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The article focuses on the particular features of linguistic deficits in children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and/or specific reading learning disability (SRLD). A first objective is to present the current state of knowledge on the role of vocabulary in DLD and SRLD. This has a double impact: on the one hand, on written comprehension, on the other hand, on the procedures for identifying written words. A second objective is to suggest that certain differences observed between children with DLD or SRLD stem from methodological choices. Thus, in studies on SRLD, the level of vocabulary is a control variable, intended not to differentiate the group of children with SRLD from that of the typical readers, and the evaluations then relate most often to the procedure’s identification of written words. On the other hand, it is the level of comprehension of oral language (from the word, to the sentence and to the text) that is at the center of studies on DLD. This suggests that vocabulary and written comprehension are relevant variables that should be taken into account in understanding these two disorders.