Immensee: reading level, length and free edition

Name: Immensee
Author: Theodor Storm

Immensee by Theodor Storm is a novella in German. Our team rates it B1. It runs to 9,744 words with 2,463 different word forms, about 1–1.5 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.

Author: Theodor Storm
Language: German
Level: B1
Form: novella
Words: 9,744
Different word forms: 2,463
Forms for 95% / 98%: 1,976 / 2,269
Reading time: 1–1.5 h
Free edition: Project Gutenberg

Is Immensee right for your level?

To recognise 95% of the running words in Immensee, you need its 1,976 most frequent word forms; for 98%, the share at which most readers manage a novel without a dictionary, 2,269. The median German B1 book in our table needs 1,456 forms for 95%, so by this measure the book is harder than most for its level: number 4 of 4, 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 Immensee 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.

mitunter 8
schwamm 6
feinen 5
gewollt 4
rückte 4
jenseits 4
altes 4
gesungen 4
rollte 4
unbeweglich 4
grüne 3
winkte 3
dunkler 3
verwandelt 3
setzten 3

How does it begin?

An einem Spätherbstnachmittage ging ein alter wohlgekleideter Mann langsam die Straße hinab. Er schien von einem Spaziergange nach Hause zurückzukehren, denn seine Schnallenschuhe, die einer vorübergegangenen Mode angehörten, waren bestäubt. Den langen Rohrstock mit goldenem Knopf trug er unter dem Arm;

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 *Immensee* (9,744 words) at four reading speeds.
Words	100 wpm	150 wpm	200 wpm	250 wpm
9,744	1.5 h	1 h	1 h	under 1 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 #6651. 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.