Reading The Metamorphosis in German: what level do you need?
How many words in every 100 of the original German text you will probably not know, at each German level from A1 to C2. Estimated over the whole book with Solaread’s own word-difficulty model.
- Original title
- Die Verwandlung
- Author
- Franz Kafka
- First published
- 1915
- Length
- About 19,100 words
Short answer
For a German learner it is just right from B2: 4.5 new words in every 100. At B1 it is a little hard, 7.8 in 100. It is the second easiest of the 10 German classics we measured.
New words per 100, by level
Estimated over all 19,075 running words. German capitalises every noun, so some character names are still counted. 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.
The Metamorphosis vocabulary in German, by level
At A2
- prokurist44×
- schwester107×
- bedienerin21×
- kanapee20×
- sessel20×
- zimmer79×
- gänzlich15×
- beinchen14×
- nebenzimmer14×
- umdrehen13×
- anblick13×
- vorzimmer12×
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
- prokurist44×
- bedienerin21×
- kanapee20×
- beinchen14×
- nebenzimmer14×
- vorzimmer12×
- augenblicklich10×
- leintuch8×
- sessel20×
- speis8×
- hereinkommen7×
- dienstmädchen7×
The 12 words a B1 reader is most likely to stop at in this book, with how often each appears. Together they are about 11% of the new words at this level.
At B2
- prokurist44×
- bedienerin21×
- kanapee20×
- beinchen14×
- nebenzimmer14×
- vorzimmer12×
- leintuch8×
- eiligst5×
- hereinkommen7×
- gretes4×
- türflügel4×
- dienstmädchen7×
The 12 words a B2 reader is most likely to stop at in this book, with how often each appears. Together they are about 15% of the new words at this level.
The opening lines in German
Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte, fand er sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheueren Ungeziefer verwandelt. Er lag auf seinem panzerartig harten Rücken und sah, wenn er den Kopf ein wenig hob, seinen gewölbten, braunen, von bogenförmigen Versteifungen geteilten Bauch, auf dessen Höhe sich die Bettdecke, zum gänzlichen Niedergleiten bereit, kaum noch erhalten konnte. Seine vielen, im Vergleich zu seinem sonstigen Umfang kläglich dünnen Beine flimmerten ihm hilflos vor den Augen.
»Was ist mit mir geschehen?« dachte er. Es war kein Traum. Sein Zimmer, ein richtiges, nur etwas zu kleines Menschenzimmer, lag ruhig zwischen den vier wohlbekannten Wänden.
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
- Der Prozess7.1 new words per 100 at B1
- Die Leiden des jungen Werther8.6 at B1
- Immensee8.6 at B1
Questions
What German level do you need to read The Metamorphosis?
For the original German text it is just right from B2, with 4.5 new words in every 100. At B1 it is a little hard, 7.8 in 100.
Is The Metamorphosis hard to read in German?
It is the second easiest of the 10 German classics we measured. At B1 expect about one new word in 13; at B2, 4.5 in 100.
Where can I get The Metamorphosis in German for free?
The original German 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.