Free practice tool

Real or fake word?

The Duolingo English Test Read & Select task as a free, unlimited game. A word appears — decide in a few seconds whether it is real English or invented. Keep your streak going. No sign-up.

  • The exact Read & Select format, from the same word bank as our full mocks
  • Instant feedback and a running accuracy score — over 200 real and fake words
  • Free and unlimited, keyboard shortcuts, no account required
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Word 1 0 streak · 0/0 correct

Is this a real English word?

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What this is

Practise the DET Read & Select task, free

Read & Select is the quickest question type on the Duolingo English Test: a word appears, and you decide whether it is a real English word or an invented one, in about five seconds. It feeds your Literacy and Comprehension subscores, and because it is so fast, hesitation and wrong guesses add up quickly.

This tool drills the exact format with unlimited words from the same bank our full mock tests use. Real words reward instant recognition; fakes give themselves away with odd stems or endings. Use the buttons, or the arrow keys, to drill at speed.

How it scores

How Read & Select is scored

You earn credit for each correct judgement and lose ground for wrong ones, so speed without accuracy does not help. The skill to build is a large recognition vocabulary — the more real words you know on sight, the faster and more accurate you are. Good ways to widen it are our English words with meaning list and the one word substitution list. See the Read & Select guide for the full task, or try Fill in the Blanks next.

FAQ

Questions people ask

Are the real words all common, or do rare ones appear too?

They range from everyday to fairly advanced, and the words people wrongly reject are almost always genuine ones they simply do not know. Most mistakes here are real words marked fake rather than fakes marked real, so growing your vocabulary helps more than getting sharper at spotting inventions.

Do the fake words follow normal English spelling rules?

Yes — they are built to be pronounceable and to obey English letter patterns, which is exactly what makes them tricky. "It looks like it could be a word" is not evidence that it is real; only genuine recognition is.

Is the split between real and fake words even?

Do not assume a fixed ratio — the balance varies, so counting how many you have called real and adjusting to hit an imagined quota will backfire. Judge each word on its own, because the test rewards accuracy, not a tidy tally.

What is Read and Select on the Duolingo English Test?
You are shown a word and must decide whether it is a real English word or an invented one. It is the fastest task on the test — about five seconds per word — and it feeds your Literacy and Comprehension subscores. This free tool drills the exact format with unlimited words.
Is this real-or-fake word game free?
Yes, entirely. No sign-up, no card, no limit — it reshuffles and keeps going for as long as you want to practise.
How is Read and Select scored?
You earn credit for each correct judgement and lose ground for wrong ones, so guessing wildly hurts. The skill is recognising real words instantly and spotting invented ones by their odd shape or ending.
How do I spot a fake word?
Invented words often use real-looking endings on the wrong stem ("weakor", "handish", "greenal") or blend two words awkwardly. If a word does not trigger instant recognition and looks slightly off, it usually is.
Should I guess if I am not sure?
On the real test, wrong answers cost you, so a pure guess is risky — but a word you half-recognise is usually real. Trust fast recognition; hesitate only on words that look deliberately strange.
How many words does this tool have?
It draws from the same bank our full mock tests use — over 200 real and invented words — and loops indefinitely. Your streak and accuracy update as you go.
Does Read and Select test spelling?
It tests recognition more than production — you do not spell anything, you judge. But the more real words you can recognise on sight, the higher you score, so reading widely is the best preparation.
How fast do I need to be?
On the real test you get only a few seconds per word. Speed comes from vocabulary size: if you know the word, the answer is instant. This tool lets you build that instant recognition safely.
Will this improve my real DET score?
It trains the exact judgement the task measures. Pair it with a full mock test to see your Literacy subscore move, since Read and Select is only one of several tasks feeding it.
Can I use keyboard shortcuts?
Yes — press the right arrow (or Y) for a real word and the left arrow (or N) for a fake one, so you can drill at speed without reaching for the mouse.
Is this the official Duolingo practice?
No. It is an independent tool built to mirror the real question format, not made by or affiliated with Duolingo. Duolingo offers its own free practice test on the official site.
What is a good accuracy on Read and Select?
Strong test-takers are near-perfect on common words and only slip on rare or cleverly-built fakes. Aim for high accuracy first, then speed — accuracy is what the score rewards.

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An hour under real conditions, all eight subscores, and feedback on every written and spoken answer.

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SCORE REPORT 155 C2 of 160 Reading 160 Listening 160 Writing 150 Speaking 150 FEEDBACK 8 SUBSCORES