Level A1: what do you need to be able to do?
For the basic civic integration exam abroad you need level A1. That is not a vague "a bit of Dutch" but a defined level from the Common European Framework (CEFR) â the scale by which language ability is measured across Europe. A1 is the first of its six levels: the entry level.
What can you do at level A1?
At A1 you understand and use everyday expressions and very simple sentences, aimed at practical things you need straight away. You can introduce yourself and someone else, and ask and answer questions about where you live, who you know and what you have. You can hold a simple conversation, provided the other person speaks slowly and clearly and is willing to help you.
What you do not need to be able to do
You do not need faultless grammar or a large vocabulary. You do not need to follow fast spoken Dutch, read a newspaper or hold a conversation about abstract subjects. That comes at higher levels. Whoever is understood at A1 in ordinary, everyday situations meets the requirement.
Where does A1 apply in the exam?
The basic exam has three parts, but A1 applies to two of them: Speaking and Reading. Those are the language parts. The third part, Knowledge of Dutch Society, is not a language test â it measures what you know about the Netherlands. The questions are asked in simple Dutch, though, so your language level plays an indirect role there too.
How this site aims at A1
The lessons and the word list are built for this level: everyday words, short sentences and texts of a few lines, each with a picture, the pronunciation and a translation. No exceptions, no rare words and no long texts â those do not belong at A1 and only cost you time.
Glossaryâž
Theâ¨A1â¨wordâ¨listâ¨ofâ¨thisâ¨methodâ¨hasâ¨approximatelyâ¨1200â¨uniqueâ¨wordsâ¨andâ¨hasâ¨beenâ¨drawnâ¨upâ¨onâ¨theâ¨basisâ¨ofâ¨publicâ¨corpusâ¨dataâ¨fromâ¨Dutchâ¨andâ¨officialâ¨didacticâ¨sourcesâ¨forâ¨theâ¨Basicâ¨Civicâ¨Integrationâ¨Examinationâ¨Abroad.
Sources:
â˘â¨Corpusâ¨Spokenâ¨Dutchâ¨(CGN)â¨ââ¨Dutchâ¨Languageâ¨Unionâ¨/â¨Instituteâ¨forâ¨theâ¨Dutchâ¨Languageâ¨(IvdNT).â¨Frequencyâ¨listâ¨ofâ¨topâ¨5000â¨entriesâ¨fromâ¨spokenâ¨Dutch.
â˘â¨SoNaR-500â¨referenceâ¨corpusâ¨ââ¨500â¨millionâ¨wordsâ¨ofâ¨writtenâ¨Dutchâ¨(newspapers,â¨magazines,â¨web,â¨newsâ¨items).â¨Frequencyâ¨listâ¨topâ¨5000â¨entriesâ¨(IvdNT).
â˘â¨Generalâ¨Dutchâ¨Dictionaryâ¨Corpusâ¨(ANW)â¨ââ¨dictionaryâ¨corpusâ¨ofâ¨theâ¨IvdNT.â¨Frequencyâ¨listâ¨topâ¨5000â¨entries.
â˘â¨Naarâ¨Nederlandâ¨workbookâ¨(Boomâ¨NT2â¨editionâ¨/â¨Stichtingâ¨Inburgering)â¨ââ¨officialâ¨preparationâ¨materialâ¨recommendedâ¨byâ¨DUOâ¨forâ¨theâ¨Basicâ¨Civicâ¨Integrationâ¨Examâ¨Abroad.â¨819â¨entriesâ¨plusâ¨fixedâ¨connectionsâ¨coveringâ¨theâ¨coreâ¨communicativeâ¨themesâ¨ofâ¨theâ¨exam.
â˘â¨Languageâ¨Profilesâ¨2015â¨(SLOâ¨/â¨Dutchâ¨Languageâ¨Union)â¨ââ¨Dutchâ¨translationâ¨andâ¨operationalizationâ¨ofâ¨theâ¨Europeanâ¨Frameworkâ¨ofâ¨Referenceâ¨(CEFR).â¨Usedâ¨asâ¨aâ¨touchstoneâ¨forâ¨A1â¨relevanceâ¨viaâ¨theâ¨can-doâ¨descriptors.
Composition:
Theâ¨coreâ¨listâ¨isâ¨composedâ¨ofâ¨aâ¨corpus-drivenâ¨coreâ¨lexiconâ¨ofâ¨approximatelyâ¨600â¨entriesâ¨basedâ¨onâ¨theâ¨averageâ¨rankâ¨overâ¨CGNâ¨+â¨SoNaR-500â¨+â¨ANW.â¨Anâ¨entryâ¨mustâ¨appearâ¨inâ¨atâ¨leastâ¨twoâ¨ofâ¨theâ¨threeâ¨corporaâ¨toâ¨beâ¨eligibleâ¨ââ¨soâ¨subtitleâ¨bias,â¨newspaperâ¨bias,â¨andâ¨dictionaryâ¨biasâ¨areâ¨filteredâ¨simultaneously.â¨Aâ¨noiseâ¨filterâ¨hasâ¨beenâ¨appliedâ¨toâ¨thisâ¨coreâ¨onâ¨speechâ¨fillersâ¨(uh,â¨hm),â¨Belgian-Flemishâ¨specificâ¨wordsâ¨(brussels,â¨Flemish,â¨franc)â¨andâ¨abstractâ¨newspaperâ¨languageâ¨(minister,â¨committee,â¨level,â¨system).
