diner
27×a simple, cheap restaurant (US)
Comedy drama · American (New England) English
Gilmore Girls: English level and how hard it is to understand
The fastest talking show we measured, at about 185 words per minute, with over 6,000 words per episode and constant references to books, films, and music.
Updated
Short answer
Gilmore Girls is best for C1 learners. In 12 episodes we measured, a B1 learner knows about 95.7% of the words, and the characters speak at about 185 words per minute (very fast).
Gilmore Girls in numbers
- Recommended level
- C1
- Speaking speed
- 185 words / min
- Words per episode
- 6,482
- Known at B1
- 95.65%
- Known at B2
- 96.94%
- Different words
- 6,412 in 12 episodes
Difficulty rank: 11 of 11 in our TV shows by English level list (fastest in this list).
Beyond the numbers
What makes Gilmore Girls hard (or easy)?
- Famous for its speed: episodes have about three times as many words as a Friends episode.
- Non-stop references to books, films, and celebrities.
- Long, witty monologues with jokes inside jokes.
Gilmore Girls is mostly American (New England) English. Accent and speed matter as much as vocabulary: if you know the words but can’t catch them, turn on English subtitles and slow down.
Learn these first
Useful words from Gilmore Girls
B2–C2 words that came up again and again in the episodes we analysed. Counts are for the 12 episodes.
prom
15×a formal school dance (US)
loner
14×a person who likes to be alone
granddaughter
13×the daughter of your son or daughter
headmaster
13×the head of a school
wallow
12×enjoy feeling sad for a while
turnips
10×round white root vegetables
kiosk
8×a small shop or stand
Spoken forms you will hear constantly
ok ×439yeah ×302hey ×229uh ×208gonna ×158um ×79
gonna = going to · wanna = want to · gotta = got to / have to. Textbooks rarely teach them, but TV uses them all the time.
Vocabulary profile
How common are the words in Gilmore Girls?
Share of all spoken words in each frequency band (A1 = the 5,000 most common words).
A186.37%
A25.9%
B13.38%
B21.28%
C11.07%
C20.69%
Unlisted1.31%
The subtitle files for this show capitalise most words, so we could not separate character names from vocabulary. Its band figures include names and are slightly lower than they would otherwise be.
Watching plan
How to learn English with Gilmore Girls
- Watch with English subtitles, even at C1.
- Don’t try to catch every reference. Follow the relationships and enjoy the rhythm.
- Pick one short scene per episode and watch it three times without subtitles.
In TeakReader you can import the subtitles of any episode, see the words you don’t know yet, and study them as flashcards before you press play. How it works
How we measured it
We took English subtitles for 12 episodes spread across the first seasons (S1E1, S1E6, S1E11, S1E17, S2E1, S2E7, S2E12, S2E17, S3E1, S3E6, S3E12, S3E17), removed sound descriptions, speaker labels, and matched each of the 77,788 spoken words to the same frequency list we use for classic book levels. Speaking speed is spoken words divided by the time the subtitles are on screen. Only statistics and single words are shown here.
The recommended level is our estimate from vocabulary, speed, and style, not an official CEFR rating. Later seasons can be easier or harder.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is Gilmore Girls good for learning English?
Gilmore Girls is the hardest show here, not because of rare words but because of speed and density: about 185 words per minute and over 6,000 words per episode. It suits C1 learners; at B2, use subtitles and accept that you will miss references. We recommend it from C1.
How fast do they speak in Gilmore Girls?
About 185 words per minute of dialogue, which is very fast for TV. Everyday conversation is often around 150 words per minute.
How many words do I need to understand Gilmore Girls?
A learner who knows the most common 20,000 English word forms (our B1 band) knows about 95.7% of the words spoken. Research on listening suggests that knowing about 95% of the words is enough to follow most of what is said, so subtitles help until you reach that point.
How did you measure this?
We analysed the English subtitles of 12 episodes from the first seasons (77,788 words), removed sound notes, speaker labels, and matched every word to the same frequency list we use for book levels. The level is our estimate, not an official CEFR rating.
Can I study the vocabulary of Gilmore Girls before watching?
Yes. In TeakReader, search for the show, import an episode’s subtitles, and you get a list of its words you don’t know yet, with meanings and flashcards.
Ready to read
Learn the words from Gilmore Girls before you watch.
Import any episode’s subtitles in TeakReader and get its unknown words with meanings and flashcards. Free on iPhone, iPad, and Android.