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.
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.
