What's Inside a Word Entry: Its Fields, Their Coverage, and No Word Roots
A VocaX word entry carries a defined set of field types: definitions split by part of speech, inflections, register, derivatives, synonyms and antonyms with usage notes, collocations and example sentences with translations, a bilingual context story, British and American phonetics, pronunciation, artwork, and the three distractors used in translation practice. Word roots and affixes are not among them. Below is what each field is, what it is for, and which fields are not on every word.
One thing up front: entry content is preset — you cannot rewrite a definition or add your own note, and nothing is written to order for you. Also, not every field is on every word: artwork is there or not, and we publish no coverage figures.
1. What "word entry" means here
A word entry is the single complete record a dictionary keeps for one word. In VocaX, the page you get when you open a word from a word list or from search is the whole of that entry.
In VocaX a word entry is not a definition. It is the full reference page for one word: definitions, inflections, register, derivatives, related words, sentences, a story, sound and artwork, all attached to the same record.
The main dictionary holds 74,334 entries in Simplified Chinese, as of 15 September 2026. Language packs differ slightly in size, ranging from 74,267 to 81,314 — so the words you can look up are not identical across every interface language.
An entry is also not the same thing as a card. How review timing is calculated covers when a word comes back to you. This page covers what you see when you open it.
2. The a defined set of field types, one by one
A word entry carries a defined set of field types. The first 11 are there for you to read; the 12th is material the word supplies when it becomes a question.
| Field | What it is | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|
| Definitions (by part of speech) | Grouped by part of speech — one group per part of speech the word has | Word detail |
| Inflections | Plural, past tense, comparative and the like | Word detail |
| Register | Where the word belongs: formal, spoken, written, technical | Word detail |
| Derivatives | Other words built from this one | Word detail |
| Synonyms (with usage notes) | Near-synonyms, plus how they differ from each other | Word detail |
| Antonyms (with usage notes) | Opposites, plus how they differ | Word detail |
| Collocations and example sentences (with translations) | What the word keeps company with, shown in sentences and translated | Word detail |
| Bilingual context story | A short bilingual passage built around the word, in several paragraphs, length varying by word | Word detail |
| Phonetics (British and American) | Two pronunciation notations | Word detail |
| Pronunciation | Audio for the word itself, attached to the entry | Word detail, Dictation |
| Artwork | Illustration, one set per theme, shipping with the word lists | Word detail |
| Distractors | The three wrong options in translation practice | Translation |
A few of these deserve a sentence of their own.
Definitions are grouped by part of speech, not piled into one list. A word used as a noun and the same word used as a verb rarely mean the same thing, so the entry separates them instead of flattening them into a single run of senses.
Synonyms and antonyms both come with usage notes. Handing you a near-synonym and nothing else leaves you with a bigger question than you started with. The usage note says where the two words part ways and which one fits which situation.
Collocations and example sentences both come with translations. The collocation shows you what the word travels with; the example puts that collocation back inside a whole sentence; the translation means you do not have to guess first and check afterwards.
Phonetics come in both British and American, and pronunciation is attached to the entry. Dictation runs on that audio — you hear the word and type the spelling, with no options to choose from. The differences between the three practice modes are laid out in why translation, dictation and speaking are three separate skills.
Distractors are question material, not a field you read. Translation practice shows you a word and four definitions: one correct, three distractors. The three wrong options come from the dictionary itself, not from randomly assembled strings. Why the format is four-way choice, and what four-way choice leaves out, is covered in active recall versus recognition.
Of these a defined set of field types, every one except the distractors costs nothing against any quota. Reading definitions, reading example sentences, playing pronunciation, looking at artwork, reading the bilingual context story — none of it is counted, and none of it has a counter. VocaX counts exactly six things, and the full table is in what is free in VocaX.
3. Limits: which fields are not on every word
Not every field is present on every word, and we do not publish coverage figures for any of them — the content library keeps growing, so any percentage would be stale the next day. What follows is what can be said plainly.
