Chapter 6 of Germinal is here in full — 246 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of Germinal is here in full — 246 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Maheu, without looking at his watch which he had left in his jacket, stopped and said: "One o'clock directly. Zacharie, is it done?" The young man had just been at the planking. In the midst of his labour he had been lying on his back, with dreamy eyes, thinking over a game of hockey of the night before.
Chapter 6 of Germinal is here in full — 246 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/49 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
without deviation
From this reading “"One o'clock directly.”
dreamy in mood or nature
From this reading “In the midst of his labour he had been lying on his back, with dreamy eyes, thinking over a game of hockey of the night before.”
a game resembling ice hockey that is played on an open field; two opposing teams use curved hockey sticks try to drive a ball into the opponents' net
From this reading “In the midst of his labour he had been lying on his back, with dreamy eyes, thinking over a game of hockey of the night before.”
a short coat
From this reading “Maheu, without looking at his watch which he had left in his jacket, stopped and said:”
a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages
From this reading “In the midst of his labour he had been lying on his back, with dreamy eyes, thinking over a game of hockey of the night before.”
the location of something surrounded by other things
From this reading “In the midst of his labour he had been lying on his back, with dreamy eyes, thinking over a game of hockey of the night before.”
according to the clock
From this reading “"One o'clock directly.”
planks collectively; a quantity of planks
From this reading “The young man had just been at the planking.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
a teenager or a young adult male
In this reading “The young man had just been at the planking.”
In this reading “In the midst of his labour he had been lying on his back, with dreamy eyes, thinking over a game of hockey of the night before.”
the middle or central part or point
In this reading “In the midst of his labour he had been lying on his back, with dreamy eyes, thinking over a game of hockey of the night before.”
In this reading “Maheu, without looking at his watch which he had left in his jacket, stopped and said:”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading In the midst of his labour he had been lying on his back, with dreamy eyes, thinking over a game of hockey of the night before.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Maheu, without looking at his watch which he had left in his jacket, stopped and said:
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Maheu, without looking at his watch which he had left in his jacket, stopped and said:
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading In the midst of his labour he had been lying on his back, with dreamy eyes, thinking over a game of hockey of the night before.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading The young man had just been at the planking.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading In the midst of his labour he had been lying on his back, with dreamy eyes, thinking over a game of hockey of the night before.
without deviation
From this reading "One o'clock directly.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading Zacharie, is it done?"
dreamy in mood or nature
From this reading In the midst of his labour he had been lying on his back, with dreamy eyes, thinking over a game of hockey of the night before.
opinion or judgment
From this reading In the midst of his labour he had been lying on his back, with dreamy eyes, thinking over a game of hockey of the night before.
a contest with rules to determine a winner
From this reading In the midst of his labour he had been lying on his back, with dreamy eyes, thinking over a game of hockey of the night before.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Maheu, without looking at his watch which he had left in his jacket, stopped and said:
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Maheu, without looking at his watch which he had left in his jacket, stopped and said:
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Maheu, without looking at his watch which he had left in his jacket, stopped and said:
a game resembling ice hockey that is played on an open field; two opposing teams use curved hockey sticks try to drive a ball into the opponents' net
From this reading In the midst of his labour he had been lying on his back, with dreamy eyes, thinking over a game of hockey of the night before.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Maheu, without looking at his watch which he had left in his jacket, stopped and said:
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Zacharie, is it done?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Zacharie, is it done?"
a short coat
From this reading Maheu, without looking at his watch which he had left in his jacket, stopped and said:
and nothing more
From this reading The young man had just been at the planking.
a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages
From this reading In the midst of his labour he had been lying on his back, with dreamy eyes, thinking over a game of hockey of the night before.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading Maheu, without looking at his watch which he had left in his jacket, stopped and said:
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading Maheu, without looking at his watch which he had left in his jacket, stopped and said:
the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
From this reading In the midst of his labour he had been lying on his back, with dreamy eyes, thinking over a game of hockey of the night before.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Maheu, without looking at his watch which he had left in his jacket, stopped and said:
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The young man had just been at the planking.
the location of something surrounded by other things
From this reading In the midst of his labour he had been lying on his back, with dreamy eyes, thinking over a game of hockey of the night before.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading In the midst of his labour he had been lying on his back, with dreamy eyes, thinking over a game of hockey of the night before.
according to the clock
From this reading "One o'clock directly.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading In the midst of his labour he had been lying on his back, with dreamy eyes, thinking over a game of hockey of the night before.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading In the midst of his labour he had been lying on his back, with dreamy eyes, thinking over a game of hockey of the night before.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "One o'clock directly.
above and across; more than
From this reading In the midst of his labour he had been lying on his back, with dreamy eyes, thinking over a game of hockey of the night before.
planks collectively; a quantity of planks
From this reading The young man had just been at the planking.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Maheu, without looking at his watch which he had left in his jacket, stopped and said:
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading Maheu, without looking at his watch which he had left in his jacket, stopped and said:
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The young man had just been at the planking.
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading In the midst of his labour he had been lying on his back, with dreamy eyes, thinking over a game of hockey of the night before.
look attentively
From this reading Maheu, without looking at his watch which he had left in his jacket, stopped and said:
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Maheu, without looking at his watch which he had left in his jacket, stopped and said:
in the company of; together with
From this reading In the midst of his labour he had been lying on his back, with dreamy eyes, thinking over a game of hockey of the night before.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading Maheu, without looking at his watch which he had left in his jacket, stopped and said:
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading The young man had just been at the planking.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Zacharie, is it done?"
Chapter 6 of Germinal by Émile Zola holds 246 sentences, grouped into 50 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 6 holds 246 sentences of Germinal, unabridged, divided into 50 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of Germinal by Émile Zola exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 246 sentences, grouped into 50 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 50 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 50 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 6 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading Germinal by Émile Zola on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 10162 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #56528 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #56528, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2033 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Germinal section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Germinal to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Germinal, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
