diff --git a/C/vocabulary_curve/Makefile b/C/vocabulary_curve/Makefile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6311950
--- /dev/null
+++ b/C/vocabulary_curve/Makefile
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+CC = gcc
+CFLAGS = -O3 -Wall -Wextra -march=native
+TARGET = vocabulary_curve
+
+all: $(TARGET)
+
+$(TARGET): main.c
+	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -o $(TARGET) main.c
+
+clean:
+	rm -f $(TARGET)
+
+.PHONY: all clean
diff --git a/C/vocabulary_curve/main.c b/C/vocabulary_curve/main.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0a76857
--- /dev/null
+++ b/C/vocabulary_curve/main.c
@@ -0,0 +1,359 @@
+/*
+ * Vocabulary Learning Curve Analyzer
+ * 
+ * For each excerpt length (1, 2, 3, ... N words), finds the excerpt that
+ * requires the minimum number of top-frequency words to understand 100%.
+ * 
+ * Usage:
+ *   ./vocabulary_curve <file.txt> [max_length]
+ *   ./vocabulary_curve test.txt 50
+ */
+
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <ctype.h>
+#include <stdbool.h>
+
+#define MAX_WORD_LEN 64
+#define MAX_WORDS 500000
+#define MAX_UNIQUE_WORDS 100000
+#define HASH_SIZE 200003  /* Prime number for better distribution */
+
+/* Word entry for hash table */
+typedef struct WordEntry {
+    char word[MAX_WORD_LEN];
+    int count;
+    int rank;  /* 1-indexed rank by frequency (1 = most common) */
+    struct WordEntry *next;
+} WordEntry;
+
+/* Hash table for word lookup */
+static WordEntry *hash_table[HASH_SIZE];
+static WordEntry *all_entries[MAX_UNIQUE_WORDS];
+static int num_unique_words = 0;
+
+/* All words in order of appearance - store POINTERS not indices */
+static WordEntry *word_sequence[MAX_WORDS];
+static int num_words = 0;
+
+/* Result for each excerpt length */
+typedef struct {
+    int excerpt_length;
+    int min_vocab_needed;
+    int start_pos;  /* Start position in word_sequence */
+} ExcerptResult;
+
+/* Simple hash function */
+static unsigned int hash_word(const char *word) {
+    unsigned int hash = 5381;
+    int c;
+    while ((c = *word++)) {
+        hash = ((hash << 5) + hash) + c;
+    }
+    return hash % HASH_SIZE;
+}
+
+/* Find or create word entry */
+static WordEntry *get_or_create_word(const char *word) {
+    unsigned int h = hash_word(word);
+    WordEntry *entry = hash_table[h];
+    
+    while (entry) {
+        if (strcmp(entry->word, word) == 0) {
+            return entry;
+        }
+        entry = entry->next;
+    }
+    
+    /* Create new entry */
+    if (num_unique_words >= MAX_UNIQUE_WORDS) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "Too many unique words\n");
+        exit(1);
+    }
+    
+    entry = malloc(sizeof(WordEntry));
+    if (!entry) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "Memory allocation failed\n");
+        exit(1);
+    }
+    
+    strncpy(entry->word, word, MAX_WORD_LEN - 1);
+    entry->word[MAX_WORD_LEN - 1] = '\0';
+    entry->count = 0;
+    entry->rank = 0;
+    entry->next = hash_table[h];
+    hash_table[h] = entry;
+    
+    all_entries[num_unique_words++] = entry;
+    
+    return entry;
+}
+
+/* Compare function for sorting by frequency (descending) */
+static int compare_by_count(const void *a, const void *b) {
+    const WordEntry *wa = *(const WordEntry **)a;
+    const WordEntry *wb = *(const WordEntry **)b;
+    return wb->count - wa->count;  /* Descending */
+}
+
+/* Check if character is part of a word */
+static bool is_word_char(int c) {
+    return isalnum(c) || c == '_' || (unsigned char)c >= 128;
+}
+
+/* Read and process file */
+static bool process_file(const char *filename) {
+    FILE *fp = fopen(filename, "r");
+    if (!fp) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "Cannot open file: %s\n", filename);
+        return false;
+    }
+    
+    char word[MAX_WORD_LEN];
+    int word_len = 0;
+    int c;
+    
+    while ((c = fgetc(fp)) != EOF) {
+        if (is_word_char(c)) {
+            if (word_len < MAX_WORD_LEN - 1) {
+                word[word_len++] = tolower(c);
+            }
+        } else if (word_len > 0) {
+            word[word_len] = '\0';
+            
+            WordEntry *entry = get_or_create_word(word);
+            entry->count++;
+            
+            if (num_words >= MAX_WORDS) {
