Boule de Suif: reading level, length and free edition
Boule de Suif by Guy de Maupassant is a short stories in French. Our team rates it B1. It runs to 36,423 words with 6,800 different word forms, about 3–6 h of reading at 200 to 100 words per minute, and it is free from Project Gutenberg.
- Author
- Guy de Maupassant
- Language
- French
- Level
- B1
- Form
- short stories
- Words
- 36,423
- Different word forms
- 6,800
- Forms for 95% / 98%
- 4,979 / 6,072
- Reading time
- 3–6 h
- Free edition
- Project Gutenberg
Nouvelle cinglante sur l’hypocrisie bourgeoise pendant la guerre de 1870.
Is Boule de Suif right for your level?
To recognise 95% of the running words in Boule de Suif, you need its 4,979 most frequent word forms; for 98%, the share at which most readers manage a novel without a dictionary, 6,072. The median French B1 book in our table needs 4,435 forms for 95%, so by this measure the book is typical for its level: number 3 of 3, 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 Boule de Suif uses most often but that are not among the 2,000 most common word forms across all 37 French 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.
- soeurs 16
- épave 11
- bûche 11
- client 10
- annonça 9
- cocher 9
- prononça 9
- magnétisme 8
- officiers 8
- paysans 8
- demeurait 8
- provisions 8
- mirent 8
- apparut 8
- assurément 8
How does it begin?
Pendant plusieurs jours de suite des lambeaux d’armée en déroute avaient traversé la ville. Ce n’était point de la troupe, mais des hordes débandées. Les hommes avaient la barbe longue et sale, des uniformes en guenilles, et ils avançaient d’une allure molle, sans drapeau, sans régiment.
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?
| Words | 100 wpm | 150 wpm | 200 wpm | 250 wpm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36,423 | 6 h | 4 h | 3 h | 2.5 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 #10746. 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.
What to read next at B1
French books at the same level that ask for a similar amount of vocabulary:
- Le Horla, Guy de Maupassant: 41,691 words, 4,435 forms for 95%
- Riquet à la Houppe, Charles Perrault: 2,196 words, 508 forms for 95%
See also all French books by level and books at B1 in all five languages.