Franz Kafka · 1915 · B1–B2
Die Verwandlung
The Metamorphosis in the original German, with English notes
One morning a travelling salesman wakes up as a giant insect, and his first worry is the train he has missed. Short, gripping and darkly funny: the classic first novella for learners of German.
The whole story is here, about 19,240 words in twelve stages. Each stage starts with the words you are unlikely to know, explained in English; underlined phrases in the text have a note on the German below it.
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The twelve stages
- 1 Ein ungeheueres Ungeziefer Gregor wakes up as a giant insect, worries about missing his train, and tries to get out of bed.
- 2 Der Prokurist Gregor rocks himself out of bed, and his boss's chief clerk arrives at the door to ask why he missed his train.
- 3 Die Tür geht auf Nobody understands Gregor's voice any more. He turns the key with his jaws and opens the door.
- 4 Der Stock des Vaters Gregor begs the chief clerk to stay, the clerk flees, and his father drives Gregor back into his room.
- 5 Milch und alter Käse Gregor wakes at dusk, hides under the sofa, and finds out what his new body wants to eat.
- 6 Das Geld der Familie Listening at the door, Gregor learns how the family will live now, and remembers his secret plan for his sister.
- 7 Das leere Zimmer Grete decides to clear Gregor's room so he can crawl, and their mother comes in to help for the first time.
- 8 Die Äpfel Gregor clings to the picture on his wall, his mother faints, and his father comes home in a new uniform.
- 9 Die Wunde The apple stays in Gregor's back. In the evenings the living-room door is left open, and he watches a tired family.
- 10 Die Zimmerherren A cleaning woman who is not afraid of Gregor, three lodgers who take over the flat, and one evening of violin music.
- 11 »So geht es nicht weiter« The lodgers see Gregor and give notice, and Grete tells her parents what she thinks must happen.
- 12 Ende März The last night, the next morning, and a family outing into the spring.
Before you start: the German of 1917
The text keeps the spelling it was printed in. Most of the difference is ß where today's German writes ss:
| 1917 | Today |
|---|---|
| daß | dass |
| muß, mußte | muss, musste |
| wußte, bewußt | wusste, bewusst |
| schloß, Schluß | schloss, Schluss |
| gewiß, Ungewißheit | gewiss, Ungewissheit |
| Schloß, häßlich | Schloss, hässlich |
Kafka wrote in Prague German, close to Austrian usage: der Kasten is a cupboard, die Verkühlung a cold, der Sessel an armchair, die Elektrische a tram.
Kafka's text is in the public domain. It follows the 1917 Kurt Wolff edition, in the transcription by Jana Srna, Alexander Bauer and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. The stages, glossaries and notes are Language Quiz's own, prepared with the help of AI tools and reviewed by the editor.