+                fprintf(stderr, "Too many words in file\n");
+                fclose(fp);
+                return false;
+            }
+            
+            /* Store pointer directly - survives sorting */
+            word_sequence[num_words++] = entry;
+            
+            word_len = 0;
+        }
+    }
+    
+    /* Handle last word if file doesn't end with whitespace */
+    if (word_len > 0) {
+        word[word_len] = '\0';
+        WordEntry *entry = get_or_create_word(word);
+        entry->count++;
+        
+        if (num_words < MAX_WORDS) {
+            word_sequence[num_words++] = entry;
+        }
+    }
+    
+    fclose(fp);
+    return true;
+}
+
+/* Assign ranks based on frequency */
+static void assign_ranks(void) {
+    /* Sort all_entries by frequency (this doesn't affect word_sequence) */
+    qsort(all_entries, num_unique_words, sizeof(WordEntry *), compare_by_count);
+    
+    /* Assign 1-indexed ranks */
+    for (int i = 0; i < num_unique_words; i++) {
+        all_entries[i]->rank = i + 1;
+    }
+}
+
+/* Analyze excerpt and return max rank needed */
+static int analyze_excerpt(int start, int length) {
+    /* Track which entries we've seen using a simple visited array */
+    /* We use the rank field is already assigned, so we can check uniqueness */
+    static bool seen_rank[MAX_UNIQUE_WORDS + 1];
+    memset(seen_rank, 0, (num_unique_words + 1) * sizeof(bool));
+    
+    int max_rank = 0;
+    
+    for (int i = start; i < start + length; i++) {
+        WordEntry *entry = word_sequence[i];
+        int rank = entry->rank;
+        
+        if (!seen_rank[rank]) {
+            seen_rank[rank] = true;
+            if (rank > max_rank) {
+                max_rank = rank;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    
+    return max_rank;
+}
+
+/* Find optimal excerpts for each length */
+static void find_optimal_excerpts(int max_length, ExcerptResult *results) {
+    for (int length = 1; length <= max_length && length <= num_words; length++) {
+        int best_vocab = num_unique_words + 1;
+        int best_start = 0;
+        
+        /* Slide window through text */
+        for (int start = 0; start <= num_words - length; start++) {
+            int vocab_needed = analyze_excerpt(start, length);
+            
+            if (vocab_needed < best_vocab) {
+                best_vocab = vocab_needed;
+                best_start = start;
+            }
+        }
+        
+        results[length - 1].excerpt_length = length;
+        results[length - 1].min_vocab_needed = best_vocab;
+        results[length - 1].start_pos = best_start;
+    }
+}
+
+/* Print excerpt words */
+static void print_excerpt(int start, int length) {
+    for (int i = start; i < start + length; i++) {
+        if (i > start) printf(" ");
+        printf("%s", word_sequence[i]->word);
+    }
+}
+
+/* Print words needed (sorted by rank) */
+static void print_words_needed(int start, int length) {
+    /* Collect unique entries */
+    static WordEntry *unique_entries[MAX_UNIQUE_WORDS];
+    static bool seen_rank[MAX_UNIQUE_WORDS + 1];
+    memset(seen_rank, 0, (num_unique_words + 1) * sizeof(bool));
+    
+    int count = 0;
+    for (int i = start; i < start + length; i++) {
+        WordEntry *entry = word_sequence[i];
+        if (!seen_rank[entry->rank]) {
+            seen_rank[entry->rank] = true;
+            unique_entries[count++] = entry;
+        }
+    }
+    
+    /* Sort by rank (simple bubble sort - small arrays) */
+    for (int i = 0; i < count - 1; i++) {
+        for (int j = i + 1; j < count; j++) {
+            if (unique_entries[i]->rank > unique_entries[j]->rank) {
+                WordEntry *tmp = unique_entries[i];
+                unique_entries[i] = unique_entries[j];
+                unique_entries[j] = tmp;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    
+    /* Print */
+    for (int i = 0; i < count; i++) {
+        if (i > 0) printf(", ");
+        printf("%s(#%d)", unique_entries[i]->word, unique_entries[i]->rank);
+    }
+}
+
+/* Print results */
+static void print_results(ExcerptResult *results, int max_length) {
+    printf("======================================================================\n");
+    printf("VOCABULARY LEARNING CURVE\n");
+    printf("======================================================================\n");
