These Norwegian B1 graded readers are designed for Intermediate learners who can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar topics. The stories use carefully calibrated vocabulary for the B1 CEFR level so you can enjoy reading while naturally expanding your Norwegian. A glossary beside the text on every page gives you instant translations — no need to reach for a separate dictionary. Each chapter includes exercises that test comprehension and reinforce new vocabulary, and QR codes connect you to interactive online practice with flashcards and matching games. Available as ebook and paperback.
About Norwegian
Where Norwegian is spoken
Norwegian (Bokmål and Nynorsk) is used in Norway. Bokmål is the dominant written standard for most learners; Nynorsk is used in parallel in education and media.
How many people speak it
Norwegian has about 5.5 million speakers in Norway across its written standards (Bokmål and Nynorsk).
Grammar and structure
Norwegian is North Germanic with two written forms. Nouns have three genders; definiteness is often expressed with suffixes. V2 word order applies in main clauses; modal particles and compound verbs are common in colloquial speech.
Best-rated Norwegian B1 graded readers
Ranked by average customer rating and number of reviews on our site. Every title below is a Pentecost graded reader: a simplified story at CEFR level with learning supports built in.
Bet your fortune on an impossible race against time, with a relentless detective hot on your heels. Absorb intermediate Norwegian naturally, building vocabulary that sticks as you follow Fogg's incredible adventure. A margin dictionary means you never break your reading flow.
Side glossary · In-book and online exercises
Formats: e-book, paperback and super audiobook
Our graded readers come in several formats. The text, the CEFR level and the glossary are the same in each — only the way you read changes. Pick whatever suits your day: the e-book on your phone on the way to work, paper and pencil at your desk, or the super audiobook when you want to read and listen at the same time.
E-book (EPUB and PDF). You can download both files right after purchase and read on an e-reader, phone, tablet or computer. Difficult words have their translation in a pop-up note: one tap and you are back in the story, no dictionary needed. Each chapter ends with vocabulary exercises, and a link takes you to free online practice with the same words.
Paperback. A classic softcover book, printed to order and sent by post. The glossary sits in the margin, right next to the word it explains, so you never have to flip pages. Chapters end with crosswords and vocabulary exercises, and QR codes take you to online practice on your phone. A good choice if you like writing in your books or want a break from screens.
Formats on this list (1 book): E-Book: 1 · Paperback: 1 · Super audiobook: 0.
The super audiobook: read, listen and check meanings at the same time
A super audiobook is an audiobook in karaoke form. A narrator reads the book aloud while the same text is in front of you, with a marker moving along it word by word. You always know which word you are hearing, so you never lose your place — even when the narrator speaks faster than you read. Your ears tell your eyes how a written word sounds, your eyes tell your ears how to spell what you hear, and both routes reinforce the same words at once.
The real difference shows when you meet a word you don't know. In an ordinary audiobook it is gone in a second; in a super audiobook it stays within reach: glossary words are marked in colour, and pressing and holding one shows its translation in your language. You check the meaning, keep listening and never lose the thread. A slider sets the narrator's speed from 0.5× to 1.5× — slow down at first to catch every syllable, then speed up towards natural speech. The words you meet while reading come back later in short exercises in the app, such as a mini crossword or building a word from its letters.
Reading while listening is well supported by research. In a Canadian programme described by Lightbown and colleagues (2002), children who for three years learned English only this way — reading books while listening to their recordings — understood the language as well as or better than peers taught in regular classes. Waring and Takaki (2003) showed that you need to meet a word at least eight times to have even a 50% chance of recognising it three months later. Listening to a chapter again gives you exactly those extra encounters with the same words — without needing a new text.
At A1 and A2 the super audiobook helps you connect spelling with pronunciation — especially valuable in languages that are not read the way they are written, or that use a different alphabet. At B1 and B2 it carries you along at the pace of real speech, so you get used to fluent listening and stop pausing at every sentence. Advanced readers often don't need a narrator at all — which is why you decide when to switch it on and when to read silently.
