Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts: reading level, length and free edition

Name: Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts
Author: Joseph von Eichendorff

Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts by Joseph von Eichendorff is a novella in German. Our team rates it B2. It runs to 31,367 words with 5,046 different word forms, about 2.5–5 h of reading at 200 to 100 words per minute, and it is free from Project Gutenberg.

By the Readlang Mobile team (an independent app, not affiliated with readlang.com). Updated 31 October 2026.

Cover of Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts

Author: Joseph von Eichendorff
Language: German
Level: B2
Form: novella
Words: 31,367
Different word forms: 5,046
Forms for 95% / 98%: 3,478 / 4,419
Reading time: 2.5–5 h
Free edition: Project Gutenberg

Romantische Wanderungsgeschichte eines sorglosen jungen Mannes.

Is Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts right for your level?

To recognise 95% of the running words in Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts, you need its 3,478 most frequent word forms; for 98%, the share at which most readers manage a novel without a dictionary, 4,419. The median German B2 book in our table needs 3,890 forms for 95%, so by this measure the book is typical for its level: number 4 of 8, easiest first.

A word form is any spelling that appears in the text, so “walk” and “walked” count twice, and names count too. These numbers are a guide to how much vocabulary the book asks for, not a test. The level itself was set by hand by our team. Before you commit, read one page of the free edition and count the words you do not know: the one-page test takes two minutes.

Which words should you know before you start?

These are the words that Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts uses most often but that are not among the 2,000 most common word forms across all 40 German books in our library; the number is how many times each appears. Names of people and places are left out. Learning a handful of them first makes the opening chapters easier.

unterdes 24
einsamen 12
prächtig 11
herüber 11
rauschte 10
flogen 9
ärgerte 9
sangen 9
durcheinander 9
rannte 9
prächtige 9
blasen 9
heller 8
gesungen 8
lustigen 8

How does it begin?

Schreibweise und Interpunktion des Originaltextes wurden übernommen; lediglich offensichtliche Druckfehler wurden korrigiert. Änderungen sind im Text gekennzeichnet , der Originaltext erscheint beim Überfahren mit der Maus. Eine Liste der vorgenommenen Änderungen findet sich am Ende des Textes.

From the Project Gutenberg edition, which is in the public domain. If this paragraph already feels slow, try a book one level lower.

How long does it take to read?

Hours to read *Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts* (31,367 words) at four reading speeds.
Words	100 wpm	150 wpm	200 wpm	250 wpm
31,367	5 h	3.5 h	2.5 h	2 h

Learners reading a book at their level often manage 100 to 150 words per minute, and readers in their first language 200 to 250. Where these speeds come from, and a calculator for your own: How long does it take to read a book?

Where can you read it for free?

The free edition is Project Gutenberg eBook #35312. Project Gutenberg publishes books that are in the public domain in the United States, as EPUB, Kindle and plain text, free and without an account. Copyright terms differ by country: if you live outside the United States, check that the book is out of copyright where you are before you download it.

To read it with a translation over every word you tap, open it in Readlang Mobile on iPhone or iPad.