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Dutch reading texts by level

30 texts from A1 to B1, 3 049 words in all, with 107 comprehension questions. Each text shows how much of it is explained in this site’s vocabulary — calculated, not claimed.

A1 (9)

A2 (10)

B1 (11)

B1  ·  143 words  ·  1 min

StoryEveryday life

Een kamer zoeken

Looking for a room in a student town: many applicants, little space.

B1  ·  154 words  ·  1 min

StoryEveryday life

De eerste werkdag

The first day in a Dutch office: first names, a sandwich for lunch and a meeting that ends on time.

B1  ·  146 words  ·  1 min

StoryEveryday life

Afval scheiden

How a family separates its rubbish — and why there is less of it as time goes on.

B1  ·  141 words  ·  1 min

StoryEveryday life

De dijk

A grandfather tells how the water came — and what changed afterwards.

B1  ·  136 words  ·  1 min

StoryEveryday life

Vrijwilliger in de bibliotheek

Why a pensioner reads to children every Wednesday.

B1  ·  114 words  ·  1 min

StoryLiving there

De verhuizing

A move to the third floor with no lift — and a trick that only old Dutch houses have.

B1  ·  165 words  ·  1 min

AdvertWork

Vacature: verzorgende in een woonzorgcentrum

A job advertisement for care work: what is wanted and what you get.

B1  ·  179 words  ·  1 min

StoryLiving with water

Storm op de veerboot

A crossing to the island in a storm — and a woman who is not afraid.

B1  ·  117 words  ·  1 min

EmailWork

Een mail over het project

A colleague sums up a meeting — and asks for an answer by Friday.

B1  ·  119 words  ·  1 min

DialogueLiving there

Bij de gemeente

Registering after a move: an appointment at the town hall and a missing paper.

B1  ·  145 words  ·  1 min

StoryLiving with water

Leven met water

A country below sea level: dykes, pumps and houses that float.

Learning words one at a time and practising grammar one point at a time is work on separate parts. A text is the first thing that needs both at once — and the only exercise where nobody tells you which rule is being tested.

What makes a graded text is a number: how much of it you already know at your level. If it is too low, reading turns into looking things up. Here that number is calculated for every text against this site’s vocabulary and shown with the text — together with the level that follows from it, next to the level on the label.

Every text is written for this site. Click a word to look it up without leaving the page.

What is measured here — and what is not

Coverage tells you about this site’s vocabulary, not about the text. If a text stands at 96 %, four words in a hundred are not explained anywhere here; they are then in the glossary next to the text.

The measured level can be below the stated one, and that is intentional. A set of minutes made up of perfectly ordinary words can be a very hard text — what makes it hard is the sentences they sit in. That is why the average sentence length is shown alongside.

Whether a text is good is measured by nobody here. That is for the reader to decide.