There is no single set of “CELPIP words” that fits every part of the test. Feasible can sharpen advice because it says a plan can actually be carried out. It does little by itself when you need to describe where a person is standing, identify a writer's commitment, or hear that a speaker has corrected an earlier claim.
A useful CELPIP vocabulary list is therefore a map of lexical jobs. What must the word or phrase do in this task? Does it mark a constraint, order events, separate observation from prediction, compare options, acknowledge another person, calibrate a claim, or identify a next action?
The current CELPIP-General test has Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking components. The official format names two writing tasks and eight speaking tasks, while Reading and Listening are divided into named parts. Vocabulary is explicitly one of the dimensions used to rate Speaking and Writing. CELPIP describes that dimension through word choice, suitable use, range, precision, and accuracy—not through a finite official list of advanced words.
Use this guide as a navigation page. For guided activation, visit the CELPIP vocabulary practice hub. To compare CELPIP with the other exam paths, use the Exam English hub.
CELPIP vocabulary by task
| Area | Lexical job | Useful language | Boundary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speaking Task 1 | give workable advice | one feasible option; given your time constraint; follow through on | Feasible does not mean desirable or certain. |
| Speaking Task 2 | tell a specific experience | at first; shortly afterward; the pivotal moment; what stayed with me | A turning point changes the course; it is not merely any event. |
| Speaking Tasks 3–4 | describe, then predict | in the foreground; seemingly; a plausible next step | Appearance is not fact, and plausible is not probable. |
| Speaking Task 5 | compare and persuade | the main trade-off; outweigh; better suited to | Comparison describes; persuasion recommends to a listener. |
| Speaking Task 6 | handle tension | I understand your concern; the constraint is; a feasible alternative | Firm is not hostile; candid is not needlessly blunt. |
| Speaking Task 7 | support an opinion | my main reason; a substantial effect; the evidence suggests | Support is not proof. |
| Speaking Task 8 | explain an unusual scene | the salient feature; unlike a typical; I cannot safely infer | Do not invent a cause or backstory. |
| Writing Task 1 | write an email | I am writing to; could you; subject to; proposed resolution | Register follows the recipient and situation. |
| Writing Task 2 | answer a survey | I would favour; although; the benefit outweighs; in this case | Personal preference is not automatically a policy fact. |
| Reading | identify purpose and viewpoint | commitment, qualification, concession, status | Recognize meaning; do not insert vocabulary into an answer. |
| Listening | track intent and correction | suggestion, refusal, uncertainty, revised plan | Infer from the recording, not from a stereotype. |
The table is not a phrase template. It is a set of decisions. A natural response might use none of the bold target words if simpler language is more precise.
Speaking: eight tasks, different vocabulary decisions
CELPIP Speaking takes about 15 minutes and uses eight task types. The official study pack gives separate preparation and speaking periods, so retrieval must be quick. Build small functional groups instead of one enormous list.
Task 1: make advice feasible
Advice needs a problem, recommendation, reason, constraint, and next step. Feasible means doable under the actual conditions:
“Given your limited budget, a feasible first step is to rent near a bus route and review the commute after one month.”
The budget is a constraint: a condition that keeps the solution within bounds. It is not an excuse to ignore. Follow through on connects an earlier intention or promise to the action needed to complete it: follow through on the application by submitting the reference.
Avoid absolute commands when the prompt leaves relevant facts open. You must move immediately invents certainty. One feasible option is... makes a recommendation without pretending it is the only option.
Task 2: organize an experience around change
A personal experience needs more than first, second, finally. Establish the setting, choose specific actions, identify the turning point, report your reaction, and explain why the event mattered.
“At first, I assumed the interview would be routine. The pivotal moment came when the manager asked me to solve a real customer problem. I was nervous, but the exercise showed me that I could think clearly under pressure.”
Pivotal should mark an event that affects what happens next, not merely an event you remember. Concrete nouns and verbs—missed the connection, called the organizer, rearranged the booking—usually do more work than dramatic adjectives.
Tasks 3 and 4: separate sight from inference
Task 3 asks you to describe a scene. Task 4 asks what you think will happen next in the same illustration. That distinction creates two vocabularies:
- observation: in the foreground, beside the counter, is carrying, appears to be waiting;
- prediction: may, is likely to, one plausible next step is.
Seemingly marks how something appears while leaving open that more information could change the description. It does not prove the appearance is false. Plausible means reasonably possible on the available facts; it does not mean guaranteed or even more likely than not.
“A customer is holding an open wallet beside the register. A plausible next step is that she will pay for the item.”
The visible wallet supports the prediction. A claim that she will complain about a hidden billing error invents a backstory.
Task 5: compare for a purpose
In Comparing and Persuading, first identify criteria: cost, location, capacity, convenience, or another feature supplied by the options. A trade-off is a choice in which gaining one advantage means accepting a disadvantage.
“The larger apartment costs more, but the shorter commute would save two hours each day. For you, that time advantage outweighs the extra monthly cost.”
Outweigh makes a judgment about relative importance; it does not mean the disadvantage disappears. Address the listener's needs rather than merely listing features.
Understanding is only the first step.
Lyra Practice helps you retrieve and use high-value workplace expressions in realistic situations until they feel natural.
Start a practice session →Task 6: protect both boundary and relationship
A difficult situation calls for acknowledgment, a clear boundary, and a workable alternative:
“I understand why you want a refund today. The constraint is that I cannot authorize one without the receipt. What I can do is ask the manager to check the purchase record now.”
