STOP Using Basic English! Learn These 5 Real-Life Vocabulary Words 📚

Starting right now, starting today, you are going to stop using basic English.

That's right, my friend in this lesson, I'm going to give you real

life English vocabulary words that will help you start speaking with confidence

and finally stop using basic words.

Are you ready?

Well, then I'm teacher Tiffani.

Let's jump right in.

Word number one, flaky, flaky.

Now, this is a term you might've heard while watching a TV drama

or watching a movie, but what does the term flaky actually mean flaky

refers to someone who is unreliable or inconsistent in their behavior or

someone who often cancels plans or doesn't follow through with commitments.

No one likes a flaky person.

You want to be a person people can depend on, but if there is someone, you know,

maybe that individual, you call them and say, Hey, you want to hang out tomorrow?

Great.

Tomorrow comes and they say, so sorry, so sorry.

I overslept.

I'm not going to be able to make it.

Flaky, again, unreliable, or inconsistent in behavior in English, we say flaky.

Now, here's the first example sentence, and then I'm going to

give you some example situations to help you use this term.

Here's the first example sentence.

I stopped inviting Sarah to group events because she's too flaky

and always cancels last minute.

Here's the second example sentence.

Don't be flaky.

If you say you're going to help me move, I'm counting on you.

Don't be unreliable.

Don't be flaky.

And sentence number three.

My new coworker seems kind of flaky.

He's missed three team meetings already.

He seems unreliable, inconsistent.

He seems flaky, but what are some other situations in which you can use this term?

Here's the first situation when someone repeatedly cancels plans with friends.

So again, I mentioned earlier.

You call that friend to make a plan to meet them the next day.

And then the next day comes and they cancel.

Maybe in your friend group, there are individuals like this.

We can say they are a bit flaky.

So again, you can use this when one of your friends or someone,

you know, repeatedly cancels their.

Plans.

You can also use it in this situation, describing a colleague who doesn't

complete their work responsibilities.

You're working on a big project and each member of the team you're on has a

specific duty, something they have to do.

You have your duty.

Sarah has her duty.

Sam has his duty, but branded.

Ah.

Each and every time you work on a team that has Brandon on it, you know, that

the project is not going to get done.

Why?

Because he doesn't complete his responsibilities.

In this situation, you can say, Brandon is a bit flaky.

The third situation in which you can use the term flaky is warning

someone about an unreliable service.

So flaky, for example, I have a cell phone and let's say my cell

phone provider is Verizon, right?

Verizon is very popular here in America.

And I want to switch my cell phone provider to let's say T Mobile.

T Mobile is good, but just for an example, but my friend says, ah, you

don't want to switch to T Mobile.

I heard that their customer service reps. They're a bit flaky.

They're not reliable.

They're inconsistent.

You'll call them.

They won't respond.

Ah, they might be a little bit flaky.

So again, situation number three, warning someone about an unreliable

or inconsistent service provider.

So number one, again, we have.

Flaky.

All right.

Our second term, again, a real life vocabulary word is hangry.

Hangry.

And I'm so happy to do lessons like this because you're learning terms that

native English speakers use in real life.

Hey, don't worry, we're going to go back to the lesson.

I wanted to ask you a question, though.

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This term hangry became popular.

Man, maybe four or five years ago.

I think, let me explain what it means.

Hangry.

It's a combination of hungry and angry, and it means feeling

irritable or angry because of hunger.

Many people say that women get more hangry than men.

And I'm looking away from the camera because there is

some truth to this statement.

Ladies, if you are a female watching this, come on, let's be honest.

When we get hungry,

We need the food at that moment.

And then as soon as we get the food, all of a sudden we're happy.

Everything is good.

I can talk about anything, but before I get the food in my stomach, if my

stomach is growling, I don't want to hear about anything else except

where are we going to get the food?

Now, again, we're all working on this.

We might have some men that are hangry, but again, hangry is just a new term.

That is a combination of hungry and angry, but it is the perfect term.

So you can look at your wife or even your daughter and say, Oh,

you seem a little bit hangry today.

And it actually is.

Received in a good way.

People usually laugh when someone says, Oh, you seem hangry.

It's kind of funny.

All right.

So here's an example sentence using this term hangry.

Sorry.

I snapped at you earlier.

I was just hangry because I skipped lunch.

Boom, boom.

I am so sorry that I got upset with you earlier and I snapped.

I was just hangry.

I'm sorry.

Here's the second sentence using this term.

Let's grab something to eat before the meeting.

I get hangry if I wait too long.

So you can use this term to describe yourself.

If you know that you get a little bit testy, you get a little bit angry

when you haven't eaten, you can say, guys, listen, I know myself, I get a

little bit hangry, so let's get the food before the meeting because I don't

want to be hangry during the meeting.