+    printf("\n");
+    printf("For each excerpt length, the minimum number of top-frequency\n");
+    printf("words you need to learn to understand 100%% of some excerpt.\n");
+    printf("\n");
+    printf("Total words in text: %d\n", num_words);
+    printf("Unique words: %d\n", num_unique_words);
+    printf("\n");
+    printf("----------------------------------------------------------------------\n");
+    
+    int prev_vocab = 0;
+    int actual_max = max_length;
+    if (actual_max > num_words) actual_max = num_words;
+    
+    for (int i = 0; i < actual_max; i++) {
+        ExcerptResult *r = &results[i];
+        
+        printf("\n[Length %d] Vocab needed: %d", r->excerpt_length, r->min_vocab_needed);
+        if (r->min_vocab_needed > prev_vocab) {
+            printf(" (+%d)", r->min_vocab_needed - prev_vocab);
+        }
+        printf("\n");
+        
+        printf("  Excerpt: \"");
+        print_excerpt(r->start_pos, r->excerpt_length);
+        printf("\"\n");
+        
+        printf("  Words: ");
+        print_words_needed(r->start_pos, r->excerpt_length);
+        printf("\n");
+        
+        prev_vocab = r->min_vocab_needed;
+    }
+    
+    printf("\n----------------------------------------------------------------------\n");
+    
+    if (actual_max > 0) {
+        ExcerptResult *final = &results[actual_max - 1];
+        printf("\nTo understand a %d-word excerpt,\n", final->excerpt_length);
+        printf("you need to learn at minimum %d top words.\n", final->min_vocab_needed);
+    }
+}
+
+/* Free memory */
+static void cleanup(void) {
+    for (int i = 0; i < num_unique_words; i++) {
+        free(all_entries[i]);
+    }
+}
+
+int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
+    if (argc < 2) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "Usage: %s <file.txt> [max_length]\n", argv[0]);
+        fprintf(stderr, "  max_length: maximum excerpt length to analyze (default: 30)\n");
+        return 1;
+    }
+    
+    const char *filename = argv[1];
+    int max_length = 30;
+    
+    if (argc >= 3) {
+        max_length = atoi(argv[2]);
+        if (max_length < 1) max_length = 1;
+        if (max_length > 1000) max_length = 1000;
+    }
+    
+    /* Initialize hash table */
+    memset(hash_table, 0, sizeof(hash_table));
+    
+    /* Process file */
+    if (!process_file(filename)) {
+        return 1;
+    }
+    
+    if (num_words == 0) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "No words found in file\n");
+        return 1;
+    }
+    
+    /* Assign ranks by frequency */
+    assign_ranks();
+    
+    /* Find optimal excerpts */
+    ExcerptResult *results = malloc(max_length * sizeof(ExcerptResult));
+    if (!results) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "Memory allocation failed\n");
+        cleanup();
+        return 1;
+    }
+    
+    find_optimal_excerpts(max_length, results);
+    
+    /* Print results */
+    print_results(results, max_length);
+    
+    /* Cleanup */
+    free(results);
+    cleanup();
+    
+    return 0;
+}
diff --git a/C/vocabulary_curve/vocabulary_curve b/C/vocabulary_curve/vocabulary_curve
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..ee232fa
Binary files /dev/null and b/C/vocabulary_curve/vocabulary_curve differ
diff --git a/python_pkg/word_frequency/tests/test_vocabulary_curve.py b/python_pkg/word_frequency/tests/test_vocabulary_curve.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..74d7877
--- /dev/null
+++ b/python_pkg/word_frequency/tests/test_vocabulary_curve.py
@@ -0,0 +1,244 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Tests for vocabulary_curve C implementation."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import subprocess
+import tempfile
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+
+# Path to the C executable
+C_EXECUTABLE = Path(__file__).parent.parent.parent.parent / "C" / "vocabulary_curve" / "vocabulary_curve"
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def sample_text_file(tmp_path: Path) -> Path:
+    """Create a sample text file for testing."""
+    text = """The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
+The fox was very quick and the dog was very lazy.
+Quick foxes and lazy dogs are common in stories."""
