Dutch A1: what to learn first
Dutch A1 is the first of the six CEFR levels: you can introduce yourself, ask and answer simple personal questions, understand prices and times, and read short signs and forms, all with memorised phrases and the present tense. An A1 test checks exactly those things in listening, reading and speaking. To reach it you need a little grammar, roughly 500 words and the confidence to open your mouth; most self-studiers need about 80–100 hours from zero.
What A1 actually means
The CEFR defines A1 as being able to understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases, introduce yourself and others, ask and answer questions about personal details, and interact simply when the other person talks slowly and helps you. It is deliberately modest. You are not expected to hold a conversation; you are expected to survive one. Keeping that scope in mind stops you from drowning in grammar you don't yet need.
What an A1 Dutch test covers
There is no Dutch state exam that certifies A1 on its own. The NT2 state exam starts at B1, the inburgering exam taken inside the Netherlands aims at B1 (with A2 as a fallback), and the lowest CNaVT profile sits at A2. You will meet an A1 test in two places:
- The civic integration exam abroad (basisexamen inburgering buitenland). Many people applying from abroad to live with a partner or family member in the Netherlands must pass it before they get a long-stay visa. It is taken at a Dutch embassy or consulate, is set at A1, and has three parts: speaking, reading, and knowledge of Dutch society (Kennis van de Nederlandse Maatschappij, KNM). Exemptions, fees and formats change, so check the current rules on the official inburgeren.nl site before you book.
- Course placement and end-of-level tests. Language schools and universities test A1 to decide which group you join or whether you move up. These usually cover all four skills.
Whatever the test, the structure follows the same CEFR skills, and what is asked at A1 is predictable:
| Skill | Typical A1 tasks | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Listening | Pick out a number, price, time or place from slow, clear speech | De trein naar Utrecht vertrekt om tien over drie. |
| Reading | Understand signs, short notices, simple ads and forms | Gesloten op zondag — closed on Sundays |
| Speaking | Answer personal questions, repeat short sentences, make a simple request | Hoe oud ben je? — Ik ben vierendertig. |
| Writing (course tests) | Fill in a form, write a two-line message | Name, address, date of birth, a short note to a neighbour |
Nothing at A1 requires past tenses or complex sentences. Examiners reward being understood: a clear, correctly pronounced short answer scores better than an ambitious sentence that falls apart.
Skip for now: past tenses, subclause word order, the word er, the difference between de and het beyond simple memorisation, and any verb tense other than the present. They belong to A2 and B1. Trying to learn them now slows you down.
The A1 checklist
These are the concrete skills that add up to A1. Treat it as a tick-list rather than a syllabus to work through in order.
| Area | What you need at A1 | Done when you can… |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | The hard g/ch, the ui and eu vowels, ij/ei | Read a new word aloud and be understood |
| Greetings | Hello, goodbye, please, thank you, sorry | Open and close a short exchange politely |
| Self-introduction | Name, country, where you live, what you do | Answer Hoe heet je? and Waar kom je vandaan? |
| Numbers | 0–100, prices, phone numbers, your age | Understand a price said aloud in a shop |
| Present tense | Regular verbs + zijn and hebben | Say what you do, have and want right now |
| Core questions | wat, waar, wie, hoe, hoeveel | Ask for a thing, a place or a price |
| Survival phrases | Ordering, asking directions, "I don't understand" | Get through a café or a shop in Dutch |
Start with pronunciation, not grammar
The single best use of your first few hours is sound, not rules. Dutch spelling is largely phonetic once you know the system, so a small investment early pays off for the entire rest of your learning. Two features trip up almost every English speaker: the throaty g in goedemorgen and the rounded ui in huis. If you leave these until later you will spend months reinforcing an accent that natives struggle to parse. Work through the pronunciation guides first, and specifically the Dutch g and the ui sound, before you memorise long word lists.
A useful early split exists here between the north and Belgium. The Netherlands uses a hard, scraping g; Flanders uses a softer one made further forward in the mouth. Either is correct — pick whichever region you are aiming at and copy it consistently.
