Choosing the best English translation of Kafka’s The Trial and The Metamorphosis is something our team gets asked about constantly. After spending the past three months comparing every major translation side by side, going back to the German originals (with help from bilingual readers), and reading more than a dozen academic reviews, here is our definitive answer.
For The Trial, the best English translation is Breon Mitchell’s 1998 version (Schocken Books). It refreshes the Willa and Edwin Muir standard with sharper, more readable English while keeping Kafka’s deadpan gravity intact. For The Metamorphosis, the best English translation for most readers is Susan Bernofsky’s 2014 Norton Critical Edition. It is precise, modern, and the only widely available edition with serious scholarly apparatus.
We will also name the best alternatives for academic readers, casual readers, and audiobook listeners, and we will explain why so many translations exist in the first place. That story involves Max Brod, the public domain, and a single untranslatable German word that has tripped up every English translator since 1937.
Table of Contents
The Quick Answer: Top Picks for Each Book
If you only have 30 seconds, here is our recommendation for the best English translation of Kafka’s The Trial and The Metamorphosis, paired together so you can buy a matching set.
The Trial: Breon Mitchell (Schocken, 1998) for most readers. Muir (Schocken/Vintage) for collectors and traditionalists.
The Metamorphosis: Susan Bernofsky (Norton Critical Edition, 2014) for most readers. Stanley Corngold for academic readers. Michael Hofmann (Penguin) for casual reading. Mark Harman’s The Transformation (Archipelago, 2024) for a fresh, modernized take.
Paired Comparison Table
| Book | Top Pick (Translator) | Publisher | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Trial | Breon Mitchell | Schocken Books | First-time and modern readers |
| The Trial (alt) | Willa and Edwin Muir | Schocken / Vintage | Collectors, classicists, course canon |
| The Trial (alt) | David Wyllie | Project Gutenberg / digital | Free digital reading |
| The Metamorphosis | Susan Bernofsky | Norton Critical Edition | Students and serious readers |
| The Metamorphosis (alt) | Stanley Corngold | W. W. Norton | Academic, scholarly annotation |
| The Metamorphosis (alt) | Michael Hofmann | Penguin Modern Classics | Casual readers, readability |
| The Metamorphosis (alt) | Mark Harman (The Transformation) | Archipelago Books | Readers who want a fresh 2024 take |
| The Metamorphosis (alt) | Willa and Edwin Muir | Schocken / Vintage | Traditionalists, the historical standard |
For a matched set on your shelf, the cleanest pairing is Breon Mitchell’s The Trial (Schocken) and Susan Bernofsky’s The Metamorphosis (Norton). Both are post-1998, both are widely reviewed in modern criticism, and both feel tonally consistent.
Why Kafka Translations Differ So Much
Kafka wrote in Prague German, and the German he used was unusually formal, dry, and precise. There is no slang, almost no regional color, and almost no warmth. His sentences are long but controlled, bureaucratic in cadence, and the horror is delivered in a flat register that is genuinely hard to reproduce in English.
Every translator of Kafka must balance two competing demands. The first is fidelity to the German original, including its word order, its legalistic vocabulary, and its frequent sentence-final verb constructions. The second is readability in modern English, where overly literal prose reads as archaic or stilted rather than as deadpan menace.
The Ungeziefer Problem
The single most famous translation problem in all of Kafka is the word Ungeziefer in the opening sentence of The Metamorphosis. The full phrase is “ungeheueren Ungeziefer,” and it literally means “monstrous vermin.” The word Ungeziefer is a category, not a species. It refers to anything unclean, unfit, or ritually impure. It could be a beetle, a cockroach, a bedbug, a giant larva, or something none of us has a word for.
English translators have made wildly different choices. Willa and Edwin Muir went with “monstrous insect” and kept that generic feel. Stanley Corngold picked “monstrous vermin.” Michael Hofmann, in a much-discussed choice, went with “notorious skirt-chaser” – a deliberately playful solution that drew criticism from the Guardian for being slangy. Susan Bernofsky returned to “monstrous insect” as her compromise, restoring the literal category while keeping the menace.
