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German · Reading · C1 to C2

Advanced German reading: three C1–C2 texts with every word glossed

Die LesezeitPick an article · every sentence glossed

Short answer: advanced German is hard less for its words than for its sentence frame. The finite verb sits in second place in a main clause and at the end of a subordinate one, separable prefixes fly to the end, and clauses can open with almost anything. Turn on Verb position to see every verb in red, tap a sentence for a word-by-word gloss and pronunciation, and switch on the parallel English when you want to check.

Feuilleton · C1

Die Kunst des Wartens

Wortschatz
Comprehension, Goethe-exam style

Richtig oder falsch?

Decide whether each statement matches the text. The answer quotes the sentence that decides it.

Bei der Bahn ist Pünktlichkeit die Regel.On the railway, punctuality is the rule.
Viele Menschen beschweren sich laut.Many people complain loudly.
Die Autorin sieht in der Gelassenheit etwas Typisches.The writer sees the calm as something typical.
Structures to steal

What makes this C1

  1. 1A whole clause in first placeWer… reist, lernt…The verb still comes second: the clause counts as one element.
  2. 2Separable verb across the sentenceregt sich… aufThe prefix closes the sentence like a bracket, the Satzklammer.
  3. 3als + Konjunktiv IIals hätte man nichts anderes erwartet“As if”: the verb moves straight after als.
  4. 4Emphatic geradeGerade diese stille Gelassenheit…Highlights one element, like English “it is precisely… that”.
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