Solaread

Reading The Phantom of the Opera 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
Le Fantôme de l'Opéra
Author
Gaston Leroux
First published
1909
Length
About 102,000 words

Short answer

For a French learner it is just right from C1: 4.1 new words in every 100. At B1 it is a little hard, 9.2 in 100. It is the fourth easiest of the 10 French classics we measured.

New words per 100, by level

Estimated over all 102,482 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.

The Phantom of the Opera vocabulary in French, by level

At A2

  1. vicomte98×
  2. supplice54×
  3. trappe54×
  4. comte76×
  5. aussitôt51×
  6. lac86×
  7. dessous64×
  8. demeurer43×
  9. enveloppe42×
  10. apercevoir56×
  11. franc47×
  12. commissaire61×

The 12 words an A2 reader is most likely to stop at in this book, with how often each appears. Together they are about 5% of the new words at this level.

At B1

  1. vicomte98×
  2. supplice54×
  3. trappe54×
  4. aussitôt51×
  5. demeurer43×
  6. comte76×
  7. écrier26×
  8. tonneau26×
  9. enveloppe42×
  10. quant28×
  11. épingle24×
  12. lanterne23×

The 12 words a B1 reader is most likely to stop at in this book, with how often each appears. Together they are about 5% of the new words at this level.

At B2

  1. vicomte98×
  2. supplice54×
  3. trappe54×
  4. écrier26×
  5. couac22×
  6. machiniste22×
  7. danseuse20×
  8. ouvreur20×
  9. régisseur20×
  10. corridor20×
  11. directorial18×
  12. lanterne23×

The 12 words a B2 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.

The opening lines in French

Ce soir-là, qui était celui où MM. Debienne et Poligny, les directeurs démissionnaires de l'Opéra, donnaient leur dernière soirée de gala, à l'occasion de leur départ, la loge de la Sorelli, un des premiers sujets de la danse, était subitement envahie par une demi-douzaine de ces demoiselles du corps de ballet qui remontaient de scène après avoir «dansé» Polyeucte. Elles s'y précipitèrent dans une grande confusion, les unes faisant entendre des rires excessifs et peu naturels, et les autres des cris de terreur.

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

Questions

What French level do you need to read The Phantom of the Opera?

For the original French text it is just right from C1, with 4.1 new words in every 100. At B1 it is a little hard, 9.2 in 100.

Is The Phantom of the Opera hard to read in French?

It is the fourth easiest of the 10 French classics we measured. At B1 expect about one new word in 11; at B2, 5.3 in 100.

Where can I get The Phantom of the Opera 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.

Free EPUB from Project Gutenberg