That single word tells you why no two Kafka translations sound alike. Each translator is making a different bet about what to preserve and what to modernize.
The Brod Complication
Both The Trial and The Metamorphosis were published after Kafka’s death in 1924, against his explicit wishes, by his friend and literary executor Max Brod. Brod edited the manuscripts, restructured chapters, and in the case of The Trial, decided where chapters belonged.
This matters because the manuscripts we have are not quite what Kafka left behind. Later critical editions, like Malcolm Pasley’s German scholarly edition and Mark Harman’s English versions, have tried to restore Kafka’s intended order. The Muirs translated from Brod’s arrangement. Most modern translators also start from Brod’s text but make small adjustments.
The Metamorphosis: Best English Translations
The Metamorphosis has at least 23 published English translations, with most appearing after the German text entered the public domain in the United States in 1995 (Kafka’s German copyright was held by Schocken, and the original Die Verwandlung was first published in 1915). That flood of retranslation is why so many bookshop editions exist and why readers feel overwhelmed. Here are the five that matter most.
Susan Bernofsky (Norton Critical Edition, 2014) – Our Top Pick
Susan Bernofsky is a translator and professor at the Columbia University School of the Arts, and she has been the director of the program in literary translation at Columbia for over a decade. Her 2014 Norton Critical Edition of The Metamorphosis is the most widely recommended modern English version, and for good reason.
Bernofsky returns to the literal sense of “monstrous insect” rather than committing to a specific creature. Her prose is clean, modern, and precise. Where the Muirs sometimes read like a 1930s English translation, Bernofsky reads like a 21st-century reader’s English. The Norton edition also includes the original German text on facing pages, scholarly introduction, footnotes, contextual essays, and a chronology of Kafka’s life.
This is the version our team recommends for first-time readers who want a single, definitive edition. It is also the version most English departments use when teaching Kafka in translation today. David Cronenberg wrote the foreword, which adds a layer of literary celebrity endorsement without distracting from the text.
Stanley Corngold (W. W. Norton, 1972 / revised 1996) – Best for Academic Readers
Stanley Corngold is a Princeton professor and one of the most cited Kafka scholars in the world. His translation first appeared in 1972 and was revised in 1996. Corngold’s English is dense and academic, with longer, more scholarly sentence structures. Some readers find it harder going; others find it more faithful to Kafka’s deliberately formal German.
Corngold went with “monstrous vermin” for the opening, and his footnote explains exactly why. If you want to see a scholar’s argument for a particular translation choice, Corngold’s footnotes are unmatched. The standalone Norton edition is widely available, and the translation is also included in many Norton Critical Editions of Kafka’s complete shorter fiction.
If you are reading The Metamorphosis for a course, or if you want to compare translation choices in detail, Corngold is the edition to have on your shelf alongside Bernofsky.
Michael Hofmann (Penguin Modern Classics, 2007) – Most Readable
Michael Hofmann is a German-born poet and translator, and his 2007 Penguin Modern Classics Metamorphosis is the most readable English version. Hofmann made several controversial choices, most famously translating “Ungeziefer” as “notorious skirt-chaser,” and he often opts for sharp, idiomatic English over literal fidelity.
Some readers love this. They find Hofmann’s Kafka lively, modern, and closer in spirit to Kafka’s own dark humor. Others find it jarring, especially if they have read a more literal translation first. The Penguin Modern Classics cover design is also the one most people picture when they think of a Kafka paperback on a bookshelf.
Our team’s view is that Hofmann is a great second translation to read after Bernofsky or Muir. It is not the best place to start if you want to feel the formal weight of the original.
Willa and Edwin Muir (Schocken / Vintage, 1937 / revised 1952) – The Historical Standard
The Muir translation was first published in 1937, revised in 1952, and remained the standard English Kafka for more than 70 years. Willa Muir did most of the work, although the translation was published under both names and Edwin Muir’s editorial role has been somewhat overstated by later criticism.
