How we level our Spanish texts
Reading in Spanish is an independent project for people learning Spanish by reading. Here is how each text gets its level and what the marks on a page mean.
What each level means
| Level | What you will find |
|---|---|
| A1 | Beginner. Short sentences in the present tense, everyday words: food, family, the street. |
| A2 | Elementary. Simple past tense, short dialogues, recipes and small stories from daily life. |
| B1 | Intermediate. Longer stories with the imperfect and the preterite, traditions, first subjunctive. |
| B2 | Upper intermediate. Opinions and real-world topics, subjunctive and connectors, regional vocabulary. |
| C1 | Advanced. Original literature and essays with a glossary for the hardest words. |
How a text is written
Texts are written for a target level of the Common European Framework (CEFR): the grammar a learner at that level has met, sentence length, and everyday vocabulary first. Words above the level are underlined and explained.
Each text says which Spanish it uses: Mexican, European or Argentine. Notes point out the words that change between countries.
Review by a native teacher
Every text is read by a native Spanish teacher before it loses its draft mark. Reviewed so far: 0 of 16.
Reading time
Minutes are estimated from the word count and a comfortable reading speed for the level, from about 60 words a minute at A1 to 170 at C1.