Of all the inburgering parts, reading (lezen) is the one that rewards a calm, methodical head. You are not on a clock with a microphone in your face like in the speaking exam. The text sits right in front of you, you can read it twice, and the answer is somewhere on the screen. And yet plenty of people still fail the reading exam, almost always for the same two reasons: they run out of time, or they try to understand every single word. This guide shows you how to avoid both.
Below you will find the format of the reading exam (verified where the official sources are clear, and hedged where they are not), the real text types you will face, and the exact reading strategy our students use to pass it on the first try. I teach this exam every week, so most of what follows is the practical layer that the official pages leave out.
Quick answer. The inburgering reading exam (lezen) is a computer test where you read short, everyday Dutch texts (letters, notices, adverts, forms, timetables) and answer multiple-choice questions about them. At A2 the time limit is 65 minutes; the exam is widely reported as around 25 questions with roughly three-quarters correct to pass, but the exact count and pass mark are not published prominently, so confirm the current numbers with DUO. Learners on the B1-route take a longer, harder reading exam (the Staatsexamen NT2 Lezen, about 110 minutes). Reading is one of the most passable parts if you read for the question, not for every word.
Inburgering reading exam format (lezen): A2 vs B1
The single most important thing to sort out first is which level you have to reach, because the reading exam is genuinely different at A2 and B1. Under the old law (before the Wet inburgering 2021), reading is at A2. Under the new law, the default is the B1-route, where reading is taken at B1 as part of the Staatsexamen NT2. Here is how the two compare.
| Feature | A2 reading (old law) | B1 reading (B1-route, Wet inburgering 2021) |
|---|---|---|
| Time limit | About 65 minutes (official) | About 110 minutes (Staatsexamen NT2, official) |
| Question type | Multiple choice | Multiple choice |
| Number of questions | Widely reported as around 25 (confirm with DUO) | More questions and longer texts (confirm with DUO) |
| Text length | Short, simple, practical texts | Longer texts, more detail, more abstract topics |
| Taken on | Computer at a DUO location | Computer at a DUO location |
| What it demands | Find clear, concrete information | Follow an argument, catch nuance and opinion |
Treat the question counts and pass marks as a working guide, not gospel. The 65-minute A2 limit and the 110-minute B1 limit come from the official inburgeren.nl and Staatsexamen NT2 pages, but the exact number of questions and the precise pass mark are not always published clearly and can be adjusted. Always confirm the current structure on the official DUO inburgeren website before your exam date. If you are still unsure which level applies to you, read our guide on A2 or B1 first, because it changes everything about how you prepare.
What the reading exam actually tests
This is the mindset shift that calms people down. At A2, the reading exam is not testing whether you understand poetry, opinion columns, or complicated official jargon. It tests whether you can find practical information in everyday Dutch texts: what time an appointment is, what a letter is asking you to do, which product is on offer, or where to hand in a form.
That means you do not need to understand every word. You need to understand enough to answer the question. A single unfamiliar word rarely decides a question, so do not freeze when you hit one. Read around it and keep going. In lessons, the students who struggle most with reading are almost never the ones with the smallest vocabulary. They are the ones who stop dead at the first word they do not recognise.
At B1 the demand rises. You still read practical texts, but they are longer and you often have to catch the writer's opinion or intention, not just a fact. A B1 question might ask what the writer thinks about a plan, or why they wrote the letter, rather than simply what time the meeting is. The strategy below still works, but you lean harder on linking words and tone.
