basic vocabulary; core vocabulary
Linguistics term for the set of fundamental words in a language, often used in language teaching and lexicography.
When learning a foreign language, it is important to first learn the basic vocabulary.
This dictionary contains about 2000 basic Japanese vocabulary words.
Similar meaning; 基本語彙 is also used for 'basic vocabulary', but 基礎語彙 may emphasize the foundational layer of vocabulary in a linguistic sense.
Compound of 基礎 (kiso, 'foundation') and 語彙 (goi, 'vocabulary').