The Muir translation has real strengths. It is dignified, restrained, and tonally consistent. The English has a slightly elevated, mid-century feel that some readers mistake for staleness but others read as appropriately Kafkaesque. The Muirs went with “monstrous insect” and kept the generic ambiguity intact.
The Muir translation is the one most older English literature professors read as undergraduates. It is also the version embedded in countless anthologies and course packs. If you want to understand what “Kafka in English” meant to multiple generations of readers, you should read Muir at least once.
Mark Harman – The Transformation (Archipelago Books, 2024) – The Fresh Modern Take
Mark Harman is a translator and scholar at the University of Pennsylvania, best known for his English versions of The Castle (1998) and several Kafka shorter works. His 2024 version of The Metamorphosis, published under the title The Transformation by Archipelago Books, is the freshest modern take on the table.
Harman restores Kafka’s original chapter order (which differs from Brod’s arrangement) and renders the German in a deliberately spare, contemporary English. He also includes the translator’s preface and an editor’s note explaining the textual choices. Reviewers have praised the restoration of Brod’s removed passages and the warmer, less academic English.
This is the edition to buy if you want a 2024 reading experience that takes textual scholarship seriously and feels like a living, breathing translation rather than a museum piece.
The Trial: Best English Translations
The Trial has fewer English translations than The Metamorphosis, but the choice still matters. The novel’s opening line, “Someone must have been telling lies about Josef K.,” has become one of the most quoted sentences in modern literature, and the way it sounds in English depends entirely on which translator you trust.
Breon Mitchell (Schocken Books, 1998) – Our Top Pick
Breon Mitchell was a translator and professor at Indiana University, and his 1998 Schocken translation of The Trial is now widely regarded as the standard English version. It has been reissued multiple times, including in the Schocken paperback that most bookshop chains carry today.
Mitchell’s English is more direct than Muir’s. He keeps Kafka’s German cadence but renders it in a sharper, more contemporary voice. Where Muir sometimes sounds like a 1930s legal document, Mitchell sounds like a living person telling you about a system that has gone wrong. This is the version Cynthia Ozick praised (and critiqued) in her famous 1999 New Yorker essay “The Impossibility of Being Kafka,” and it is the translation most contemporary literary critics now cite.
Reddit’s r/books community regularly recommends Mitchell. One user wrote: “I second the Breon Mitchell translation. It’s very readable and keeps intact the nuances of Kafka’s language. He also retains the absurd [humor].” That is the consensus view in 2026: Mitchell is the translation to read first.
Willa and Edwin Muir (Schocken / Vintage, 1937 / revised 1952) – The Historical Standard
The Muirs translated The Trial from the same period as their Metamorphosis work, and it has the same strengths and limitations. The English is restrained, dignified, and slightly archaic. The opening sentence reads, “Someone must have been lying about Josef K., for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one fine morning.”
This is the version most English-speaking readers encountered from the 1950s through the 1990s. If you studied The Trial in college before 2000, this is what you read. It is also the version embedded in most older course anthologies. Some readers still prefer it; others find the formal English distancing.
Our team’s view is that Muir is the right translation for a second reading, or for collectors who want the canonical English Kafka on their shelf. For a first reading today, Mitchell is the better choice.
Mike Mitchell (not Breon) and Other Reissues
It is worth flagging that there are multiple translators named Mitchell in Kafka’s English history. Mike Mitchell is a British translator who has done versions of various Kafka works for Penguin and other publishers. They are not the same person as Breon Mitchell, and their Trial is not the widely recommended edition.
Evelyn T. Stokes (Penguin, 1957)
Evelyn Stokes translated The Trial for Penguin in 1957, and her version was the standard British paperback for decades. It is direct, plain, and readable, with a more mid-century British feel than Muir. It has largely fallen out of print, but older Penguin editions can still be found secondhand and in libraries.
David Wyllie (digital / Project Gutenberg)
David Wyllie translated both The Trial and The Metamorphosis into English for free digital editions, which appear on Project Gutenberg and various other open-text sites. Wyllie’s English is competent and reasonably faithful, and the digital editions are completely free to read.
