gosh
18×a polite way to show surprise
Family mockumentary · American (and Colombian Spanish) English
Modern Family: English level and how hard it is to understand
Family life vocabulary, but fast: 173 words per minute, one of the quickest shows we measured. Several story lines run in each episode.
Updated
Short answer
Modern Family is best for B2 learners. In 12 episodes we measured, a B1 learner knows about 95.9% of the words, and the characters speak at about 173 words per minute (very fast).
Modern Family in numbers
- Recommended level
- B2
- Speaking speed
- 173 words / min
- Words per episode
- 3,100
- Known at B1
- 95.87%
- Known at B2
- 96.92%
- Different words
- 3,869 in 12 episodes
Difficulty rank: 7 of 11 in our TV shows by English level list (fast family talk).
Beyond the numbers
What makes Modern Family hard (or easy)?
- Fast, overlapping family arguments.
- Three families and three story lines in each episode.
- Puns and jokes about language mistakes, including some Spanish.
Modern Family is mostly American (and Colombian Spanish) 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 Modern Family
B2–C2 words that came up again and again in the episodes we analysed. Counts are for the 12 episodes.
sherbet
8×a fruit-flavoured frozen dessert
bossy
6×always telling others what to do
florist
5×a person who sells flowers
cactus
4×a desert plant with spines
councilman
4×a member of a city council
sarcasm
3×saying the opposite of what you mean
panicked
3×suddenly very frightened
Spoken forms you will hear constantly
okay ×268yeah ×190gonna ×163hey ×119uh ×92um ×42
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 Modern Family?
Share of all spoken words in each frequency band (A1 = the 5,000 most common words).
A187.22%
A25.49%
B13.16%
B21.05%
C10.89%
C20.66%
Unlisted1.53%
Watching plan
How to learn English with Modern Family
- Use subtitles for the dinner and car scenes, where everyone talks at once.
- The interview moments to camera are slower. Try them without subtitles.
- It is a great show for family and home vocabulary.
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, S1E7, S1E13, S1E19, S2E1, S2E7, S2E13, S2E19, S3E1, S3E7, S3E13, S3E19), removed sound descriptions, speaker labels, and character names, and matched each of the 37,205 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 Modern Family good for learning English?
Modern Family has simple, home-centred vocabulary but is one of the fastest shows we measured. That speed makes it a B2 show; at B1, subtitles are essential. We recommend it from B2.
How fast do they speak in Modern Family?
About 173 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 Modern Family?
A learner who knows the most common 20,000 English word forms (our B1 band) knows about 95.9% 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 (37,205 words), removed sound notes, speaker labels, and character names, 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 Modern Family 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 Modern Family 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.