The real text types you will face
Reading feels far less intimidating once you know the exam draws from a small, predictable set of everyday text types. You are not going to be handed a novel. You will get the kind of Dutch that lands in your letterbox and on your phone. Recognising the type instantly tells you where the answer usually hides.
| Text type | Real-life example | What questions usually ask |
|---|---|---|
| Letters and emails | A letter from the gemeente, a landlord, or a school | Why it was sent, what you must do, by when |
| Forms | A registration or application form | What goes in a field, who must sign, what to attach |
| Notices and signs | A notice on a door, a warning, a house rule | What is allowed or forbidden, when, for whom |
| Adverts | A supermarket offer, a job ad, a for-sale post | Price, condition, contact, what is included |
| Schedules and timetables | Opening hours, a bus or class timetable | When something is open, starts, or is closed |
| Short articles and instructions | A simple news item, package or medicine instructions | The main point, a step, a dose, a warning |
The fastest way to feel this for yourself is to sit down with a real exam. The official DUO practice exams use exactly these text types and this question style, and working through one shows you where your reading still slows down.
Reading feels easier when your everyday vocabulary is solid. That is exactly what we build in our inburgering lessons. Book a free intake call and we will test your reading level and show you exactly where the gaps are.
The reading strategy that saves time
Most lost points come from poor technique, not poor Dutch. This is the exact order I teach. Work through it as a checklist on every single question until it becomes automatic.
- Read the question first, then the options. Know what you are looking for before you dive into the text, so you can scan for it instead of reading every line.
- Scan, do not study. Sweep the text for the specific detail the question asks about: a time, a name, a price, a date, or an action. Your eyes are hunting one thing, not absorbing everything.
- Match the keyword, then read the sentence around it. When you find the word from the question, slow down and read the full sentence, because that is where the answer lives.
- Do not translate every word. Aim for the meaning of the sentence, not a perfect translation into your own language.
- Watch the small words. Words like niet, geen, maar, behalve, alleen, pas, and nog niet can flip the meaning of a whole sentence. They are where the trap answers are built.
- Eliminate before you choose. Cross out the options that are clearly wrong. Often two are obviously off, which turns a hard question into a coin flip in your favour.
- Never leave a blank. A wrong answer costs nothing extra, so an unanswered question is just a thrown-away chance. Always pick something.
- Manage the clock. The A2 time limit is generous, but do not get stuck. If a question resists after a reasonable try, mark it, move on, and come back with time you saved elsewhere.
How the method looks on one question
Here is the strategy in motion, using the kind of short text you will actually see. Imagine a notice that reads: "De bibliotheek is open van maandag tot en met vrijdag. Op zaterdag is de bibliotheek alleen in de ochtend open. Op zondag is de bibliotheek gesloten." The question: "Wanneer kun je op zaterdag naar de bibliotheek?"
You read the question first, so you already know you are hunting for Saturday (zaterdag). You scan, ignore the Monday-to-Friday line, land on the zaterdag sentence, and read it fully. The small word alleen ("only") plus in de ochtend ("in the morning") gives you the answer: Saturday morning only. You never needed to translate gesloten or think about Sunday at all. That is the whole game: question first, scan to the keyword, read the sentence, watch the small word.
Five worked examples, one for each text type
The single question above shows the method in miniature. Now let us run the same skim, scan, and eliminate routine across each of the main text types, because each one hides its answer in a slightly different place. Once you have seen the pattern for a letter, a form, a notice, an advert, and a short article, almost nothing on exam day will feel new.
1. A letter from an institution. Say you get a letter that opens: "Geachte heer De Vries, uw afspraak bij de gemeente op maandag 8 juni gaat niet door. Wij nodigen u uit voor een nieuwe afspraak op donderdag 11 juni om 14:00 uur. Neem uw paspoort mee." The question: "Wat moet meneer De Vries doen?" Skim the layout first: a formal greeting and a date tell you instantly this is an official letter, so the answer is almost always an instruction or a deadline. Scan for the action words. You hit "Neem uw paspoort mee" (bring your passport) and the new date. You eliminate any option about the 8 June appointment, because "gaat niet door" means it is cancelled. The correct answer is that he must come on 11 June and bring his passport. Notice you never had to understand "Wij nodigen u uit" word for word to get there.
