Is Jane Eyre hard to read? Its reading level from A1 to C2
How many words in every 100 you will probably not know, at each level from A1 to C2. Estimated over the whole book with Solaread’s own word-difficulty model.
- Author
- Charlotte Brontë
- First published
- 1847
- Length
- About 181,000 words
- Copyright
- Public domain
Short answer
Just right only at C2: 3.9 new words in every 100. At B1 it is too hard, 12.0 in 100. It is the fifth hardest of the 20 English classics we measured.
New words per 100, by level
Estimated over all 181,494 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.
Jane Eyre vocabulary by level
At A2
- marry107×
- eye301×
- sit205×
- lay121×
- nor146×
- sir316×
- strange102×
- smile99×
- lip75×
- shall241×
- servant70×
- glance68×
The 12 words an A2 reader is most likely to stop at in this book, with how often each appears. Together they are about 2% of the new words at this level.
At B1
- glance68×
- gaze55×
- exclaim44×
- candle58×
- scarcely44×
- to-night41×
- ere41×
- servant70×
- wander40×
- whisper41×
- inquire36×
- brow37×
The 12 words a B1 reader is most likely to stop at in this book, with how often each appears. Together they are about 2% of the new words at this level.
At B2
- exclaim44×
- to-night41×
- ere41×
- scarcely44×
- countenance33×
- schoolroom33×
- ma'am32×
- governess31×
- moor35×
- inquire36×
- hearth29×
- drawing-room26×
The 12 words a B2 reader is most likely to stop at in this book, with how often each appears. Together they are about 3% of the new words at this level.
The opening lines
There was no possibility of taking a walk that day. We had been wandering, indeed, in the leafless shrubbery an hour in the morning; but since dinner (Mrs. Reed, when there was no company, dined early) the cold winter wind had brought with it clouds so sombre, and a rain so penetrating, that further outdoor exercise was now out of the question.
I was glad of it: I never liked long walks, especially on chilly afternoons: dreadful to me was the coming home in the raw twilight, with nipped fingers and toes, and a heart saddened by the chidings of Bessie, the nurse, and humbled by the consciousness of my physical inferiority to Eliza, John, and Georgiana Reed.
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 Time Machine11.7 new words per 100 at B1
- Wuthering Heights12.1 at B1
- Heart of Darkness12.2 at B1
Questions
Is Jane Eyre hard to read?
At B1 it is too hard, with 12.0 new words in every 100 (about one in 8). It is just right only at C2.
What is the reading level of Jane Eyre?
On Solaread’s scale it is just right only at C2, and the fifth hardest of the 20 English classics we measured. At B2, 7.9 in every 100 words are new.
Where can I get Jane Eyre for free?
It 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.