VocaX publishes no coverage figures for any word-entry field. The content library keeps growing, so any percentage would expire quickly. What we can describe is the mechanism, not the proportion.
Artwork is not a property of the entry. Illustrations ship as one set per theme, delivered alongside the word lists, with coverage growing over time. Artwork is either there or not there; we do not publish a fixed count, because the count keeps changing. How the the themes differ is in the the themes.
The bilingual context story has no fixed paragraph count. It differs from word to word: some finish in one paragraph, others run to several. We do not print a number, because there is no fixed number to print. Why context helps at all is in context and memory cues.
A VocaX word entry contains no word roots and no affixes. The only field touching a word's family is derivatives, and derivatives give you the other words built from this one — not a breakdown into prefix, root and suffix.
The entry count itself changes too. Simplified Chinese currently holds 74,334 entries, and language packs range from 74,267 to 81,314. That number will keep rising. Figures on this page are current as of 15 September 2026.
4. Why we build a page instead of a card
These four are judgement calls, not conclusions drawn from research.
A page of material, not a single card. A card can carry one prompt, and once you answer it you move on. But what actually trips people up about a word is rarely whether they recognise it — it is what it keeps company with, where it belongs, and which neighbouring word it differs from by a hair. So we put all of that on one word. The cost is real: the page is longer, it turns more slowly than a card, and anyone who wants to skim will find it crowded.
No word roots or affixes. Root analysis is a genuinely useful thing, but it is not reliably available for every word. Publishing a breakdown that looks right and has nothing behind it is worse than publishing none — you end up memorising from a wrong map. We would rather give derivatives only, which at least are certain.
Artwork is not a requirement. A picture is a bonus, not a gate. A word without artwork still has a complete entry: definitions, inflections, related words, sentences, a story, phonetics and pronunciation. Visuals can lower the cost of walking into a word, but they should not decide whether the word can be learned.
Context stories are not filled into a fixed-length template. One word needs several paragraphs to be explained properly; another needs one. Filling to a fixed paragraph count produces padding, and padding does not help anyone remember. The cost is uneven page lengths, which does not look as tidy in a list.
5. Who this is not for
- You want word roots and affixes. There are none. The only field touching a word's family is derivatives, which gives you the words built from it.
- You want to rewrite definitions, add notes, or swap example sentences. You cannot. Entries, definitions, example sentences and artwork are preset: you cannot create an entry, and you cannot rewrite any part of one. What you control is which words you study (a word list, learned words, favourites, search history, flagged words), which practice mode you use, how many words a day, and which theme.
- You need artwork to be standard. It ships per theme. It is there or it is not, and it is not guaranteed per entry.
- You want an AI to write something about this word on the spot. Entry content is preset. Every user sees the same page; nothing is written to order for you.
FAQ
Does a VocaX word entry include word roots and affixes?
No. The only field that touches a word's family is derivatives, and derivatives give you the other words built from this one — not a breakdown into prefix, root and suffix.
How many paragraphs is a bilingual context story?
It varies. The number of paragraphs differs from word to word: some finish in one, others run to several. We do not publish a fixed number, because there is no fixed number.
Is every field present on every word?
No, and we do not publish coverage figures for any field — the content library keeps growing, so any percentage would be stale the next day. Artwork is the clearest case: it ships per theme, it is there or it is not, and it is not a property of the entry itself. The remaining fields ship with the entry, and their coverage grows over time as well.
Can I edit a definition or add my own note?
No. Entries, definitions, example sentences and artwork in VocaX are preset: you cannot create an entry, and you cannot rewrite any part of one. What you control is which words you study (a word list, learned words, favourites, search history, flagged words), which practice mode you use, how many words a day, and which theme.
Where do the three wrong options in translation practice come from?
From the dictionary itself, not from randomly assembled strings. Translation practice shows you a word and four definitions — one correct, three distractors. The distractors are material the entry supplies when it becomes a question, not a field you read on the word page.
Axiom One LLC — VocaX. Figures current as of 15 September 2026.