Reading Don Quixote in Spanish: what level do you need?
How many words in every 100 of the original Spanish text you will probably not know, at each Spanish level from A1 to C2. Estimated over the whole book with Solaread’s own word-difficulty model.
- Original title
- Don Quijote
- Author
- Miguel de Cervantes
- First published
- 1605
- Length
- About 366,000 words
Short answer
For a Spanish learner it is just right from C1: 4.3 new words in every 100. At B1 it is a little hard, 7.4 in 100. It is the fifth easiest of the 10 Spanish classics we measured.
New words per 100, by level
Estimated over all 366,205 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.
Don Quixote vocabulary in Spanish, by level
At A2
- merced974×
- vuestra838×
- don2707×
- caballero948×
- andante356×
- mesmo341×
- duque430×
- escudero303×
- amo273×
- desta231×
- replicar229×
- doncella218×
The 12 words an A2 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 B1
- mesmo341×
- andante356×
- escudero303×
- desta231×
- vuesa202×
- deste148×
- ínsula144×
- agora147×
- menester150×
- barbero169×
- doncella218×
- dél129×
The 12 words a B1 reader is most likely to stop at in this book, with how often each appears. Together they are about 8% of the new words at this level.
At B2
- mesmo341×
- desta231×
- vuesa202×
- andante356×
- deste148×
- ínsula144×
- dél129×
- rucio120×
- ventero118×
- dellos96×
- agora147×
- menester150×
The 12 words a B2 reader is most likely to stop at in this book, with how often each appears. Together they are about 10% of the new words at this level.
The opening lines in Spanish
En un lugar de la Mancha, de cuyo nombre no quiero acordarme, no ha mucho tiempo que vivía un hidalgo de los de lanza en astillero, adarga antigua, rocín flaco y galgo corredor. Una olla de algo más vaca que carnero, salpicón las más noches, duelos y quebrantos los sábados, lantejas los viernes, algún palomino de añadidura los domingos, consumían las tres partes de su hacienda. El resto della concluían sayo de velarte, calzas de velludo para las fiestas, con sus pantuflos de lo mesmo, y los días de entresemana se honraba con su vellorí de lo más fino.
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
- El clavo6.8 new words per 100 at B1
- El sí de las niñas7.1 at B1
- Pepita Jiménez7.8 at B1
Questions
What Spanish level do you need to read Don Quixote?
For the original Spanish text it is just right from C1, with 4.3 new words in every 100. At B1 it is a little hard, 7.4 in 100.
Is Don Quixote hard to read in Spanish?
It is the fifth easiest of the 10 Spanish classics we measured. At B1 expect about one new word in 14; at B2, 5.1 in 100.
Where can I get Don Quixote in Spanish for free?
The original Spanish 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.