+    filepath = tmp_path / "sample.txt"
+    filepath.write_text(text, encoding="utf-8")
+    return filepath
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def polish_text_file(tmp_path: Path) -> Path:
+    """Create a Polish sample text file."""
+    text = """Litwo! Ojczyzno moja! Ty jesteś jak zdrowie.
+Ile cię trzeba cenić, ten tylko się dowie,
+Kto cię stracił. Dziś piękność twą w całej ozdobie
+Widzę i opisuję, bo tęsknię po tobie."""
+    filepath = tmp_path / "polish.txt"
+    filepath.write_text(text, encoding="utf-8")
+    return filepath
+
+
+def run_vocabulary_curve(filepath: Path, max_length: int = 10) -> str:
+    """Run the vocabulary_curve executable and return output."""
+    if not C_EXECUTABLE.exists():
+        pytest.skip(f"C executable not found at {C_EXECUTABLE}")
+    
+    result = subprocess.run(
+        [str(C_EXECUTABLE), str(filepath), str(max_length)],
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+        timeout=30,
+    )
+    return result.stdout
+
+
+def extract_excerpts_from_output(output: str) -> list[tuple[int, str]]:
+    """Extract (length, excerpt) pairs from output."""
+    excerpts = []
+    lines = output.split("\n")
+    
+    i = 0
+    while i < len(lines):
+        line = lines[i]
+        if line.strip().startswith("[Length "):
+            # Parse length
+            length = int(line.split("]")[0].split()[-1])
+            
+            # Find excerpt line
+            i += 1
+            while i < len(lines) and not lines[i].strip().startswith("Excerpt:"):
+                i += 1
+            
+            if i < len(lines):
+                excerpt_line = lines[i].strip()
+                # Extract text between quotes
+                if '"' in excerpt_line:
+                    start = excerpt_line.index('"') + 1
+                    end = excerpt_line.rindex('"')
+                    excerpt = excerpt_line[start:end]
+                    excerpts.append((length, excerpt))
+        i += 1
+    
+    return excerpts
+
+
+class TestExcerptValidity:
+    """Tests that verify excerpts are actually found in the source text."""
+
+    def test_excerpt_exists_in_source_text(self, sample_text_file: Path) -> None:
+        """Test that each excerpt can be found in the source text as contiguous words."""
+        import re
+        source_text = sample_text_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8").lower()
+        source_words = re.findall(r'\b[\w]+\b', source_text)
+        output = run_vocabulary_curve(sample_text_file, max_length=10)
+        excerpts = extract_excerpts_from_output(output)
+        
+        assert len(excerpts) > 0, "No excerpts found in output"
+        
+        for length, excerpt in excerpts:
+            excerpt_words = excerpt.lower().split()
+            # Find this sequence in source_words
+            found = False
+            for i in range(len(source_words) - len(excerpt_words) + 1):
+                if source_words[i:i+len(excerpt_words)] == excerpt_words:
+                    found = True
+                    break
+            assert found, (
+                f"Excerpt of length {length} not found in source text:\n"
+                f"  Excerpt words: {excerpt_words}\n"
+                f"  First 30 source words: {source_words[:30]}"
+            )
+
+    def test_excerpt_word_count_matches_length(self, sample_text_file: Path) -> None:
+        """Test that excerpt has the expected number of words."""
+        output = run_vocabulary_curve(sample_text_file, max_length=10)
+        excerpts = extract_excerpts_from_output(output)
+        
+        for length, excerpt in excerpts:
+            word_count = len(excerpt.split())
+            assert word_count == length, (
+                f"Expected {length} words, got {word_count}: '{excerpt}'"
+            )
+
+    def test_polish_excerpt_exists_in_source(self, polish_text_file: Path) -> None:
+        """Test Polish text excerpts are found in source as contiguous words."""
+        import re
+        source_text = polish_text_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8").lower()
+        source_words = re.findall(r'\b[\w]+\b', source_text)
+        output = run_vocabulary_curve(polish_text_file, max_length=8)
+        excerpts = extract_excerpts_from_output(output)
+        
+        assert len(excerpts) > 0, "No excerpts found in output"
+        
+        for length, excerpt in excerpts:
+            excerpt_words = excerpt.lower().split()
+            # Find this sequence in source_words
+            found = False
+            for i in range(len(source_words) - len(excerpt_words) + 1):
+                if source_words[i:i+len(excerpt_words)] == excerpt_words:
+                    found = True
+                    break
+            assert found, (
+                f"Polish excerpt of length {length} not found:\n"
+                f"  Excerpt words: {excerpt_words}\n"
+                f"  Source words: {source_words}"
+            )
+
+    def test_excerpt_is_contiguous(self, sample_text_file: Path) -> None:
+        """Test that excerpt words appear contiguously in source."""