You got it.

All right.

And here's the third example sentence.

The kids are getting hangry.

We should stop for a snack soon.

Kids can get hangry too.

Think about a two year old, that two year old ate breakfast at seven o'clock.

It is 2 PM and you're on this long drive.

That child.

Reached his limits.

He's screaming his lungs out.

Why?

Because he's angry, he's hungry and he's angry.

You got it.

Didn't you?

All right, now let me give you three other situations in which you can use this.

This term hangry, here's the first situation during a long shopping

trip, when you haven't eaten, I want you to think about this.

Maybe you're preparing for Christmas, right?

You have a long list of things to buy for your kids, right?

Your kids, your spouse, your coworkers, your friends, a long list, but you know,

when you go shopping before or during Christmas time, The lines are crazy.

People are rushing around.

You're just, you want it to get in and get out, go in there real quick, get

what you need to come out, but you can't because there are people everywhere and

you've been in the mall for six hours

and right now your level of hunger.

It's continuing to go up and you're getting a little bit irritated.

Every person that passes by you and bumps your shoulder a little

bit, you give them the eye.

That's called being hangry.

Because you want some food and you're getting a little angry.

Yes.

You visualize that situation, right?

All right.

Here's the second situation while working overtime without proper meal breaks.

Listen, you want to see some people get hangry, make them

work and don't feed them.

Woo.

Now, even men will get hangry in these situations.

Lunchtime is 12 o'clock.

You want me to work on this project until two 15 and you're

not going to give me a lunch break.

Oh, no, no, no.

I'm boo boo.

Hangry.

And the third situation is on road trips.

When meal stops are delayed, similar to the two year old baby.

Eight at 7 a. m It is 2 p. m. We're on this road trip.

The baby is acting a fool because the baby is hangry.

Long road trips, depending on who the driver is.

Sometimes those meal stops can be few and far between.

People get hangry.

Makes sense, right?

All right.

Now our third term, again, real life vocabulary words and terms you can use.

Zonked.

Zonked.

You're probably like Tiff what

now these are real life terms, right?

Zonked.

So let me explain what this term zonked actually means.

So zonked just means extremely tired or exhausted, completely drained of energy.

Now you'll hear these terms when you're watching a movie or

watching a drama, or maybe even listening to the radio or a podcast.

Zonked, I'm completely, totally tired.

I worked a 14 hour day.

I had to run errands.

I am exhausted.

Listen, I'm zonked.

I'm done.

If someone says they're zonked, it's not just tired.

It's extremely tired in English.

We say zonked.

You got it.

Oh yeah.

You're a smart one.

I love it.

Here's the first example sentence using this term zonked.

After working 12 hours straight, two hours less than me.

In this example, I was completely zonked.

Listen, I pushed through, I worked hard, but after 12 hours of working.

I was zonked.

I was done.

I was exhausted.

Here's sentence number two.

The kids were so zonked after the birthday party that they fell asleep in the car.

They had a great time with their friends running around.

I got in the car, knocked out, zonked.

They were exhausted.

And then the third example sentence is I'm too zonked to cook dinner tonight.

Let's order takeout.

Honestly, listen.

I have no more energy.

I think you're tired.

We're both zonked.

Let's just order takeout.

Make sense?

Yes, you got it.

All right.

So here are three situations in which you can use this term first, after an

intense workout or physical activity.

Now this has happened to me before I enjoy working out.

So I went to the gym, I would jump rope for about 10 or 15 minutes.

I'd shoot a few hoops, basketball, kind of get the heart rate up.

I would run a bit, then I'd go and do a weight workout, maybe some

squats, some, um, bench presses.

And by the time I finished, I would feel utterly exhausted.

I wouldn't feel like cooking.

I just wanted to buy something again after an intense workout or physical activity.

You feel extremely exhausted.

Here's the second situation following a long day of travel.

Imagine having to travel, you have to drive to the airport takes an hour.

Get to the airport.

You have to sit in the airport for an hour to wait for your flight.

You get on the flight.

The flight is seven hours long.

You arrive at your destination.

Then you have to wait for an Uber.

You are exhausted.

So you are zonked after a long day of traveling.

And then finally this situation when finishing a major project or a

deadline, you've worked hard, Brandon.

Off the team.

Remember Brandon?

He's a little flaky.

Ah, I remember that from the first one.

Right.

Brandon and a little flaky.

We like you, Brandon, but you can't be on the team.

Okay.

All right.

So you're working on this major project and you all are working 12 hour days,

trying to get everything done for the project and you finally finished.

You are zonked.

You're exhausted.

You got it.

Yes.

Excellent.

All right.

Now let's move to our fourth term.