2. A form or aanvraag. Forms are the text type people fear most and lose the fewest points on, because the questions are so literal. Imagine an application form for a library card with fields for voornaam, achternaam, geboortedatum, adres, and a line at the bottom: "Voeg een kopie van uw identiteitsbewijs toe." The question: "Wat moet u met het formulier meesturen?" Skim the field labels, then scan specifically for the instruction line, because that is where forms hide the real question. The word "meesturen" in the question matches "toevoegen" and "kopie van uw identiteitsbewijs" in the text. Answer: a copy of your ID. Eliminate any option asking for a photo or a payment, because neither appears. On a form, the answer is nearly always in the small print under the fields, not in the fields themselves.
3. A public notice. A notice taped to a door reads: "Let op! Van 3 tot en met 7 juli is het zwembad gesloten wegens onderhoud. Vanaf 8 juli bent u weer welkom." The question: "Waarom is het zwembad dicht?" Notices are short, so skim the whole thing in one glance, then scan for the reason word. The signaalwoord here is "wegens" (because of), which points straight at "onderhoud" (maintenance). Answer: maintenance. Eliminate options about a holiday or a broken pipe, because the text never says them. Notices reward you for spotting one keyword, so do not overthink them.
4. An advertisement. A second-hand advert reads: "Te koop: fiets, bijna nieuw, 3 maanden gebruikt. Vraagprijs 120 euro. Ophalen in Utrecht. Bel na 18:00 uur." The question: "Wanneer kunt u bellen?" Adverts pack several facts into a few lines, so read the question first and hunt only for the fact it asks about, ignoring price and location. Scan for a time and you find "na 18:00 uur" (after 6 pm). Answer: after 6 pm. Eliminate any option about the morning. The trap in adverts is that all the other details (120 euro, Utrecht, three months old) are correct facts, just not the answer to this question. Match the question word, not the first number you see.
5. A short informational article. A simple news item reads: "Steeds meer mensen in Nederland gaan met de fiets naar hun werk. Fietsen is goedkoper dan de auto en beter voor de gezondheid. Toch pakken sommige mensen liever de trein, omdat ze te ver van hun werk wonen." The question: "Waarom nemen sommige mensen de trein?" Articles are the longest text type, so skim for the main idea first (more people cycle to work), then scan for the specific detail. The signaalwoord "omdat" (because) leads you to "ze te ver van hun werk wonen" (they live too far from work). Answer: because they live too far away. The word "Toch" (however) is your clue that a contrast is coming, which is exactly where detail questions like to live.
A strategy for each question type
Every reading question, at A2 or B1, is really one of four types. Once you can name the type, you know where to look and what trap to expect. This is one of the highest-value habits I teach.
| Question type | How to spot it | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Main idea | "Waar gaat de tekst over?" or "Wat is het belangrijkste?" | Read the first and last sentence, and any title. Do not chase details; the answer is the general point. |
| Detail | "Hoe laat...", "Wanneer...", "Hoeveel...", "Wat moet u..." | Scan for the exact keyword (a time, price, name, action) and read the sentence around it. |
| Reference words | "Naar wie verwijst hij/zij/dit/dat?" | Look at the sentence just before the word. Pronouns almost always point back to the nearest matching noun. |
| Vocabulary in context | "Wat betekent ... in deze tekst?" | Do not translate in isolation. Read the whole sentence and let the meaning around the word tell you. |
Main idea questions punish over-reading. If you dive into the details you will pick a true-but-too-small answer. Pull back and ask, "If I had to tell a friend what this text is about in one line, what would I say?" Detail questions are pure scanning, and they are the majority at A2. Reference word questions feel tricky but follow a rule: when you see hij, zij, het, dit, or die, the thing it refers to is nearly always the last matching noun before it. Vocabulary in context questions are the ones where translating fails you most, because the exam picks words whose meaning bends to the sentence. Read for the sense of the sentence and the right option usually stands out.
