silver bullet for vocabulary building

Vocabulary building is one of the greatest obstacle for all English learners, especially for those who have a very different native language such as Chinese, Japanese. It is claimed that a vocabulary of 2,000 is enough for normal English communication. However, English, as one of the most popular languages, have accumulated a large vocabulary bank in its history. And now it is still inflating when our society is undergoing dramatic changes. One reason why English has developed a so big vocabulary is that when there is a need to express a new meaning, a totally new word is created, even sometimes the new word has only a subtle difference with similar words. Therefore, it is necessary to grasp as much words as possible to communicate more precisely.

I must say in the first place that there is no silver bullet to memorize words. But there are some methods you can have a try to build your vocabulary more efficiently. Actually some of them are well written in many places. I just list some of them I used and I felt effective.

1. word roots
Almost each English dictionary has an appendix of word roots. By word roots, new words can be created more easily and also more understandable. Many English word roots have a Greek or Latin origin. So, if you can grasp the meaning of these words root upon which a lot of words are built, you somehow grasp the key of the gigantic vocabulary bank.
some useful links:
Common Word Roots
Root Words and Word Origins
English roots chart

2. prefix and suffix
Like word roots, many words are built from prefix or suffix.
Please reference to the links in the first section "word roots".

3. association
It is always hard to remember many single words. But if you can find out some kind of relationship between these single words, you can piece them together like a jigsaw and eventually get a web of words instead of shining stars scattered in the dark sky. Relationship can help you remember words.
(1) synonym, antonym, homonym
Actually when we learn Chinese words we also did a lot of these kinds of exercises. Obviously it also applies well in learning English.
(2) analogy
If some words share a similar part in their structure, you can group them together. If some words share a similar meaning, you can group them together. If some words represent concepts of the same subject, you can group them together. For example, many words describe goodness or kindness, many words describe dislike, and so on. And also you can find out your own analogy as long as it make sense for you.

Common Word Relationships

4. use words as hard as possible to write something
If you manage to get a vague memory about some word but you still can't use it correctly, you can strengthen your memory of the word by using it. Otherwise, the vague meaning will vanish some day.

5. make a summary(in any form: oral or written) about what your heard or read and try to use different words
Sometimes, you can manage to understand something, but if you can't digest the content in your own way, your initial understanding is shaky and easy to fade away.

Some general links:
How to build a better vocabulary

Vocabulary book recommendation:
Webster Vocabulary Builder