The fourth term is sketchy, sketchy.

What does this mean?

All right.

When we say sketchy in English, sketchy refers to something that is suspicious,

questionable, or potentially dangerous.

In other words, not trustworthy.

Hey.

I, I don't know if we should go down that alley.

It looks a bit sketchy.

It might be a little dangerous.

I don't think we should go down that path.

It does not look safe.

It looks a little suspicious.

That path looks a little sketchy.

You got it.

Yes.

All right.

So here are some examples sentences using this term first, that

website looks pretty sketchy.

I wouldn't enter your credit card information there.

This, this website right here does not look safe.

Something's suspicious.

Here's the second example sentence.

The whole situation felt sketchy.

So I decided to leave early.

I don't know what's going on here, but something.

Feels off.

It feels sketchy.

I'm gonna leave.

And here's the third sentence, this neighborhood gets kind of sketchy.

After dark things can get a little questionable and potentially

dangerous after dark sketchy, right?

All right, now let me give you three situations in which you can use this term.

First, when receiving suspicious emails or phone calls every day, I kid you not.

Every day, I get at least two sketchy phone calls from numbers.

I don't recognize from people I don't know, and they'll call.

And I'll usually ignore the calls because it'll say spam calls.

Right.

But then there'll be a number and I'm like, I'm not sure this number looks

a little sketchy, but I'm not sure.

So I'll answer.

Yeobaseyo.

I will answer in Korean just, just to see.

If they know me, they know I speak Korean.

If they don't know me, no, thank you.

Bye bye.

No, uh, uh, sketchy call.

You got it.

All right, here's the second situation describing an unclear business deal.

So

true story, Tiffani, me teacher, Tiffani, Hey, of

speak

English with Tiffani.

I get emails

a lot from different businesses, different companies.

Some of the emails look sketchy.

Like they don't even use my name.

They'll say, Hey, SCWT or Hey, speak

English with Tiffani.

I'm like,

that's not my name.

Wait a minute.

They don't know me, or they'll spell my name incorrectly.

Even though it's a part of the logo, even though it's a part of the brand.

I said, ah, this email looks a little suspicious.

They don't really know me.

This is probably just a spam email.

It looks sketchy.

You got it, right?

Excellent.

All right, here we go.

Don't send any sketchy emails.

If you have a question, you know, Hey, listen, situation number

three, warning someone about a potentially unsafe location.

Listen, I know you want to travel with your friends.

I know you want to go there, but just be aware that it can be

a little bit sketchy at night.

It's not the best location.

You can warn someone using the term sketchy.

You got it, my friend, you are smart.

All right, here we go.

The fifth term, bummed, bummed.

Now, what does this term bummed mean?

So bummed just refers to feeling disappointed, sad, or dejected

about something, something that has made you feel down.

Like, I mean, it didn't go the way you wanted.

I mean, I just feel bummed.

I mean, yeah, you'll never see someone that's bummed.

Who's bummed look like this.

Hey, I'm bummed.

No, no, no.

Bummed usually is associated with being disappointed or sad.

Here's the first example sentence.

I'm really bummed that I couldn't make it to your wedding.

I really wanted to be there and I'm sad that I wasn't able to.

I'm really bummed that I couldn't make it to your wedding.

Next sentence, number two, the team was bummed about losing the championship game.

This actually happened a few days ago.

My niece was playing in a championship basketball game.

Unfortunately they lost and they were all bummed.

You got it, right?

Here's the third sentence.

Hey, don't be bummed.

There will be other opportunities.

It's totally okay.

Don't be bummed.

There will be other opportunities.

All right, let me give you three example situations that you can use this term in.

When plans get canceled unexpectedly, I want you to imagine you and your

friends are planning this big trip.

True story, my friends and I are planning a trip for my birthday, right?

My friend and I have the same birthday, so Every year we try to go

on a trip together and making plans.

Now we're going to take the bus.

We can take the train.

What are we going to do when we get there?

And it's exciting making plans.

But if all of a sudden the plans get canceled, are you happy?

Are you bummed?

Like, ah, I really wanted to go, but I get it.

You feel bummed, right?

Here's the second situation.

After receiving disappointing news.

Think about applying for a job.

I mean, you, you go through the first interview.

It goes well.

Second interview.

Ah, it went good.

The third interview and then you get the call.

We're so sorry, ma'am.

We're so sorry, sir. We decided to go with another candidate.

Oh, okay.

You are bummed.

Disappointed because you didn't get the job.

And the final situation is this one when missing out on an important

event, man, I wanted to go.

I wanted to be with my friends, but I wasn't able to go because I was sick.

I couldn't go to that important event because I forgot the date.

I'm bummed.

Makes sense, right?

