear on the papers, and that candidates should not limit their vocabulary study to the list.
How to Read a List
The main part is an alphabetical list of headwords. Each has a part of speech, such as n, v, adj or phr v. There are also the labels Br Eng and Am Eng, and some words appear with both spellings.
Example sentences narrow the meaning
Some words have example sentences and some do not. The introduction says examples are given only where a word with several meanings needs to be limited. In the KET list, bank comes with “I changed my money in a bank”, which means only the financial meaning is expected, not a river bank.
Phrasal verbs are handled differently
The KET list includes all the multi-word verbs a candidate might be expected to know, both literal ones such as sit down and non-literal ones such as look after.
The PET introduction says literal multi-word verbs made of verbs and particles already on the list are, as a rule, not included. Verbs whose meaning is not transparent, such as find out, are listed with an example of use.
Two appendices
Appendix 1, Word sets, names groups of words candidates are expected to know beyond the alphabetical list: numbers, ordinal numbers, days, months, seasons, countries with their languages and nationalities, and continents. For KET it sets a range: numbers to one thousand and ordinals to thirty-first.
Appendix 2, Topic Lists, groups words under common exam themes such as Food and Drink, House and Home, and Sport. The PET list has themes that the KET list does not, such as Environment and Language.
What is not in the lists
Topics that might upset candidates, such as war and politics, are not used in these exams, and vocabulary relating to them is left out of the lists.
Grammar words such as pronouns and modal verbs are on the lists, but the introductions point to the Language Specifications section of each exam’s handbook for a fuller listing.
Ways to Use a List
These build on what the lists themselves say.
As a map, not a memorization task
The list says it is not every word on the exam and should not be the only thing studied. Going through it from the first page is one way. Another is to use it to see the range and to learn words from questions and texts. The same preparation pages have free sample tests, so one order is to look up each unknown word from a sample test in the list and learn the ones that are on it first.
By topic
The topic lists in Appendix 2 show related words together. Going through House and Home while naming things in your own home in English checks words that are far apart in the alphabetical list.
The preparation pages also have posters and an activity booklet based on topics from the word list: Food, Our planet and Sport for KET, and Space, Technology and Travel for PET.
Your own words
The introductions say the list is general and is unlikely to cover all the productive vocabulary a candidate needs. Candidates should know the words to describe themselves and their lives, such as hobbies, likes and dislikes.
In both KET and PET, Speaking Part 1 asks candidates about themselves. Writing down the words for your own sports, interests and weekends is one way to cover this. The formats of the two exams are in How to Prepare for A2 Key and How to Prepare for B1 Preliminary.
Understand or use
Because the lists mix words to understand and words to use, one way to work through them is to mark each word in two ways: words you recognize when reading, and words you can write and say yourself.
Practising Vocabulary with AlphaGeorge
AlphaGeorge, which I make for iPhone and iPad, is an app for Cambridge English exam preparation. The course has six levels from A1 to C2 and 66 units in all. The 12 A2 units are aimed at A2 Key, and the 12 B1 units at B1 Preliminary. Its questions were written for the app.
Each unit has a vocabulary lesson, and the Vocabulary quick drill on the home screen gives short vocabulary practice outside the course. Explanations come in English and Japanese.
AlphaGeorge is free to start, with ads and a limit of hearts. AlphaGeorge Premium, a monthly or yearly subscription, removes ads, makes hearts unlimited and lets you replay finished lessons. Getting Started with AlphaGeorge walks through the first session.
