French reading level test — 2 minutes, 24 words
This free test gives you a clear, honest answer to the question every French learner eventually asks: "What level is my reading, really?" In about two minutes, you work through 24 French words drawn from Beeblio's frequency bands — 300, 800, 1,500, 3,000, 5,000, 8,000, and 12,000 most common words — and simply mark the ones you know. Because the words are ranked by real-world frequency using the wordfreq corpus, your answers map directly to how much everyday French text you can already handle.
The result tells you which frequency band you read comfortably — for example, "you're solid up to the 1,500 most common words," which already covers around 80% of everyday French text. That single number helps you choose articles, books, or Beeblio texts at the right level: challenging enough to learn from, easy enough to actually understand.
No sign-up is needed, and the test takes no longer than it does to make a coffee. Try it once now, then again in a few months to watch your range grow.
How it works
You see 24 French 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
- lui (top 300)
- ton (top 300)
- vers (top 300)
- enfants (top 300)
- retour (top 800)
- avis (top 800)
- demain (top 800)
- texte (top 800)
- informations (top 1,500)
- absolument (top 1,500)
- blanche (top 1,500)
- disait (top 1,500)
Questions
How can just 24 words tell me my reading level?
Each word is carefully chosen to represent one of Beeblio's frequency bands, so your pattern of known and unknown words reliably pinpoints where your comfortable reading range ends. It's not an exhaustive vocabulary test — it's a quick calibration, like a doctor tapping your knee rather than running a full scan.
What do the frequency bands actually mean in practice?
Each band is the total pool of most-common French words: the 300 band means the 300 most frequent, the 800 band the 800 most frequent, and so on up to 12,000. Knowing the words up to a given band tells you roughly how much of a typical French text you'll recognise without needing a dictionary.
Should I count a word as 'known' if I can only half-remember it?
Count it as known only if you'd recognise it instantly while reading, without stopping to think. If you need a moment to recall it, it will slow you down in real text — mark it as unknown and let the test place you at the level where reading actually feels comfortable.