+        import re
+        
+        source_text = sample_text_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8").lower()
+        # Extract words from source
+        source_words = re.findall(r'\b[\w]+\b', source_text)
+        
+        output = run_vocabulary_curve(sample_text_file, max_length=5)
+        excerpts = extract_excerpts_from_output(output)
+        
+        for length, excerpt in excerpts:
+            excerpt_words = excerpt.lower().split()
+            
+            # Find this sequence in source_words
+            found = False
+            for i in range(len(source_words) - length + 1):
+                if source_words[i:i+length] == excerpt_words:
+                    found = True
+                    break
+            
+            assert found, (
+                f"Excerpt words not found as contiguous sequence:\n"
+                f"  Excerpt: {excerpt_words}\n"
+                f"  First 20 source words: {source_words[:20]}"
+            )
+
+
+class TestVocabNeeded:
+    """Tests for vocabulary count calculations."""
+
+    def test_length_1_needs_vocab_1(self, sample_text_file: Path) -> None:
+        """Test that a 1-word excerpt needs exactly 1 vocabulary word."""
+        output = run_vocabulary_curve(sample_text_file, max_length=1)
+        
+        assert "[Length 1] Vocab needed: 1" in output
+
+    def test_vocab_needed_increases_monotonically(self, sample_text_file: Path) -> None:
+        """Test that vocab needed never decreases as length increases."""
+        output = run_vocabulary_curve(sample_text_file, max_length=10)
+        excerpts = extract_excerpts_from_output(output)
+        
+        # Extract vocab needed from output
+        prev_vocab = 0
+        for line in output.split("\n"):
+            if "Vocab needed:" in line:
+                # Parse "Vocab needed: X"
+                parts = line.split("Vocab needed:")
+                if len(parts) > 1:
+                    vocab = int(parts[1].split()[0])
+                    assert vocab >= prev_vocab, (
+                        f"Vocab decreased from {prev_vocab} to {vocab}"
+                    )
+                    prev_vocab = vocab
+
+
+class TestEdgeCases:
+    """Edge case tests."""
+
+    def test_empty_file(self, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+        """Test handling of empty file."""
+        filepath = tmp_path / "empty.txt"
+        filepath.write_text("", encoding="utf-8")
+        
+        if not C_EXECUTABLE.exists():
+            pytest.skip("C executable not found")
+        
+        result = subprocess.run(
+            [str(C_EXECUTABLE), str(filepath), "5"],
+            capture_output=True,
+            text=True,
+        )
+        
+        assert result.returncode != 0 or "No words" in result.stderr
+
+    def test_single_word_file(self, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+        """Test file with single word."""
+        filepath = tmp_path / "single.txt"
+        filepath.write_text("hello", encoding="utf-8")
+        
+        output = run_vocabulary_curve(filepath, max_length=5)
+        
+        assert "[Length 1] Vocab needed: 1" in output
+        # Should only have 1 length since there's only 1 word
+        assert "[Length 2]" not in output
+
+    def test_repeated_word_file(self, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+        """Test file with same word repeated."""
+        filepath = tmp_path / "repeated.txt"
+        filepath.write_text("hello hello hello hello hello", encoding="utf-8")
+        
+        output = run_vocabulary_curve(filepath, max_length=5)
+        
+        # All excerpts should need only 1 vocabulary word
+        for i in range(1, 6):
+            assert f"[Length {i}] Vocab needed: 1" in output
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    pytest.main([__file__, "-v"])
diff --git a/python_pkg/word_frequency/vocabulary_curve.py b/python_pkg/word_frequency/vocabulary_curve.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5163c0e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/python_pkg/word_frequency/vocabulary_curve.py
@@ -0,0 +1,319 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Vocabulary learning curve analyzer.
+
+Finds the minimum vocabulary needed to understand excerpts of increasing length.
+For each excerpt length (1, 2, 3, ... N words), finds the excerpt that requires
+the fewest top-frequency words to understand 100%.
