Albanian Vocabulary
Early on, vocabulary does more for your Albanian than anything else - grammar included. You do not need to memorise everything; you need the right words in the right order, reviewed so they stick.
Learn high-frequency words first
A small number of words do most of the work in any language. The first hundred high-frequency Albanian words - common verbs, everyday nouns, question words, connectors - carry a huge share of everyday speech. Learn those before rare or specialised vocabulary.
Shqipify's decks are ordered with this in mind: you meet the words that build the most sentences first. Here are twenty to start with today - the function words, verbs, and question words that hold sentences together. Note that Albanian verbs are cited in the "I …" form (there is no infinitive), so dua is literally "I want".
| Albanian | English | Albanian | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| unë | I | ku | where |
| ti | you (informal) | çfarë | what |
| është | he / she is | kush | who |
| dhe / e | and | kur | when |
| po / jo | yes / no | pse | why |
| jam | I am | ujë | water |
| kam | I have | bukë | bread |
| dua | I want | ditë | day |
| shkoj | I go | mirë | well / good |
| bëj | I do / make | faleminderit | thank you |
Review with spaced repetition
Seeing a word once does almost nothing; seeing it again just before you forget it moves it into long-term memory. Spaced repetition automates that timing, bringing each word back at a growing interval - a day, a few days, a week - so your review time lands where it matters.
Practically: daily minutes compound; a weekly hour does not.
Anchor words to real Albanian
Words stick better when you meet them in context, not just on a card. Pair your flashcard practice with real input - a listening-and-reading video, a slow podcast, even Albanian social posts - so you see your vocabulary at work.