The German A1 exam syllabus tests basic language proficiency according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). It evaluates your ability to use familiar, everyday expressions and very simple sentences to meet concrete needs.
The primary target standard for this level is the Goethe-Zertifikat A1: Start Deutsch 1 exam. Here is the comprehensive breakdown of the core topics, grammatical structures, and the structure of the exam itself.
1. Exam Structure & Sections
The official A1 examination is a four-part test that takes approximately 65–75 minutes to complete. You need a score of 60% or higher to pass.
Listening (Hören) | ~20 minutes: Listening to short conversations, phone messages, or public announcements to answer multiple-choice or true/false questions.
Reading (Lesen) | 25 minutes: Reviewing brief notes, classified advertisements, email texts, or signposts to extract specific details.
Writing (Schreiben) | 20 minutes: Filling out personal information on basic forms and writing a short, 30-word email or message responding to an everyday prompt (e.g., making an appointment or apologizing).
Speaking (Sprechen) | 15 minutes: Conducted in a small group. It requires a self-introduction (name, age, country, occupation, hobbies), formulating questions based on flashcards, and responding to simple requests.
2. Core Grammar Syllabus
A1 level grammar focuses on foundational sentence building blocks and handling basic tense structures.
Nouns and Articles: Gender identification (masculine der, feminine die, neuter das), indefinite articles (ein / eine), and basic plural endings.
Pronouns: Personal pronouns in the nominative (ich, du, er, sie, es...) and accusative cases (mich, dich, ihn...), along with possessive articles (mein, dein, sein...).
Cases: Understanding the Nominative (subject) and Accusative (direct object), plus a basic functional introduction to the Dative case (such as prepositions of location).
Verbs and Conjugation: Present tense conjugation of regular and common irregular verbs (e.g., haben, sein, werden).
Special Verbs: Present tense modal verbs (können, müssen, wollen, möchten) and basic separable verbs (e.g., einkaufen, aufstehen).
Sentence Structure: Rules for forming basic declarative statements (where the verb sits in the second position), Ja/Nein questions, and W-Fragen (who, what, where, when questions).
Negation: Knowing when to use nicht (negating verbs/adjectives) versus kein (negating nouns).
Prepositions: Time prepositions (am, im, um) and basic spatial/local prepositions (in, auf, zu, aus).
3. Core Vocabulary & Themes
To clear the exam, you need to recognize and produce terms across these specific vocabulary modules.
Personal Info: Greetings, numbers (1-100+), the alphabet, countries, and spoken languages.
Daily Routines: Telling the time, identifying days of the week, months, and seasons.
Family & Social: Introducing your family structure and describing personal hobbies.
Work & School: Common professional occupations and basic workplace items.
Food & Shopping: Ordering at a restaurant, grocery terms, handling prices, and purchasing clothing.
Living & Travel: Describing your home apartment, requesting directions, and navigating basic public transportation.
Health: Identifying major body parts and scheduling a basic doctor's appointment.