This tool measures how easy a French text is to read using the Douma adaptation of the Flesch Reading Ease formula. The original Flesch index was tuned for English; applying it unchanged to French overstates difficulty, so Douma recalibrated the syllable weight specifically for French.
How it works
The score combines two ratios, sentence length and word length, into a single 0–100 number where higher means easier:
score = 206.835 − 1.015 × (words / sentences) − 73.6 × (syllables / words)The French calibration lives in the 73.6 syllable constant, lower than the
English 84.6, because French words average more syllables. Words are matched
including accents and internal apostrophes and hyphens, sentences are counted
from terminal punctuation (., !, ?, …), and syllables use a French-aware
vowel-group count with mute-e suppression.
Score interpretation guide
| Score range | Reading level | Typical audience |
|---|---|---|
| 80–100 | Very easy | Primary school, children’s books |
| 70–79 | Easy | Broad general public, consumer-facing copy |
| 60–69 | Fairly easy | Secondary school, news articles |
| 50–59 | Standard | Upper secondary, business writing |
| 30–49 | Difficult | University level, technical documents |
| 10–29 | Very difficult | Specialist academic, legal texts |
| 0–9 | Extremely difficult | Highly technical or archaic |
For most web content targeting a general French audience, aim for a score of 60 or higher.
What drives the score down
The formula penalises two things: long sentences and long words.
Words per sentence is the larger driver. A single sentence of 40 words has the same effect on the sentence-length term as four sentences of 10 words. The most reliable way to improve a low score is to cut long sentences at natural conjunctions (et, mais, donc, car) or by separating subordinate clauses.
Syllables per word reflects vocabulary complexity. French polysyllabic words (accompagnement, développement, réglementation) are common in formal writing and drive this term up. Replacing a four-syllable term with a two-syllable synonym immediately improves the score. This is not always possible or desirable in specialist content — a legal document cannot avoid responsabilité, but a marketing page might rephrase commercialisation as vente.
Comparing French and English readability
If you have tested the same content with an English Flesch calculator, do not compare scores directly. The English constant is 84.6; the French constant here is 73.6. Applying English constants to French text produces an artificially low score because French words are polysyllabic by nature. The Douma recalibration anchors the scale to French linguistic norms so the bands above reflect genuine French reading difficulty rather than a penalty for the language’s structure.
Tips and example
To raise a low score, do the two things the formula rewards: shorten sentences and prefer shorter, more common words. Splitting one long sentence into two lowers the words-per-sentence term directly. The tool shows both ratios so you can see which one is dragging the score down. Because the syllable count is the same engine used by the French syllable counter on this site, the readability result stays consistent with those word-level figures.