Learning foreign language words by frequency is an efficient strategy that emulates natural language acquisition and aligns with the Pareto Principle, suggesting that learning a small percentage of high-frequency words enables understanding of the vast majority of everyday conversations. This approach focuses on function words — the essential building blocks of language — which facilitates the quick construction of basic sentences and the expression of core ideas.
By concentrating on the most commonly used words, learners can allocate their study time more strategically, tackling manageable segments of the language that yield immediate communicative benefits. This method not only makes the language learning process more accessible but also offers cultural insights, as frequent words often reflect the daily life and priorities of native speakers.