In der Strafkolonie: reading level, length and free edition
In der Strafkolonie by Franz Kafka is a short story in German. Our team rates it B1. It runs to 10,321 words with 2,338 different word forms, about 1–1.5 h of reading at 200 to 100 words per minute, and it is free from Project Gutenberg.
- Author
- Franz Kafka
- Language
- German
- Level
- B1
- Form
- short story
- Words
- 10,321
- Different word forms
- 2,338
- Forms for 95% / 98%
- 1,822 / 2,132
- Reading time
- 1–1.5 h
- Free edition
- Project Gutenberg
Kafkaeske Erzählung über eine grausame Hinrichtungsmaschine.
Is In der Strafkolonie right for your level?
To recognise 95% of the running words in In der Strafkolonie, you need its 1,822 most frequent word forms; for 98%, the share at which most readers manage a novel without a dictionary, 2,132. 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 3 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 In der Strafkolonie 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.
- gewiss 12
- fasste 12
- früheren 9
- schliesslich 7
- liess 7
- grosser 6
- erklärt 4
- schreien 4
- zweifellos 4
- sechste 4
- genügt 4
- gewissermassen 3
- gefolgt 3
- gross 3
- wusch 3
How does it begin?
»Es ist ein eigentümlicher Apparat,« sagte der Offizier zu dem Forschungsreisenden und überblickte mit einem gewissermassen bewundernden Blick den ihm doch wohlbekannten Apparat. Der Reisende schien nur aus Höflichkeit der Einladung des Kommandanten gefolgt zu sein, der ihn aufgefordert hatte, der Exekution eines Soldaten beizuwohnen, der wegen Ungehorsam und Beleidigung des Vorgesetzten verurteilt worden war.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10,321 | 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 #25791. 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
German books at the same level that ask for a similar amount of vocabulary:
- Das Urteil, Franz Kafka: 4,060 words, 1,090 forms for 95%
- Immensee, Theodor Storm: 9,744 words, 1,976 forms for 95%
- Der Struwwelpeter, Heinrich Hoffmann: 2,988 words, 966 forms for 95%
See also all German books by level and books at B1 in all five languages.