Reading Candide in French: what level do you need?
How many words in every 100 of the original French text you will probably not know, at each French level from A1 to C2. Estimated over the whole book with Solaread’s own word-difficulty model.
- Original title
- Candide
- Author
- Voltaire
- First published
- 1759
- Length
- About 33,200 words
Short answer
For a French learner it is just right only at C2: 3.7 new words in every 100. At B1 it is too hard, 10.8 in 100. It is the fifth easiest of the 10 French classics we measured.
New words per 100, by level
Estimated over all 33,221 running words. Character names are left out. The labels follow Solaread’s difficulty scale: Easy means knowing 98 of every 100 words, Just right 95, A little hard 90, and below that Too hard.
Candide vocabulary in French, by level
At A2
- baron46×
- jésuite33×
- bulgare30×
- mouton31×
- abbé25×
- souper25×
- mille51×
- galère18×
- fesait17×
- inquisiteur16×
- philosophe16×
- savant16×
The 12 words an A2 reader is most likely to stop at in this book, with how often each appears. Together they are about 6% of the new words at this level.
At B1
- baron46×
- jésuite33×
- bulgare30×
- abbé25×
- souper25×
- mouton31×
- galère18×
- fesait17×
- inquisiteur16×
- philosophe16×
- savant16×
- piastre15×
The 12 words a B1 reader is most likely to stop at in this book, with how often each appears. Together they are about 7% of the new words at this level.
At B2
- jésuite33×
- bulgare30×
- abbé25×
- fesait17×
- inquisiteur16×
- piastre15×
- écrier14×
- périgourdin13×
- philosophe16×
- long-temps12×
- galère18×
- savant16×
The 12 words a B2 reader is most likely to stop at in this book, with how often each appears. Together they are about 9% of the new words at this level.
The opening lines in French
Il y avait en Vestphalie, dans le château de M. le baron de Thunder-ten-tronckh, un jeune garçon à qui la nature avait donné les moeurs les plus douces. Sa physionomie annonçait son âme. Il avait le jugement assez droit, avec l’esprit le plus simple; c’est, je crois, pour cette raison qu’on le nommait Candide. Les anciens domestiques de la maison soupçonnaient qu’il était fils de la soeur de monsieur le baron et d’un bon et honnête gentilhomme du voisinage, que cette demoiselle ne voulut jamais épouser parce qu’il n’avait pu prouver que soixante et onze quartiers, et que le reste de son arbre généalogique avait été perdu par l’injure du temps.
Open the free EPUB in Solaread and the words it marks follow your own level, with glosses in the language you choose.
Books with a similar level
- The Phantom of the Opera9.2 new words per 100 at B1
- Contes de la Bécasse11.4 at B1
- Le Tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours12.3 at B1
Questions
What French level do you need to read Candide?
For the original French text it is just right only at C2, with 3.7 new words in every 100. At B1 it is too hard, 10.8 in 100.
Is Candide hard to read in French?
It is the fifth easiest of the 10 French classics we measured. At B1 expect about one new word in 9; at B2, 6.8 in 100.
Where can I get Candide in French for free?
The original French text is in the public domain. Project Gutenberg has a free EPUB you can import into Solaread.
Read it with help only where you need it
Import the free EPUB. Solaread marks the words you probably don’t know, at your level.