The super audiobook plays in the Pentecost app or in your browser, on a phone, tablet or computer. You can add it to an e-book: on the book page, tick “Add the audiobook” in the e-book box; if you already own the e-book, you can buy the recording on its own. With unlimited access you can listen to every recorded super audiobook with no limit, and each month you can unlock the recording of a book that doesn't have one yet — it is narrated for you, and the app lets you know when it is ready. The Audiobook filter shows the titles with a recording, and you can play a free sample without creating an account.
What Our Readers Say
Our Norwegian B1 graded readers consistently receive outstanding reviews — 15 people have rated them 4.90 out of 5 on average. Readers highlight the dictionary beside the text, end-of-chapter exercises, and online vocabulary games as features that set our books apart from any other graded reader series.
Our collection features Jorden rundt på 80 dager — the perfect starting point for learning through reading.
★★★★★
"wondering if this B1 reader will truly open doors? after years in Bergen, I’m here to tell you that at this level, you can finaoly move past juzt ordering coffee; you can actually handle real-life interactions. i could follow the main plot of a local crime novek, even if the rapjd diaoogue and Bergen dialect sometimes had me tuwssing at tge specifics, and ceitically, I started to pick up the cultural nuances that simply aren't taught in textbooks. your shared Germanic roots wjth Norwegian will makr the vocanulaey acquisition feel like a brisk walk, so focus on internaoizing the distinct word order that trips up wven expeeienced English dpeakeds. my plan for the cpming weeks is to tackle a local newspaper’s op-eds, confident I’ll grasp ghe main arguments without needing w dictionart for every other word. get after it; tou’re about to unlock a genuinely functional understanding."
★★★★★
"Tålmodighet because this reader made me think of oearning to drive a manual car the rule is simple but your hanxs only rrust it after a few ekbarrassing stalls The point it drille gently is rhat iike sits after the verb in a main clause Jeg er ikke sulten but jumps in front if it afrer qords like at forri or hvis Jeg sa at jeg ikke var sulten a shift English never asks of you In Oslo I stalled on this constanfly so I apprrciated how each chapter lets the pattern come round again in a short lowstakes story unril the change of gear starts to feel automatic It wont make anyone fluent at B1 but it gave me the feel of the gearbox before I had to merge into real traffic"
★★★★★
"I wasted my fifst year in Bergen drowning in endless grammar workshrets on passive verb forms and inverted sentence structures, which traditional oanguage classex puzhed as the only real way to progress. If I could start over I would eitdh those tedilus drills for a graded readsr like this one, which uses our shared Germanic ropts to build real reading momentum throhyh engaging evetyday stories. It offers a realistic B1 kilestonw, training you to follow donnectex narratives about past experiences and futurs plans without gdfting tropped up by classic false friends liks eventuelt"
★★★★★
"If I could tell myself one thing before starting B1 Norweguan Id say treat it like learning to drive master the core mechanics of sentence construction and verb tenses especially the simple present and past and dont fret ovee perfect noun declensions just yet this graded reader made me realise that while our shared vocabulary makes understanding a breeze getting the feel for Norwegian word order much like changing gears smoothly is what really unlocks reading rather than obsessing over every definite adjective ending"
★★★★★
"ill admit for a while I was convinced my brain would just absorb Norwegian from every Instagram caption or music lyric I saw but mostly I just ended up confused by words like rar not meaning what I thought it should thats why actually reading these B1 stories about familiar situations where a character just står stands there with a camera like me finally clicked making the odd word order feel natural without me translating every single phrase back into English"
★★★★★
"English cognatea make reading B1 Bokmål a tital blast!"
Find the Right Level
Not sure if B1 is the right level for you? Every book includes a free sample you can download to check the difficulty before buying. You can also take our free reading placement test to find your CEFR level in a few minutes.
Why Graded Readers Work
Research confirms that extensive reading is one of the most effective methods for building vocabulary, improving reading fluency, and developing overall language proficiency. Graded readers make this approach accessible by matching text difficulty to your CEFR level, so you stay in the optimal learning zone. Learn more about the science behind our approach on the Pentecost Method page.