Signaalwoorden: the linking words that decide answers
If small negatives like niet and geen are the first family of trap words, the second is the signaalwoorden, the linking words that steer the logic of a sentence. Miss one and you can read a whole paragraph backwards. At B1 these are not optional, because so many questions test whether you followed the writer's line of thought. Learn this short list until you recognise them instantly.
| Signaalwoord | Meaning | What it signals |
|---|---|---|
| echter, maar, toch | however, but, yet | A contrast is coming; the next idea reverses the last one. |
| hoewel | although | Two opposite ideas in one sentence; read both halves. |
| daarom, dus | therefore, so | A result or conclusion follows. |
| omdat, want, wegens | because, because of | A reason follows; perfect for "waarom" questions. |
| bijvoorbeeld | for example | An illustration, not a new main point. |
| ten eerste, daarna, ten slotte | first, then, finally | A sequence of steps or arguments. |
A worked example shows why they matter. Read: "De cursus is nuttig. Hij is echter vrij duur." A learner who skips echter might answer that the course is cheap and useful. But echter flips the second sentence: the course is useful, however it is expensive. In lessons, a large share of "silly" reading mistakes come down to one missed signaalwoord. Whenever a question asks waarom (why) or what the writer thinks, your eyes should go straight to these words.
A2 vs B1 reading: the same skill, a harder text
Learners on the B1-route often ask how much harder B1 reading really is. The honest answer is that the method does not change, but the text gets longer, the vocabulary less predictable, and the questions move from "what does it say" to "what does the writer mean". A quick side-by-side makes it concrete.
An A2 text might read: "De training begint om 19:00 uur. Neem sportkleding mee." The question is a plain detail: what time does the training start? You scan, you find 19:00, done. A B1 text on the same theme might read: "De organisatie heeft de training verplaatst naar de avond, omdat veel deelnemers overdag werken. Niet iedereen is daar blij mee, want de zaal is 's avonds moeilijker te bereiken." Now the question could be: "Waarom zijn sommige deelnemers ontevreden?" You have to follow two linked reasons (the move to the evening, then the harder-to-reach hall) and connect "niet iedereen is daar blij mee" to the reason after want. That is the real B1 jump: not harder words, but an extra step of reasoning. If you are weighing which level you sit, our guide on whether you need A2 or B1 walks through it in full.
A time-management drill you can do this week
Running out of time is the number one reason capable readers fail, and it is almost always fixable with one simple drill. The maths is friendlier than it feels. If the A2 exam is widely reported as roughly 25 questions in 65 minutes, that is about two and a half minutes per question, which is generous. The problem is never the average; it is the two or three questions that swallow ten minutes each. Here is the drill I give students.
- Set a hard limit of two minutes per question. Use a timer on your phone during practice. When it beeps, you either have an answer or you mark the question and move on. No exceptions.
- Do a "first pass" and a "second pass". On the first pass, answer every question you can inside two minutes and flag the rest. On the second pass, return to the flagged ones with the time you banked. Most people find they have twelve to fifteen minutes left for four hard questions.
- Always leave a guess on a flagged question. Before you move on, pick your best option anyway. If you never make it back, you still have a chance instead of a guaranteed zero.
- Track your finishing time. Write down how long each full practice set takes. When you can finish with a few minutes spare three sessions in a row, your pace is exam-ready.
This drill trains the one instinct that matters under time pressure: letting go of a hard question quickly so it cannot rob the easy points waiting later in the exam. Every question is worth the same, so protect the easy ones first.
Common mistakes I see in lessons
These are the habits that quietly cost people points. Every one of them is fixable with practice.
- Reading the whole text before looking at the question. It feels thorough, but it burns time and you forget the details anyway. Question first, always.
- Freezing on one unknown word. You do not need it. Read around it and let the sentence carry you.
- Overthinking a clear answer. At A2 the correct answer is usually stated plainly. If it looks obvious, it probably is. Do not talk yourself out of it.
- Ignoring the small negatives. Missing a niet or a geen turns a right answer into a wrong one. Slow down on the sentence that holds the answer.
- Spending five minutes on the hardest question. It is worth exactly the same as the easiest one. Bank the easy points first.
