Word List test online: verbal memory

You hear a list of 12 everyday words, played 3 times, and type every word you remember after each play. After 3 minutes of something else you type them once more, then say yes or no to 24 written words.

Start the Word List test

12 words, 3 tries · about 9 min · sound on, phone or computer

When the last word is answered you see your numbers and can keep them with a free account.

1 2 3
Type what you heardtry 1 of 3 · 12 words

How it works

One sitting of about 9 minutes, with the sound on. A short sound check that doubles as practice comes first, and nothing tells you how you did until the end.

  1. 1 · Part 1

    Listen to 12 words

    A recorded voice reads the list, one word every 2 seconds. Listen only: there is no need to type while it plays.

  2. 2 · Part 2

    Type what you remember

    Type one word at a time and press Add. You have up to 60 seconds, in any order, and a Done button if you run dry sooner. Then the same list plays again, in the same order, for 3 tries in all.

  3. 3 · Part 3

    3 minutes of digits

    Digits appear one at a time and you tap Odd or Even. It is not scored. When it ends you type the list words once more from memory, again for up to 60 seconds.

  4. 4 · Part 4

    Was it on the list?

    24 written words come up one at a time and you tap Yes or No. 12 were on the list and 12 were not. One last tap asks whether English is your first language.

The sound check comes before the list. You tap Play, hear 3 words and type them. If you cannot hear them clearly, the words appear on the screen one at a time instead, and the test runs in that visual mode. Which mode you used is recorded with your result, because reading a word and hearing it are not quite the same task.

Please do not write the words down or say them aloud to someone. The test asks what your memory holds, and a note on paper turns it into a copying task.

Learning a list over repeated tries, then recalling it after a pause, is a long-standing way to look at verbal memory. The Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test set the pattern, and the Bay Area Verbal Learning Test (Woods et al., 2017) shortened it to 12 words and 3 tries. The words and the lists here are our own and are not taken from any published test. They are common nouns that are easy to picture, and the word-frequency and concreteness studies listed under Sources set the rules they were picked by.

What it measures

The test asks you to take in a spoken list that is a little too long to hold in one go, and to see how much you keep as you hear it again and again.

Across the 3 tries

  • Learning: how the number of words grows from the first play to the third as you pick up the ones you missed.
  • Hearing a word and holding it long enough to type it a minute later.
  • Finding a way to keep 12 unrelated words in mind, for example by grouping them or picturing them.

After the pause

  • Delayed recall: how many words come back after 3 minutes of other work, with no further play of the list.
  • Telling words from the list apart from words that only feel familiar, which is what the Yes and No part asks.
  • Keeping going through a long task without the list in front of you.

Typing a word from memory is harder than spotting it in a lineup. That is why the test has both: recall asks you to produce the word, and recognition only asks whether you have met it. Someone who types few words but says Yes to most of the right ones is showing a different pattern from someone who forgot the words altogether.

The 3 minutes of digits matter. They stop you from simply repeating the words under your breath, so the delayed number reflects what stayed in memory rather than what you were rehearsing.

A test, not a diagnosis.

Word counts from one sitting describe how that attempt went. They cannot confirm or rule out any condition.

What you get

Your numbers appear on screen as soon as you answer the last word.

On the result screen

  • Words learned: the total of your 3 tries, from 0 to 36. Tries of 5, 7 and 9 words give 21.
  • Words recalled after the pause, from 0 to 12, always shown after the learning line and never alone.
  • Recognition: how many of the 12 list words you said Yes to, and how many of the other 12 you said Yes to by mistake.
  • A plain note that these are raw numbers, with no comparison against other people yet.

When you keep it

  • A free account stores your numbers so you can open them from any device.
  • Listed in your results next to the other memory tests you take.
  • A suggested next test is offered when you carry on from the hub.

How this version is scored

Everything you type is stored with the try it came from, along with every Yes and No. The numbers come from that record.

Words learned
The list words you typed in try 1, try 2 and try 3, added together. The range is 0 to 36.
Words recalled after the pause
The list words you typed after the 3 minutes of digits, from 0 to 12. It is read next to words learned, never by itself.
Recognized
List words you said Yes to, out of 12.
Wrong yes
Words that were not on the list but that you said Yes to, out of 12.
Counted as right
Small typing slips: a word one or two letters off depending on its length, a plural, and in Spanish a missing accent. A word typed twice counts once.
Not counted
A different word with a similar meaning, for example road where the list said street. Also a real word one letter off, for example boot where the list said boat.
Sound check and digits
The 3-word sound check and the Odd or Even digits are never scored. Your first-language answer is recorded and does not change the numbers.

Why no percentile yet. Published norms for list learning tests come from other versions: different words, spoken answers read by an examiner, or other timing. None of them used typed recall with these words and these gaps, so a table from them would mislead. The platform will build its own reference once enough people have taken this exact version. Until then you get raw counts.

Why a near miss does not count. A word one letter off can be a different real word. Boot and boat look alike and mean different things, so the test cannot tell a slip from a wrong word. It counts typos that leave no other real word and leaves out the rest.

Two lists per language. Each language has a list A and a list B, so a retake uses different words. Leave at least 4 weeks before you take it again.

Before you start

The list plays only 3 times, so the first minutes matter most.

For a cleaner attempt

  • Find about 9 quiet minutes: the test is not built to be paused.
  • Use headphones or speakers and set the volume at the sound check, not during the list.
  • Keep paper and pen out of reach and stay on the tab to the end.
  • On a phone, hold it steady so the typing field stays in view.

Read the result with care when

  • You were tired, unwell, in pain or interrupted, above all while the list was playing.
  • You wrote words down, repeated them to someone, or took the test within 4 weeks of an earlier attempt.
  • You found it hard to hear the words, or typing and spelling slowed you down.
  • You are tested in a language that is not your first, which the last question records.

Questions

What does a word list test measure?

It measures verbal learning and memory: how many spoken words you take in over repeated tries, how many you can still bring back after a pause, and how well you tell list words from new ones. List learning with a delayed recall is a standard part of clinical memory testing.

Why does the same list play 3 times?

A single play shows how much you can hold at once. Three plays show how you learn: whether the count climbs with repetition and by how much. Two people with the same first try can differ a good deal by the third.

Is there a normal score?

Not on this page. This version has no percentile and no comparison with other people yet, because no published table uses typed recall, these words and this timing. You get raw counts, and the platform will build its own reference once enough people have taken this exact version.

Can I take it again?

Yes, but wait at least 4 weeks. Each language has a list A and a list B, so a retake uses different words. Even then, practice with this kind of task can lift a second score a little, so read a change with that in mind.

I could not hear the words. What happens?

The sound check catches that. If you cannot hear the 3 practice words clearly, the words appear on screen one at a time instead and the whole test runs in that visual mode. The mode is recorded with your result.

Can I take it on my phone?

Yes. The test needs only taps and a typing field, and the Add, Done, Odd, Even, Yes and No buttons are large enough for a thumb. Turn the sound on before you start.

Sources

By Cristian Dominguez Rein-Loring, Creative Technology Lead · Updated October 20, 2026