Your first 500 words
At A1 vocabulary matters more than grammar. A learner with 500 well-chosen words and shaky grammar communicates far better than one with perfect grammar and 100 words. Prioritise the words you will actually use every day: numbers, family, food, days of the week, and the fifty or so verbs that do most of the work in any language (zijn, hebben, gaan, komen, willen, maken, doen).
Two vocabulary sets are worth front-loading because they appear constantly: the numbers (you need them for prices, times and dates from day one) and family members (the first thing anyone asks you about). Learn every noun together with its article — say de tafel and het huis, never just tafel — because the article is almost impossible to add back in later. You don't need the rules behind de and het yet, only the habit of memorising them attached.
The only grammar you need: the present tense
At A1 one tense covers you: the present. Dutch present-tense conjugation is mercifully simple. Take the stem (usually the infinitive minus -en) and add endings: nothing for ik, a -t for jij/hij/zij, and -en for all plurals.
| Pronoun | werken (to work) | zijn (to be) | hebben (to have) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ik | werk | ben | heb |
| jij | werkt | bent | hebt |
| hij/zij | werkt | is | heeft |
| wij/jullie/zij | werken | zijn | hebben |
One quirk to notice early: when jij comes after its verb in a question, the -t disappears — werk jij?, not werkt jij. The full rules, spelling changes and irregular verbs live on the present tense page. That page plus this table is genuinely all the verb grammar you need for A1.
Survival phrases to memorise whole
Some phrases you should learn as fixed blocks without analysing them. They get you through real situations while your grammar catches up.
| Dutch | English |
|---|---|
| Sorry, ik spreek een beetje Nederlands. | Sorry, I speak a little Dutch. |
| Kunt u dat herhalen? | Could you repeat that? |
| Ik begrijp het niet. | I don't understand. |
| Hoeveel kost dit? | How much does this cost? |
| Waar is het station? | Where is the station? |
| Een koffie, alstublieft. | A coffee, please. |
Build these out from the greetings and other phrase guides. Note the formal u in alstublieft and kunt u: with strangers and shop staff, formal is the safe default. The informal equivalents (alsjeblieft, kun je) come out with people your own age.
How long A1 takes
For an English speaker, Dutch is one of the easier languages — the two are close cousins. A realistic estimate for reaching solid A1 from zero is 80–100 hours of study and practice. For the same estimates at every level up to B2, see how long it takes to learn Dutch. At an hour a day that is roughly three months; at 30 minutes a day, about six. Those hours are the deliberate ones: lessons, review, speaking practice, not passive listening in the background.
If you want a structured way to spend them, follow the self-study plan, which turns these targets into weekly schedules. When you can tick every row of the checklist above without hesitating, you're ready to move on to A2, where the past tenses and real conversation begin. Watch out for the beginner traps collected on the common mistakes page — several of them bite hardest precisely at A1.
Frequently asked questions
What is tested at Dutch A1 level?
Listening for numbers, prices and times in slow speech; reading signs, notices and forms; answering simple personal questions aloud; and, in course tests, filling in a form or writing a short message. Only the present tense and memorised phrases are needed.
Is there an official Dutch A1 exam?
Not as a standalone diploma. The main official A1 test is the civic integration exam abroad (basisexamen inburgering buitenland), with speaking, reading and a Dutch society (KNM) part, which many partner-visa applicants must pass before moving to the Netherlands.
What CEFR level is someone just starting to learn Dutch?
A complete beginner is below A1 (sometimes called pre-A1 or A0). After roughly 80–100 hours of focused study most learners reach A1, the first CEFR level.
How many words do you need for Dutch A1?
Around 500 well-chosen words: numbers, family, food, days, and the most common verbs such as zijn, hebben, gaan, komen and willen. Learn every noun with its article.
How long does it take to reach A1 in Dutch?
About 80–100 hours of deliberate study for an English speaker: roughly three months at an hour a day, or six months at 30 minutes a day.