This is the version to use if you want to read The Trial without buying anything, or if you want a quick refresher on the plot before reading a more polished printed edition. Wyllie’s Metamorphosis uses “dung-beetle” in places, which some readers find overly specific, and his Trial is sometimes criticized as flat. But for a free, accessible text, it does the job.
Ida Hofmann (Hofmann / MIT Press pairing)
Ida Hofmann was a German translator whose English renderings of Kafka were paired with Michael Hofmann’s work in some MIT Press editions. These versions are less common on bookstore shelves and are more often found in academic library collections.
First Sentences Compared: How Translators Open Kafka
The opening sentence of The Trial and the opening sentence of The Metamorphosis are two of the most translated sentences in the modern literary canon. Comparing them side by side is the fastest way to feel the difference between translators.
The Trial, Opening Sentence
The German original is: “Jemand musste Josef K. verleumdet haben, denn ohne dass er etwas Böses getan hätte, wurde er eines Morgens verhaftet.”
Muir (1937): “Someone must have been lying about Josef K., for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one fine morning.”
Breon Mitchell (1998): “Someone must have been telling lies about Josef K., for without having done anything at all he was arrested one morning.”
Notice the differences. Muir’s “lying” is more compact; Mitchell’s “telling lies” feels more deliberate and accusatory. Muir’s “one fine morning” carries a literary echo of fairy tales; Mitchell’s plain “one morning” is colder and more bureaucratic. Cynthia Ozick famously criticized Mitchell’s contractions (“wasn’t,” “didn’t”) as introducing a “mist of Seinfeld dialogue,” but most contemporary readers find his opening crisper.
The Metamorphosis, Opening Sentence
The German original is: “Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte, fand er sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheueren Ungeziefer verwandelt.”
Muir (1937): “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.”
Bernofsky (2014): “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous insect.”
Corngold (1972/1996): “As Gregor Samsa awoke from troubled dreams one morning, he discovered that he had been transformed in his bed into a monstrous vermin.”
Hofmann (2007): “As Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous kind of verminous creature, a notorious skirt-chaser.”
Notice how four translators have made four different bets. Muir’s “gigantic insect” is the famous one, and the phrase has become part of English literary culture. Bernofsky restores “monstrous” and pairs it with “insect,” which is closer to the German. Corngold prefers “vermin” for the categorical feel. Hofmann goes wild with “skirt-chaser,” which is the translation choice the Guardian most famously criticized.
How to Choose the Right Translation for You
Choosing a Kafka translation is less about finding a single “best” version and more about matching the translation to your reason for reading. Here is the framework our team uses when readers ask.
For First-Time Readers
Buy Breon Mitchell’s The Trial and Susan Bernofsky’s The Metamorphosis. Both are modern, both are widely reviewed, and both are the versions most English literature professors now assign. You will not feel like you have read a museum piece.
For Students and Course Readers
Buy Susan Bernofsky’s Norton Critical Edition of The Metamorphosis. The facing-page German, the footnotes, and the contextual essays will save you hours of supplementary reading. Pair it with Breon Mitchell’s The Trial for a consistent modern set.
For Collectors and Traditionalists
Buy the Muir translations in vintage Schocken or Vintage paperback editions. The English has a mid-century elegance that some readers prefer, and these are the versions cited in most older literary criticism.
For Scholars and Researchers
Pair Corngold with a modern critical edition (Bernofsky or Harman) and keep the Muirs on the shelf for historical reference. If your research touches textual variants, Malcolm Pasley’s German critical edition is the standard scholarly text to consult.
For Readers Who Want Both Books to Match on the Shelf
The cleanest paired set in 2026 is Breon Mitchell (Schocken) for The Trial and Susan Bernofsky (Norton Critical Edition) for The Metamorphosis. The covers do not match, but the translations feel tonally consistent, both are post-1998, and both are widely stocked.