The tone is considerate but firm. Do not bury the decision under apologies, and do not confuse confidence with confrontation.
Task 7: support, qualify, conclude
State a position directly, then develop reasons and examples. Substantial means large or important in amount, degree, or extent:
“I support the proposal because it could produce a substantial reduction in neighbourhood traffic.”
The word does not supply evidence or a number. If you claim a substantial reduction, explain what would reduce traffic and avoid inventing statistics. An example illustrates a reason; it does not prove a universal rule.
Task 8: identify what is unusual
Start with the salient feature—the detail that stands out from the rest—then locate it, compare it with a normal case, and interpret cautiously. If a person is wearing formal clothes while standing knee-deep in a fountain, that contrast is observable. You cannot safely infer why the person entered the water unless the prompt provides a clue.
Writing: purpose, register, and calibrated claims
Writing Task 1 is Writing an Email. Vocabulary should serve the relationship. An email to a friend, building manager, or organization does not require the same opening or level of formality. Establish purpose, explain the relevant facts, make a clear request, state constraints, propose a resolution, and close appropriately.
Writing Task 2 is Responding to Survey Questions. Choose a position, set criteria, compare consequences, acknowledge a genuine limitation, and recommend. A survey response can be personal—I would prefer...—or make a wider claim—the city should.... Do not slide between those scopes without support.
In both tasks, vocabulary is assessed alongside content/coherence, readability, and task fulfillment. A rare word used inaccurately is not a shortcut. A feasible appointment is possible in practice; it is not automatically convenient. A substantial concern is large or important; it is not necessarily proven.
Reading: identify what the language commits the writer to
The current format includes Reading Correspondence, Reading to Apply a Diagram, Reading for Information, and Reading for Viewpoints. These are recognition tasks. Learn to notice:
- purpose: request, explanation, complaint, reassurance, invitation;
- status: proposed, tentative, confirmed, cancelled, completed;
- commitment: will versus may, intend to versus have done;
- reference: what pronouns and phrases point back to;
- viewpoint: the writer's claim, concession, scope, and degree of certainty.
If an email says, “I plan to follow through on the repair request tomorrow,” the action is intended, not completed. If a writer says an explanation is plausible, the writer has not called it proven. These small boundaries often decide whether a paraphrase is accurate.
Listening: reconstruct the movement of the conversation
The official format names six listening parts, from problem solving and daily-life conversation to information, news, discussion, and viewpoints. Track changes rather than hunting only for topic words.
Suppose a speaker says, “Tuesday seemed feasible, but the technician is unavailable, so let's hold the visit on Thursday instead.” The final plan is Thursday. Feasible described the earlier option before new information arrived. Words such as but, actually, instead, unless, and in that case can revise the status of an idea.
You may infer a conclusion from evidence, but the conclusion is not automatically certain. The speaker implies; the listener infers. Base the inference on the words and sequence you hear, not on assumptions about age, occupation, or tone.
A controlled study method
For each target expression, record four things:
- Job: What decision does it communicate?
- Pattern: What grammar and partners does it need?
- Boundary: What does it not mean?
- Transfer: In which CELPIP tasks could you recognize or produce it?
For follow through on, for example:
- job: connect an earlier commitment to completing action;
- pattern: follow through on + promise/plan/commitment;
- boundary: it is not merely making a follow-up contact;
- transfer: use it in advice or email writing; recognize it in correspondence and listening.
Then practise one contrast at a time. Record Task 1 advice using feasible and a named constraint. Describe a picture without prediction. Replay the same picture and make two evidence-linked predictions. Compare two options using one trade-off. The point is controlled retrieval, not packing every learned word into one response.
Quick check
1. A friend has little money and only one free evening. Which advice names the real boundary?
A. “You must take the most prestigious course.” B. “Given your time and budget constraints, a short online course is feasible.” C. “A substantial course is certainly best.”
2. A person is holding an umbrella under dark clouds. Which Task 4 prediction stays linked to visible evidence?
A. “She may open the umbrella because it appears likely to rain.” B. “She will call her brother about an argument.” C. “She has always disliked this street.”
3. An email says, “I will follow through on the request after my supervisor approves it.” What is the status?
A. The request has been completed. B. Completion is intended but depends on approval. C. The writer refused the request.
Answers: 1-B, 2-A, 3-B. The first response works within stated constraints. The second predicts from a visible cue. The third distinguishes a future commitment from completed action.
Practice prompt
Choose one everyday problem: a long commute, a noisy apartment, or a missed community event. Produce four short outputs:
- give a feasible recommendation within one constraint;
- tell a past experience with a clear turning point;
- compare two options and name the trade-off;
- state an opinion, one reason, one example, and one qualification.
Underline each phrase that performs a lexical job. Remove any advanced word that does not change the meaning. Then use the CELPIP vocabulary practice hub to turn the expressions you can recognize into language you can retrieve.
To practise precise vocabulary decisions in realistic contexts, try Lyra Practice.
Sources
- CELPIP Test Format and Scoring — CELPIP
- CELPIP-General Overview Study Pack 2026 — Prometric
- CELPIP Results and Performance Standards — CELPIP
- CELPIP Free Resources and Test Tips — CELPIP
Related
- IELTS Speaking Vocabulary: Parts 1, 2, and 3
- TOEFL Vocabulary List by Task
- TOEIC Vocabulary List by Workplace Situation
- PTE Vocabulary List by Question Type
Lyra Practice is not affiliated with or endorsed by CELPIP or Prometric.