What's a Real English Word on the DET?

Hi — Teacher Luke here,

If you’re preparing for the Duolingo English Test, this will help you!

What is a “real” English word?

I get this question all the time.

But a quick update first…

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Now let’s talk about one question many of my VIP students worry about… Read and Select 👇

🤔 What's a Real English Word?

First things first, "what is a 'real' word?" I get asked this question a lot!

Don't overthink it!

A real word = a word with meaning

• Love = ❤️
• cactus = 🌵
• construction = 🏗

Unreal words are words that do not have a meaning. For example,

• valatie ❌
• trovan ❌
• prinanter ❌

These unreal words look just like English words, but they're not real because they do not have a meaning.

On the test, you’ll see 15–18 words — a mix of real and unreal.

Your job is simple: select the real ones.

✅ Strategies

Understanding the DET vocabulary section is vital. Here's how to succeed:

How to answer this question

Here’s what works:

1. Be ready immediately

The 5-second timer starts as soon as the question appears.

2. All word types are valid

Verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs — they are all “real”

For example: swim, swam, swimming, swims

3. Don’t guess

This is important.

Fake words follow English spelling rules, so guessing doesn’t work.

Only choose words you know the meaning of.

5. Build your vocabulary daily

Use tools like DET Ready, Oxford Learner’s Dictionary or the Duolingo app.

6. Practice with a timer every day!

This is key to building your speed. Join vip.detready.com to get access to our AI Practice Platform with thousands of DET questions!

Check out this 5,000 word list from the Oxford Dictionary 👉 https://vip.detready.com/c/det-news/updated-5-000-word-list-b2-c1-level

And if you want full preparation, structure, and feedback, that’s exactly what I give you inside my VIP Score-Boosting Program.

Right now, you can join with 35% off (Early Spring Sale) and get:

• Full DET courses
• Weekly live lessons with me
• Unlimited AI-powered practice
• Advanced answer banks
• My Complete Guide to the DET (2026 Edition)

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Use code DET2026

Don’t just take the test — master it.

I’m looking forward to hearing your high scores.

— Teacher Luke