+
+Usage:
+    python -m python_pkg.word_frequency.vocabulary_curve --file text.txt
+    python -m python_pkg.word_frequency.vocabulary_curve --file text.txt --max-length 50
+    python -m python_pkg.word_frequency.vocabulary_curve --text "some text here"
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import argparse
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, NamedTuple
+
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from collections.abc import Sequence
+
+try:
+    from python_pkg.word_frequency.analyzer import analyze_text, read_file
+except ImportError:
+    from analyzer import analyze_text, read_file
+
+
+class ExcerptAnalysis(NamedTuple):
+    """Analysis result for an excerpt length."""
+
+    excerpt_length: int
+    min_vocab_needed: int
+    best_excerpt: str
+    words_needed: list[str]
+
+
+def get_word_rank(word: str, ranked_words: list[str]) -> int | None:
+    """Get the rank (1-indexed) of a word in the frequency list.
+
+    Args:
+        word: The word to look up.
+        ranked_words: List of words sorted by frequency (most common first).
+
+    Returns:
+        1-indexed rank, or None if word not in list.
+    """
+    try:
+        return ranked_words.index(word) + 1
+    except ValueError:
+        return None
+
+
+def analyze_excerpt(
+    excerpt_words: list[str],
+    ranked_words: list[str],
+) -> tuple[int, list[str]]:
+    """Analyze how many top words are needed to understand an excerpt 100%.
+
+    Args:
+        excerpt_words: List of words in the excerpt.
+        ranked_words: List of all words sorted by frequency (most common first).
+
+    Returns:
+        Tuple of (max_rank_needed, list_of_words_needed_sorted_by_rank).
+    """
+    unique_words = set(excerpt_words)
+    ranks: list[tuple[int, str]] = []
+
+    for word in unique_words:
+        rank = get_word_rank(word, ranked_words)
+        if rank is not None:
+            ranks.append((rank, word))
+        else:
+            # Word not in vocabulary - would need infinite learning
+            return float("inf"), []  # type: ignore[return-value]
+
+    if not ranks:
+        return 0, []
+
+    # Sort by rank
+    ranks.sort()
+    max_rank = ranks[-1][0]
+    words_needed = [word for _, word in ranks]
+
+    return max_rank, words_needed
+
+
+def find_optimal_excerpts(
+    text: str,
+    *,
+    max_length: int = 30,
+    case_sensitive: bool = False,
+) -> list[ExcerptAnalysis]:
+    """Find optimal excerpts for each length.
+
+    For each excerpt length from 1 to max_length, finds the excerpt
+    that requires the minimum number of top-frequency words to understand.
+
+    Args:
+        text: The source text to analyze.
+        max_length: Maximum excerpt length to analyze.
+        case_sensitive: Whether to treat words case-sensitively.
+
+    Returns:
+        List of ExcerptAnalysis for each length from 1 to max_length.
+    """
+    # Get word frequencies and create ranked list
+    word_counts = analyze_text(text, case_sensitive=case_sensitive)
+    ranked_words = [word for word, _ in word_counts.most_common()]
+
+    # Extract all words from text (preserving order)
+    import re
+    all_words = re.findall(r"\b[\w]+\b", text, re.UNICODE)
+    if not case_sensitive:
+        all_words = [w.lower() for w in all_words]
+
+    if not all_words:
+        return []
+
+    results: list[ExcerptAnalysis] = []
+
+    for length in range(1, min(max_length + 1, len(all_words) + 1)):
+        best_vocab_needed = float("inf")
+        best_excerpt_words: list[str] = []
+        best_words_needed: list[str] = []
+
+        # Slide window through text
+        for start in range(len(all_words) - length + 1):
+            excerpt_words = all_words[start : start + length]
+            vocab_needed, words_needed = analyze_excerpt(excerpt_words, ranked_words)
+
+            if vocab_needed < best_vocab_needed:
+                best_vocab_needed = vocab_needed
+                best_excerpt_words = excerpt_words
+                best_words_needed = words_needed
+
+        if best_vocab_needed != float("inf"):
+            results.append(
+                ExcerptAnalysis(
+                    excerpt_length=length,
+                    min_vocab_needed=int(best_vocab_needed),
+                    best_excerpt=" ".join(best_excerpt_words),
+                    words_needed=best_words_needed,
+                )
+            )
+
+    return results
+
+
+def format_results(
+    results: list[ExcerptAnalysis],
+    *,
+    show_excerpts: bool = False,
+    show_words: bool = False,
+) -> str:
+    """Format analysis results as a table.
+
+    Args:
+        results: List of ExcerptAnalysis results.