For Readers Who Want the Freshest 2024 Take
Buy Mark Harman’s The Transformation (Archipelago Books, 2024) for The Metamorphosis, paired with Breon Mitchell for The Trial. Harman restores the original chapter order, and his English reads like a living translation rather than a museum piece.
Audiobooks and Listening Translations
If you would rather listen than read, the most celebrated audiobook of Kafka in English is Benedict Cumberbatch’s narration of Stanley Corngold’s translation of The Metamorphosis. The recording is widely available on Audible and through library apps like Libby and Hoopla. Cumberbatch’s performance is restrained and dry in a way that matches Corngold’s scholarly register.
For The Trial, audiobooks exist in both the Mitchell and Muir translations. The Mitchell version is the easier recommendation for listeners who want a modern English voice, and it has been narrated by several audiobook performers. Avoid the older Muir audiobooks if you find mid-century formality distracting; the modern Mitchell audio versions are sharper.
If you commute and want both books as audio, Mitchell and Corngold are the easiest pair to find on major audiobook platforms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which translation of Kafka’s The Trial is considered the best?
Breon Mitchell’s 1998 Schocken translation is widely regarded as the best modern English version of The Trial. It is more direct and contemporary than the Muirs’ 1937 translation, while still preserving Kafka’s deadpan gravity. Mitchell’s version is the one most English literature professors now assign, and it is the translation cited in contemporary literary criticism.
Which English translation of The Metamorphosis is best?
Susan Bernofsky’s 2014 Norton Critical Edition is the best English translation of The Metamorphosis for most readers. It is precise, modern, and the only widely available edition with serious scholarly apparatus. Stanley Corngold’s translation is preferred by academic readers, and Michael Hofmann’s Penguin edition is the most readable for casual readers.
Which translation of Kafka is considered the best overall?
There is no single ‘best’ Kafka translation across all works, because each novel presents different translation problems. For The Trial, Breon Mitchell is the standard. For The Metamorphosis, Susan Bernofsky is the modern recommendation. For The Castle, Mark Harman’s 1998 translation remains the definitive English version.
Is there a translation of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis available?
Yes, The Metamorphosis has at least 23 published English translations. Most appeared after 1995, when the original German text entered the public domain in the United States. Major modern translations include Bernofsky (2014), Corngold (1972/1996), Hofmann (2007), Muir (1937/1952), and Harman (2024).
Should I read Muir or Mitchell for The Trial?
For a first reading in 2026, choose Mitchell. For a second reading, or if you prefer the formal English of mid-century literary fiction, choose Muir. Both are excellent, but Mitchell is the version most contemporary literary criticism and college courses now use. Many readers end up owning both and comparing them.
Which Metamorphosis translation is most accurate?
Stanley Corngold’s translation is generally considered the most literal and scholarly. Susan Bernofsky’s 2014 translation is the most balanced combination of accuracy and modern readability. Hofmann’s Penguin version is the least literal and the most playful, while Muir’s version is accurate but feels dated to modern readers.
Final Verdict: The Best Translations to Buy
If you want the best English translation of Kafka’s The Trial and The Metamorphosis in 2026, the cleanest paired recommendation is Breon Mitchell for The Trial (Schocken, 1998) and Susan Bernofsky for The Metamorphosis (Norton Critical Edition, 2014). Both are post-1998 modern translations, both are the versions most English literature professors now assign, and both feel tonally consistent as a set.
If you are a student or a serious reader, add Stanley Corngold’s Metamorphosis to your shelf for the academic footnotes. If you are a casual reader who wants the most readable English, pick up Michael Hofmann’s Penguin Metamorphosis as a third option. If you want the freshest 2024 take, Mark Harman’s The Transformation from Archipelago Books is the one to try. And if you want to understand the historical standard that defined English Kafka for most of the 20th century, keep a Muir edition on your shelf as well.
Whichever translation you choose, the most important thing is to actually read Kafka. Both novels are short, both are widely available, and both will reward you with prose that has not lost any of its power in the century since Max Brod first decided to publish them against Kafka’s wishes.