Deutsch · English
German–English parallel texts
Read German books with English alongside, or English books with German alongside: the original and the translation side by side, paragraph by paragraph.
Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte, fand er sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheueren Ungeziefer verwandelt.
When Gregor Samsa woke one morning from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous vermin.
Er lag auf seinem panzerartig harten Rücken und sah, wenn er den Kopf ein wenig hob, seinen gewölbten, braunen, von bogenförmigen Versteifungen geteilten Bauch…
He lay on his armour-hard back and, when he raised his head a little, saw his domed brown belly, divided by stiff arching ribs…
»Was ist mit mir geschehen?«, dachte er. Es war kein Traum.
“What has happened to me?” he thought. It was no dream.
Reading German with English alongside
German rewards patient reading. English and German are close relatives, so everyday words (Haus, Buch, trinken) are often guessable, and the grammar is regular once you have seen enough of it.
The difficulty is structure: cases, long compound nouns, and verbs that wait until the very end of the clause. With the English beside each paragraph you know where a sentence is heading before the verb arrives, and the pattern starts to feel natural.
Reading English books with German alongside
For German speakers, a parallel text makes English books quicker going, especially novels full of idioms, dialogue and wordplay.
If you read both languages, it is a way to meet Kafka or Rilke in the original, with a translation beside the passages that need it.
Where a parallel text helps most in German
The verb at the end
In subordinate clauses the verb comes last, so the meaning of a whole sentence can hinge on its final word. The paired translation removes the suspense.
Compound nouns
German builds long nouns from short ones. Seeing them beside their English, often a phrase of three or four words, teaches you to take them apart.
Separable verbs
Verbs like anfangen split in two, with the prefix sent to the end of the sentence. The translation shows what the pieces mean together.
Free German–English stories and ebooks
English classics to read in German, with the English original beside each paragraph. They open in the browser, with no account needed, and each one is also a free German–English ebook for Kindle, Kobo or any e-reader: downloading needs a free account, no payment (which file to pick).
DE
Das Geschenk der Weisen
O. Henry
Das Geschenk der Weisen
O. Henry · German · 15 min
Free for Kindle & Kobo
DE
Das letzte Blatt
O. Henry
Das letzte Blatt
O. Henry · German · 15 min
Free for Kindle & Kobo
DE
Das offene Fenster
Saki
Das offene Fenster
Saki · German · 10 min
Free for Kindle & Kobo
DE
Der Schmuck
Guy de Maupassant
Der Schmuck
Guy de Maupassant · German · 20 min
Free for Kindle & Kobo
DE
Das verräterische Herz
Edgar Allan Poe
Das verräterische Herz
Edgar Allan Poe · German · 15 min
Free for Kindle & Kobo
DE
Das Fass Amontillado
Edgar Allan Poe
Das Fass Amontillado
Edgar Allan Poe · German · 15 min
Free for Kindle & Kobo
DE
Die Affenpfote
W.W. Jacobs
Die Affenpfote
W.W. Jacobs · German · 25 min
Free for Kindle & Kobo
DE
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
Ambrose Bierce
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
Ambrose Bierce · German · 25 min
Free for Kindle & Kobo
DE
Der glückliche Prinz
Oscar Wilde
Der glückliche Prinz
Oscar Wilde · German · 25 min
Free for Kindle & Kobo
DE
Der selbstsüchtige Riese
Oscar Wilde
Der selbstsüchtige Riese
Oscar Wilde · German · 10 min
Free for Kindle & Kobo
DE
Bartleby, der Schreiber
Herman Melville
Bartleby, der Schreiber
Herman Melville · German · 95 min
Free for Kindle & Kobo
DE
Der Hirtenjunge und der Wolf
Aesop
Der Hirtenjunge und der Wolf
Aesop · German · 5 min
Free for Kindle & Kobo
DE
Die Krähe und der Krug
Aesop
Die Krähe und der Krug
Aesop · German · 5 min
Free for Kindle & Kobo
DE
Der Wolf im Schafspelz
Aesop
Der Wolf im Schafspelz
Aesop · German · 5 min
Free for Kindle & Kobo
German classics to read in parallel
Long out of copyright and easy to find as EPUBs. Any of them makes a good first German–English parallel text:
- Die Verwandlung, Franz Kafka
- Der Sandmann, E. T. A. Hoffmann
- Effi Briest, Theodor Fontane
- Kinder- und Hausmärchen, Brüder Grimm
Or use a book you already own: the method works best with something you actually want to read. See how to read a parallel text to get the most from it.