Learn English with The Big Bang Theory: The Best Episodes
By: Frank Andrade
Tags: English, English Learning, Data Science, Data Visualization, Language Learning

Learn English with The Big Bang Theory: The Best Episodes According to Data Science

Using data to find which 279 Big Bang Theory episodes are the best for you to learn English with.

Image created by author in Canva. Image of Kaley Cuoco and Jim Parsons via Amazon Prime Video

The Big Bang Theory is a good TV series to increase your English vocabulary. Throughout 12 seasons, it covers a good number of topics by using cultural references in their dialogue and telling jokes that include lots of sarcasm! In this article, I’ll analyze the dialogues in 279 Big Bang Theory episodes to find the best episodes to start learning English with. I’ll also compare the vocabulary used in this sitcom with other shows such as Friends and Game of Thrones to know which TV show would be the best option for you to improve your English.

Bazinga! The words not included in the dictionary

Before you start watching this sitcom in English, keep in mind that — like in any comedy — you’ll find vocabulary that isn’t in the dictionary but is used by the main characters. You won’t need most of those words in everyday conversations, but you need to recognize them to understand the dialogues (especially the jokes). The wordcloud below contains the most common words spoken in The Big Bang Theory, which you won’t find in the dictionary.

The most common words in TBBT that aren’t on the dictionary — Image by Author

For example, words like bazinga and meemaw are only used by Sheldon in the sitcom. He uses the first to tell jokes, while the second is an affectionate term to call his grandmother, so you probably won’t hear them elsewhere.

On top of that, the most repeated word is Darth Vader. This makes sense because the main characters talk about comics and superheroes most of the time. As a result, other words such as Aquaman and Kryptonian were mentioned many times in the sitcom too.

What Big Bang Theory (TBBT) episodes among the 279 are the best for you to learn English?

If you’re a Big Bang Theory fan, you probably had a hard time trying to under what Sheldon says. He’s a theoretical physicist, so even native speakers will have problems understanding him. That’s why I ranked the 279 episodes by difficulty of vocabulary. Like in most sitcoms, some Big Bang Theory episodes are unrelated to each other, so you can watch them in English in any order. However, I recommend you start with the easiest episodes in terms of vocabulary.

For example, I found that The Separation Oscillation (S9E2) and The Bat Jar Conjecture (S1E13) are the episodes in which characters used the simplest and most complicated English vocabulary, respectively. Watch them both and test your English level!

You can find more Big Bang Theory episodes with basic and advanced vocabulary by searching them in the following box:

Image by Author

You can also find all Big Bang Theory episodes ranked for each English level in the plot below. The episodes furthest to the right cover more basic English vocabulary on each level.

The code behind this analysis is available on Github — Image by Author.

The best episodes to learn English with The Big Bang Theory

Based on the analysis, the following are the top 10 episodes with the easiest vocabulary among all Big Bang Theory episodes aired. Re-watch them without subtitles and you’ll understand dialogues more than in the average Big Bang Theory episode.

S9E2: The Separation Oscillation

S12E4: The Tam Turbulence

S11E14: The Separation Triangulation

S9E1: The Matrimonial Momentum

S7E24: The Status Quo Combustion

S11E23: The Sibling Realignment

S12E22: The Maternal Conclusion

S12E3: The Procreation Calculation

S12E15: The Donation Oscillation

S7E11: The Cooper Extraction

Don’t forget to check the vocabulary used in every episode before you watch them. You can easily do so by checking the chart “Every Word Said in The Big Bang Theory” below.

Which TV Series is The Best to Learn English With?

It’s a good idea to choose a TV series based on your English goals. If your goal is to develop an advanced vocabulary, then, as shown in a previous article, The Simpsons would be the best option. However, Game of Thrones would be a better option for someone who wants to develop a British accent, while Friends would be more helpful for beginner or intermediate English learners because of its simple vocabulary.

By analyzing all episodes of The Big Bang Theory, I can say that the vocabulary difficulty in the average episode is intermediate. That being said, keep in mind that — as we’ve seen before — TV series have many ups and downs in terms of vocabulary difficulty. That is, some episodes might be easy to understand while others would be hard to follow. This shouldn’t be a problem though, after all, you already know which are the easiest episodes!

Image by Author

What hard words are they saying in 279 episodes?

I increased my vocabulary in 3 foreign languages by using a table similar to the one below. There you can find which difficult words you’ll hear in any Big Bang Theory episode. You can filter by word, episode or season!

Image by Author

Conclusion

The Big Bang Theory is an excellent show to increase your English vocabulary and get to know some pop culture jokes. It gets better when you know what the episodes with the easiest vocabulary are, so you can watch them and understand more than in a random episode. Before you watch a new episode, make sure you check the advanced vocabulary used in the episode in order to check the meaning of words and get used to their pronunciation. In this way, you’ll increase your vocabulary and understand even more Big Bang Theory jokes!

The code behind this analysis is available on Github.