diff --git a/w2v-server.c b/w2v-server.c
index cc8734c..3a8092c 100644
--- a/w2v-server.c
+++ b/w2v-server.c
@@ -534,6 +534,13 @@
   return (wl);
 }
 
+long getWordNumber(char *word) {
+  wordlist *wl = getTargetWords(word, 0);
+  if(wl->length > 0)
+    return(wl->wordi[0]);
+  return(0);
+}
+
 float get_distance(long b, long c) {
   long a;
   float dist = 0;