The Art of War: reading level, length and free edition

Name: The Art of War
Author: Sun Tzu

The Art of War by Sun Tzu is a non-fiction in English, in English translation. Our team rates it B2. It runs to 54,454 words with 6,492 different word forms, about 4.5–9 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: Sun Tzu
Language: English
Level: B2
Form: non-fiction
Words: 54,454
Different word forms: 6,492
Forms for 95% / 98%: 3,770 / 5,403
Reading time: 4.5–9 h
Free edition: Project Gutenberg

"The Art of War" by active 6th century B.C. Sunzi is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the 5th century BC. Composed of 13 chapters, each addresses different aspects of warfare, military strategy, and tactics. The work emphasizes intelligence operations, environmental conditions, and discipline. For centuries, it has profoundly influenced military thinking across East and West, shaping the strategies of commanders from ancient Chinese kings to modern generals, and remains one of history’s most influential texts on strategy.

Is The Art of War right for your level?

To recognise 95% of the running words in The Art of War, you need its 3,770 most frequent word forms; for 98%, the share at which most readers manage a novel without a dictionary, 5,403. The median English B2 book in our table needs 3,747 forms for 95%, so by this measure the book is typical for its level: number 11 of 19, 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 The Art of War uses most often but that are not among the 2,000 most common word forms across all 309 English 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.

spies 62
text 46
commentators 42
chapters 31
plans 30
forces 29
defeat 29
dynasty 29
translation 28
cheng 27
tactics 26
retreat 26
commentary 25
rear 25
edition 22

How does it begin?

To my brother Captain Valentine Giles, R.G. in the hope that a work 2400 years old may yet contain lessons worth consideration by the soldier of today this translation is affectionately dedicated.

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 *The Art of War* (54,454 words) at four reading speeds.
Words	100 wpm	150 wpm	200 wpm	250 wpm
54,454	9 h	6 h	4.5 h	3.5 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 #132. 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.