A prep plan and vocabulary routine for reading
Reading is the skill you genuinely can build a lot of on your own, as long as your practice looks like the exam. A realistic weekly routine:
- Do the official DUO practice exams. They show the real question style and reveal the topics you still find hard. Start here so nothing on exam day is a surprise.
- Redo them under exam conditions. Same time limit, no dictionary, no pausing. A second run tells you whether you actually read faster or simply remembered the answers.
- Read short, real Dutch every day. Letters from the gemeente, supermarket flyers, package instructions, and news written in simple Dutch (for example the "makkelijke" news sites). Ten minutes a day beats one long session a week.
- Keep a small vocabulary list, grouped by the themes that keep coming back: work, health, housing, appointments, money, and government. Learn words in the little phrases they live in, such as een afspraak maken or de huur betalen, not as bare single words.
- Time yourself on full practice sets so exam pace feels normal. The clock is a skill you can train.
A simple test of readiness: can you finish a full practice set inside the time limit and still have a couple of minutes to check your marked questions? If yes, you are close. If you keep running out of time, the fix is almost always scanning technique, not more vocabulary.
How reading links to the other exam parts
Reading does not sit alone. The vocabulary you build for it carries straight into the other skills, so smart preparation studies them together rather than one at a time.
- The everyday words you meet in reading are the same ones you need in listening (luisteren). Reading them first makes them easier to catch by ear.
- Reading real letters and notices shows you the sentence patterns you then reuse in writing (schrijven).
- The situations you read about (appointments, complaints, requests) are the same ones you have to talk through in speaking (spreken).
- Because reading texts cover healthcare, housing, work, and government, your reading practice doubles as preparation for the KNM exam, which is also taken in Dutch. Studying the two together saves you time.
If you want the overview of every part and how they fit, start with our complete guide to the inburgering exam and our guide to the Dutch integration exam and how to pass it faster.
Two myths about the reading exam
Myth: you have to understand every word. You do not, and trying to is the single biggest cause of failure. The exam rewards finding information, not perfect comprehension. Plenty of people pass while skipping over words they have never seen.
Myth: reading is the hardest part because there is so much text. In my experience it is usually the opposite. Because you can reread, work at your own pace, and there is no pressure to produce Dutch yourself, most learners find reading one of the most passable parts once they stop translating and start scanning.
A2 or B1: which reading exam do you take?
How much you need to read depends on your required level. Under the old law the reading exam is at A2, with short, simple texts. Under the Wet inburgering 2021, learners on the B1-route take reading at B1, with longer texts and more demanding questions, and it is possible under certain conditions to be scaled down to A2 after serious effort. One extra note for context: naturalisation (becoming Dutch) still requires A2 in 2026. A move to B1 for naturalisation has been discussed as a bill but is not in force. Before you build your study plan, make sure you know whether you need A2 or B1, because it changes how much reading practice you need.
Frequently asked questions about the reading exam
What does the inburgering reading exam test? Whether you can understand everyday written Dutch, such as letters, adverts, notices, and forms, well enough to find the practical information you need. At A2 it is not about complex or literary texts. At B1 you also have to catch the writer's opinion or intention.
How many questions are on the reading exam and how long does it take? At A2 the time limit is about 65 minutes, and the exam is widely reported as around 25 multiple-choice questions with roughly three-quarters correct needed to pass. The exact count and pass mark are not always published clearly, so confirm the current numbers with DUO. The B1-route reading exam (Staatsexamen NT2) is longer, about 110 minutes.
Is the reading exam hard? For most people it is one of the more passable parts, because you can reread and there is no speaking pressure. The main risks are poor time management and trying to understand every single word.
How do I practise at home? Use the official DUO practice exams, read short everyday Dutch texts daily, and train the habit of reading the question first and scanning for the answer, all under a timer.
What level is the reading exam? A2 under the old law, or B1 for learners on the B1-route under the Wet inburgering 2021. Check which level applies to you before you start.
This article is general guidance, not legal advice. Exam formats, question counts, time limits, and pass marks can change. Always confirm the current reading exam structure and your own obligations with DUO before your exam.