Theâ¨listâ¨wasâ¨thenâ¨supplementedâ¨withâ¨integration-specificâ¨vocabularyâ¨fromâ¨theâ¨Naarâ¨Nederlandâ¨workbookâ¨(family,â¨housing,â¨health,â¨transport,â¨dailyâ¨life,â¨Dutchâ¨society).â¨Ofâ¨theâ¨NNâ¨lemmas,â¨theâ¨earlyâ¨andâ¨thematicallyâ¨A1-appropriateâ¨wordsâ¨areâ¨includedâ¨inâ¨A1;â¨complexâ¨multi-wordâ¨expressionsâ¨andâ¨wordsâ¨fromâ¨theâ¨laterâ¨NNâ¨lessonsâ¨haveâ¨beenâ¨movedâ¨toâ¨theâ¨A2â¨extensionâ¨ofâ¨thisâ¨method.
Touchstoneâ¨CEFRâ¨A1:
Theâ¨Naarâ¨Nederlandâ¨workbookâ¨isâ¨officiallyâ¨A1â¨level,â¨butâ¨fromâ¨aâ¨strictâ¨CEFRâ¨perspectiveâ¨itâ¨containsâ¨someâ¨A1+/A2â¨elementsâ¨(perfectâ¨tense,â¨abstractâ¨chunks,â¨professionalâ¨themes).â¨Inâ¨caseâ¨ofâ¨doubt,â¨theâ¨CEFRâ¨can-doâ¨descriptorâ¨fromâ¨Languageâ¨Profilesâ¨2015â¨takesâ¨precedenceâ¨overâ¨NN:â¨wordsâ¨thatâ¨occurâ¨inâ¨NNâ¨butâ¨areâ¨onlyâ¨expectedâ¨atâ¨A2â¨accordingâ¨toâ¨CEFRâ¨areâ¨markedâ¨forâ¨theâ¨A2â¨extension.
Criteria:
1.â¨Frequencyâ¨ââ¨highâ¨frequencyâ¨inâ¨bothâ¨spokenâ¨languageâ¨(CGN)â¨andâ¨writtenâ¨languageâ¨(SoNaR/ANW),â¨soâ¨thatâ¨theâ¨wordsâ¨occurâ¨inâ¨almostâ¨everyâ¨communicativeâ¨situation.
2.â¨Communicativeâ¨relevanceâ¨ââ¨inâ¨lineâ¨withâ¨theâ¨CEFRâ¨A1â¨can-doâ¨descriptorsâ¨andâ¨theâ¨officialâ¨DUOâ¨finalâ¨objectivesâ¨forâ¨theâ¨Basicâ¨Civicâ¨Integrationâ¨Examinationâ¨Abroadâ¨(introducingâ¨yourself,â¨personalâ¨details,â¨family,â¨dailyâ¨life,â¨housing,â¨health,â¨transport,â¨KNS).
3.â¨Didacticâ¨feasibilityâ¨ââ¨approximatelyâ¨20-30â¨newâ¨itemsâ¨perâ¨lesson,â¨inâ¨lineâ¨withâ¨cognitiveâ¨loadâ¨researchâ¨(Sweller).â¨Verbsâ¨areâ¨countedâ¨asâ¨oneâ¨lemmaâ¨andâ¨presentedâ¨inâ¨threeâ¨presentâ¨formsâ¨(Iâ¨/â¨you¡you¡he¡she¡itâ¨/â¨we);â¨irregularâ¨verbsâ¨(be,â¨have,â¨can,â¨want,â¨go,â¨do,â¨see,â¨stand,â¨may,â¨must,â¨will,â¨come,â¨know,â¨hit)â¨areâ¨givenâ¨allâ¨formsâ¨separately.
Conjugations,â¨pluralsâ¨andâ¨fixedâ¨compoundsâ¨(chunksâ¨suchâ¨asâ¨"howâ¨areâ¨you",â¨"goodbye")â¨areâ¨treatedâ¨asâ¨independentâ¨learningâ¨itemsâ¨whereâ¨necessary,â¨inâ¨lineâ¨withâ¨researchâ¨intoâ¨formulaicâ¨languageâ¨(Wray)â¨andâ¨didacticâ¨principlesâ¨forâ¨secondâ¨languageâ¨learners.
How the Speaking practice exam is markedâž
The real Speaking exam has 22 tasks: answering 10 questions and finishing 12 sentences, in 30 minutes. Two certified assessors listen to your answers. They use a fixed assessment model (Regeling examenprogramma basisexamen inburgering).
For each task you get 1 point if your answer fits the question and 1 point if it is easy to understand. If your answer does not fit, you also get no point for pronunciation. An answer may be one word and does not have to be grammatically correct. This is what the official Assessment Model Speaking A1 says.
The government does not publish the pass mark: the minister sets it for each exam. DUO gives a mark from 1 to 10. With a 6 or higher you pass.
In our practice exam the computer marks your answers with your browser's speech recognition, using the same model. You can score 44 points. We count 34 points as a pass, about a 6. Language schools use the same pass mark in their sample exams. The computer is stricter than an examiner: sometimes it does not understand you, for example because of noise or a poor microphone. If you score 34 points with us, you are well prepared.
This website is an independent practice platform and not a website of the Dutch government. We do not run exams and do not mark them. The official rules and the registration are at Naar Nederland (DUO), IND and NederlandWereldwijd. Content checked on 1 September 2026.
