Catalan reading level test — 2 minutes, 24 words
This quick test estimates which Catalan frequency band you can read comfortably — in about two minutes. You'll see 24 words drawn from Beeblio's frequency bands (300, 800, 1,500, 3,000, 5,000, 8,000, and 12,000 most common Catalan words), and you simply mark the ones you know. Your answers pinpoint roughly where unfamiliar vocabulary starts to slow you down.
Word frequency matters because the most common words do most of the work. The ~1,500 most frequent Catalan words cover around 80% of everyday text, so knowing which band you've reached tells you something genuinely useful: whether a Catalan news article, novel, or subtitled film is likely to feel comfortable or frustrating right now.
The frequency ranks come from the wordfreq corpus, the same data Beeblio uses to colour-code every word in a text. Take the test, get your band, and you'll know exactly which level of Catalan reading material to tackle next.
How it works
You see 24 Catalan words, from the most common down to rank 12,000, and say for each whether you know it. Knowing at least two thirds of a band's words passes that band; your level is the highest band passed. No account, two minutes.
The bands
- First words — the top 300 words
- Getting by — the top 800 words
- Everyday — the top 1,500 words
- Confident — the top 3,000 words
- Fluent reader — the top 5,000 words
- Advanced — the top 8,000 words
- Near-native — the top 12,000 words
Sample words from the test
- tots (top 300)
- tan (top 300)
- davant (top 300)
- podem (top 300)
- units (top 800)
- heu (top 800)
- voltant (top 800)
- motiu (top 800)
- demana (top 1,500)
- víctimes (top 1,500)
- terres (top 1,500)
- possibilitat (top 1,500)
Questions
How does 24 words tell me anything reliable?
The 24 words are spread strategically across Beeblio's frequency bands, so your pattern of known and unknown words is enough to place you within a band. It's a quick estimate rather than a precise score — think of it as a compass reading, not a laboratory measurement.
What does my result actually mean for reading real Catalan?
Your result tells you roughly which slice of the Catalan vocabulary you're comfortable with. For example, if you reach the 1,500-word band, you recognise enough words to cover about 80% of typical everyday text, which means most common articles and simple books should be manageable.
Should I count a word as known if I've seen it before but wouldn't use it myself?
Mark it as known if you'd understand it without hesitation when reading — you don't need to be able to produce it yourself. If you have to stop and think, it's safer to leave it unmarked, since the test is measuring comfortable reading recognition.