Excellent.

All right.

Now I want you to start using these terms again, real life terms to

help you sound more fluent and more natural and more confident, and

I'll talk to you in the next lesson.

You still there?

You know what time it is.

Story time.

Hey, I said, it's story time.

All right.

So today I want to tell you a story.

This story happened when I was probably around nine or 10 years old.

So right now at the time of this recording, it is 2025 and in 2025.

People do not let their children go outside in the summer and stay outside

by themselves for hours on end, at least not in Maryland, not in many

parts of America just because things aren't as safe as they used to be.

However, 30 or so years ago, things were very different.

So this happened when I was around nine or 10 Years old, and when I was

around nine or 10 years old, I would go outside every day of the week.

Again, during the summertime when school was out, I would go outside and

I'd be playing with my friends from morning all the way until the evening.

Now, of course, I'd come in for lunch.

My mom would have to force me to come in to eat because I just wanted to play.

With my friends.

Now we had one rule growing up, but I think everyone had the same rule.

You have to come home when the street lights come on.

That was the rule.

You could stay outside, play with your friends, ride your bike.

But as soon as the street lights come on, you have to be in the house.

So anyways, on this day, my friend and I, his name, I don't

even remember his actual name.

We only called him B man.

That literally was his nickname.

And so all of us called him B Man.

My parents called him B Man.

Adults, kids, we all called him B Man.

He was a great guy.

And on this day, he and I had been playing together.

For some reason, our other friends just weren't around.

The neighborhood I lived in had a lot of kids.

So usually there would be between 10 to 15 of us just playing.

But on this day, B man and I were the only ones playing and it was after lunch.

So let's say it was around like three o'clock and we

had our bikes and growing up.

I was a daredevil.

I was not scared of anything.

And so we would ride our bikes and we had a big hill in our neighborhood.

So we would sit on the bike seat and we pedal, you know, you know,

as a kid, you had to have energy.

So we pedal as hard as possible.

And then as soon as we hit the hill, we kick our legs up and we go flying.

But I was a daredevil.

So instead of kicking my feet just up and out, I would put

my feet on the handlebars.

So the handlebars would be holding my feet and my hands.

And man, would I fly.

So we were doing this for the entire afternoon, riding our bikes, just flying.

And you know, to be a kid again.

Not getting tired, not sweating too much, just to be a kid and have all the energy.

I wish I would try to do that at my age now.

Uh uh boo boo.

Not happening.

So anyways, Be A Man and I were out playing for hours.

And we noticed that it was getting a bit dark, but the streetlights,

they hadn't come on yet.

So we're just playing.

Then we rode our bikes to this part of our neighborhood that a lot of woods.

So we started playing with caterpillars.

Again, kids, just not scared of anything.

Didn't care.

Had them crawling all over our arms.

And we were just having the time of our lives.

So again, I noticed it was getting a bit darker, but the

streetlights hadn't come on yet.

So we were kind of far from where our houses were, right?

Not too far, but again, we're nine or 10 years old.

So we're playing, laughing, riding our bikes, doing tricks.

And all of a sudden we hear who, the streetlights come on.

And when I say again, it, this was more than 30, 35 years ago.

And I remember it like it was yesterday.

We heard the, the streetlights came on.

We stopped laughing, and we looked at each other.

And we said, bye, that's literally all we did because we knew if we weren't

home, by the time the streetlights were on, we were going to be in big trouble.

So the streetlights came on.

I looked at him.

He looked at me.

We both said bye.

And our little legs just started pumping as fast as possible.

Pedaling as fast as possible.

His house was one way and my house was the other way.

The street lights were on.

It was dark outside.

I said, Oh my gosh, I'm gonna get in trouble.

I'm gonna get in trouble.

So I was pedaling super fast trying to get to my door.

So I finally got to my house.

I ran.

I knocked on the door and I said, Oh no.

When my mom answers the door, am I gonna get in trouble?

So I waited there and my heart was beating and the door opened

and I looked up at my mom.

I said, Okay.

She said.

Oh, you and B man had a great time.

And I tried to play it off.

I said, yeah, we had a good time.

And I just walked in like nothing had happened.

My mom had no clue that in my mind I was thinking about getting

in trouble, thinking the worst thing was going to happen.

She must've had the best day of her life.

I had the best day, but it was about to have a bad ending in my head.

But my mom just said, I'm glad you and B man had a good time.

I went in the house and nothing happened.

We had a great dinner and that moment will forever be etched in my mind.

The night that me and B man Almost got in trouble, but we had the time of our

lives before the streetlights came on.

Maybe you have a story that you remember of when you were a kid

playing outside with your friends and you played a little bit long.

On that night, I experienced grace.

I'll talk to you in the next lesson.