Is “You have many words you don’t know” awkward in English?

Yes, it's awkward. No native speaker would say that.

It's really weird to talk about having words. It's even weirder to talk about having words you don't know. In so far as it is possible to possess words, can I really have a word if I don't know it?  It might make sense in your native language, but it really doesn't in English.

It doesn't make any sense in English. There are situations where you can "have words", but they are limited and very situational. Like saying "I have no words" can be used when you are speechless, or to "have words" or "have a word" with someone means to have a short conversation with them. But outside of that, it doesn't make sense to "have" words. If you are implying that the person referenced says words that they don't know the meaning of in situations where the word they chose doesn't make sense, It would make more sense to say "you use many words [that] you don't know." Including the "that" is optional but can make the sentence easier to read. In this case, they are not taking ownership of the words, they are speaking the words or "using" them. If the intent is to say that the person just doesn't know the meaning of many English words, the answers that you were given would be more correct.

It is awkward and immediately flags you as a non-native speaker!

Awkwardness aside, it sounds like an insult.

I mostly agree with ChatGPT's assessment (If I may anthropomorphize). I think your original phrasing is grammatically sound, but the alternatives suggested make more sense and sound better to me. I disagree with ChatGPT's explanation that you can't "possess" a word. For example , "You have many words in your vocabulary" sounds fine to me. I would say the actual problem problem is logical, in that if you don't know a word, you don't "have" it either.

It is awkward. If you have some words, you are able to use them. If you do not know some words, you are not able to use them. The two ideas are conflicting in "You have many words you don’t know." I think these might be better: - There are many words you don't know - I don't think you know what those words mean.

That construction really doesn't mean anything in Spanish.

I might say “there’s a lot of words you don’t know” as a native speaker

I don’t know if you’re overthinking it, but it sounds strange. It is unnatural. And it’s definitely not something you would hear from the native speaker.

If you're trying to say something about the (lack of) knowledge of a language, then here are a few ways to say this more naturally in English: "You don't know a lot of words" Or "You don't know a lot of words in English". "You have a small vocabulary in English (or whatever language you are talking about)" OP, Note that, strictly speaking, English is my second language. I have a fascination with languages and their differences. You're doing a good job using AI to learn English. Let me also recommend an app I made ([FlaiChat](https://flai.chat/?utm_source=reddit_Englearning10)) that allows you to seamless chat with other people in any language without any external downloads or setup. It's also a useful took for language learning (I'm currently using it myself to learn Spanish. I just set translations in some chats to spanish even if everyone is chatting in English. It gives me constant exposure on a day to day basis).

>Instead, it's more natural to say something like “There are many words you don’t know” Correct. This is the most natural way to say it. >I’m wondering if “You have many words you don’t know” really is that bad. Is it really that awkward? Or is this just a case of me overthinking it? Yeah it's really that bad. While it's clear what you mean, and you would be understood, it's very awkward and a pretty clear indicator that English isn't your first language.

While they got it right this time, I would really really recommend *against* using ChatGPT or other generative AI for language practice. There was another post earlier today on here where google AI gave someone blatantly wrong information. ChatGPT is sophisticated, yes, but it is *not* a search engine. It’s a text generator that tries to imitate human writing, with no regard for whether or not what its telling you is actually correct. You could get steered down the wrong path way too easily.

“It seems you have much to learn in the ways of vocabulary.” is a fancy way of wording this thought but just “There’s a lot of words you aren’t familiar with,” (alternatively “…with which you are not familiar” if you dont want to end in a preposition.) works too

As a native English speaker who is exhausted from a long day, it took me reading the sentence 3 times to understand what you were saying

Yes. “There are many words you don’t know,” is the correct phrasing. That being said, your phrasing makes sense, and an English speaker would understand it. But I mean think about the phrase. If you don’t know the words, would you already have them at your disposal?

Yes, it sounds very strange.

I'll give you an example from my personal life. "He uses a lot of big words he doesn't seem to know the meaning or definition of to sound smarter than he is." The phrase he used was "I photosynthesize with that" as in "I completely agree or understand your point." Photosynthesize is what plants do with sunlight to create energy... Yet everyone was amazed by his depth and understanding of the English language... Ya public school...

Yes, it is awkward. "There are many words you don't know" is more natural. Even, "you don't know many words." In this case the verb "to know" is what you should use, not "to have."

Non-native speaker here. We might say this instead \- You have limited vocabulary. - 4 words You have many words you dont know - 7 words Same idea less words.