I am not a native English speaker, but I am highly fluent. However, now that I am (somewhat) of age, it seems as if I have a hard time extending my English vocabulary. When I find a difficult, maybe less commonly used (especially outside of native speaking countries) word, I always look up the meaning, translation, and try to memorize it. It kind of helps to use LLMs to create riddles and memory aids. Still, I feel disappointed when I come across a word that I've certainly looked up before, but sadly have forgotten the (exact) meaning.
Curious if you guys have any recommendations for me? I would love to master a larger array of complex, English words!
For me I am Brazilian American, my first language was Portuguese but I am more comfortable speaking English now that I’m older and married to an American, meaning I speak predominantly English unless I am talking to my parents or brother. To keep my Portuguese vocabulary sharp I read books I’ve already read in English, but the Portuguese version. I also watch Brazilian novelas with Portuguese subtitles.
Read the same book in both your native language and in English. When you hit a word you don't know, don't go to the dictionary first. Instead, find the exact scene in your native language book and see how it was translated. Seeing the word used in a specific context you already understand can help better than a dry dictionary definition.
Crossword puzzles! Easy way to help you learn more words, pronunciations, and have fun in the process.
Its a bit childish but there’s this one book series that i read a few years back that really helped me. It’s called the series of unfortunate events by Lemony Snicket, various times in the books they’ll drop some vocab and explain what it means in context of the story. Its also a fun mystery series