+        show_excerpts: If True, show the actual excerpt text.
+        show_words: If True, show which words are needed.
+
+    Returns:
+        Formatted string with results.
+    """
+    if not results:
+        return "No excerpts found."
+
+    lines: list[str] = []
+    lines.append("=" * 70)
+    lines.append("VOCABULARY LEARNING CURVE")
+    lines.append("=" * 70)
+    lines.append("")
+    lines.append("For each excerpt length, the minimum number of top-frequency")
+    lines.append("words you need to learn to understand 100% of some excerpt.")
+    lines.append("")
+    lines.append("-" * 70)
+
+    # Header
+    if show_excerpts:
+        lines.append(f"{'Length':>6}  {'Vocab':>5}  Excerpt")
+        lines.append(f"{'------':>6}  {'-----':>5}  {'-------'}")
+    else:
+        lines.append(f"{'Length':>6}  {'Vocab Needed':>12}")
+        lines.append(f"{'------':>6}  {'------------':>12}")
+
+    prev_vocab = 0
+    for r in results:
+        # Mark increases
+        marker = ""
+        if r.min_vocab_needed > prev_vocab:
+            marker = f" (+{r.min_vocab_needed - prev_vocab})"
+        prev_vocab = r.min_vocab_needed
+
+        if show_excerpts:
+            # Truncate long excerpts
+            excerpt = r.best_excerpt
+            if len(excerpt) > 50:
+                excerpt = excerpt[:47] + "..."
+            lines.append(f"{r.excerpt_length:>6}  {r.min_vocab_needed:>5}  {excerpt}")
+        else:
+            lines.append(f"{r.excerpt_length:>6}  {r.min_vocab_needed:>12}{marker}")
+
+        if show_words and r.words_needed:
+            lines.append(f"        Words: {', '.join(r.words_needed)}")
+
+    lines.append("-" * 70)
+    lines.append("")
+
+    # Summary statistics
+    if results:
+        final = results[-1]
+        lines.append(f"To understand a {final.excerpt_length}-word excerpt,")
+        lines.append(f"you need to learn at minimum {final.min_vocab_needed} top words.")
+
+    return "\n".join(lines)
+
+
+def main(argv: Sequence[str] | None = None) -> int:
+    """Main entry point.
+
+    Args:
+        argv: Command line arguments.
+
+    Returns:
+        Exit code.
+    """
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
+        description="Analyze minimum vocabulary needed for excerpt lengths.",
+        formatter_class=argparse.RawDescriptionHelpFormatter,
+        epilog=__doc__,
+    )
+
+    input_group = parser.add_mutually_exclusive_group(required=True)
+    input_group.add_argument(
+        "--text",
+        "-t",
+        type=str,
+        help="Raw text to analyze",
+    )
+    input_group.add_argument(
+        "--file",
+        "-f",
+        type=str,
+        help="Path to a file to analyze",
+    )
+
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--max-length",
+        "-m",
+        type=int,
+        default=30,
+        help="Maximum excerpt length to analyze (default: 30)",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--show-excerpts",
+        "-e",
+        action="store_true",
+        help="Show the actual excerpt text for each length",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--show-words",
+        "-w",
+        action="store_true",
+        help="Show which words are needed for each excerpt",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--case-sensitive",
+        "-c",
+        action="store_true",
+        help="Treat words case-sensitively",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--output",
+        "-o",
+        type=str,
+        help="Output file path (default: print to stdout)",
+    )
+
+    args = parser.parse_args(argv)
+
+    try:
+        if args.text:
+            text = args.text
+        else:
+            text = read_file(args.file)
+
+        results = find_optimal_excerpts(
+            text,
+            max_length=args.max_length,
+            case_sensitive=args.case_sensitive,
+        )
+
+        output = format_results(
+            results,
+            show_excerpts=args.show_excerpts,
+            show_words=args.show_words,
+        )
+
+        if args.output:
+            Path(args.output).write_text(output, encoding="utf-8")
+            print(f"Output written to {args.output}")  # noqa: T201
+        else:
+            print(output)  # noqa: T201
+
+    except FileNotFoundError as e:
+        print(f"Error: File not found - {e}", file=sys.stderr)  # noqa: T201
+        return 1
+    except UnicodeDecodeError as e:
+        print(f"Error: Could not decode file - {e}", file=sys.stderr)  # noqa: T201
+        return 1
+
+    return 0
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    sys.exit(main())