# Demian

Demian by Hermann Hesse has 52,800 words.

## At a glance

1919 novel by Hermann Hesse.

- **Author:** [Hermann Hesse](https://musael.com/books/authors/hermann-hesse.md) (1877–1962)
- **First published:** 1919
- **Original language:** German
- **Genre:** literary fiction
- **Readers:** adult

## How long it takes to read

- **Words:** 52,800
- **Reading time:** 3 h 31 min (at 250 words a minute)
- **Listening time:** 5 h 41 min (audiobook pace, 155 words a minute)

| Reading speed | Whole book | At 30 minutes a day |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 200 wpm | 4 h 24 min | 9 days |
| 250 wpm | 3 h 31 min | 8 days |
| 300 wpm | 2 h 56 min | 6 days |

## Read or listen

Demian is in the public domain: these editions are free to download, read and share.

- Standard Ebooks: https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/hermann-hesse/demian/n-h-priday
- Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/74222

## Counted from the text

Automated estimates from the selected Project Gutenberg text; it may include a preface or notes.

- Words in the text: 52,695
- Chapters: 8
- Dialogue: 24% of the words are inside quotation marks
- Average sentence: 15.4 words

## Where the numbers come from

The word count comes from the sources below.

- https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/hermann-hesse/demian/n-h-priday (word count)
- https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/74222 (word count)
- https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q860577
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demian
- https://openlibrary.org/works/OL30457295W
- https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/74222

Checked on 2026-10-27. Page counts change from edition to edition.

Source: https://musael.com/books/demian