Lezen: how to prepare for the reading part of the civic integration exam
In Lezen you read short, simple Dutch texts and answer questions about them. This guide covers the text types, how the questions work and how to study for the reading part.
Lezen is Dutch for "reading" and is the second part of the Dutch civic integration exam abroad. On exam day you take it after KNS and a short break. It tests whether you can read an A1-level Dutch text and find the information you need: a time in a notice, a date in a letter, a price in an advert.
Many people dread the reading part because they expect to not know every word. But you don't need to understand every word. The real skill is working out what the question is looking for and finding that information in the text, and that skill improves quickly with practice.
What does Lezen test?
Lezen checks whether you understand the kind of short written texts you will meet in daily life. Texts typically look like:
- A short email, message or letter (an invitation, an appointment reminder).
- A notice or sign (opening hours, rules, warnings).
- An advert (something for sale, a house for rent, a job).
- A form, table or schedule (bus times, a course timetable).
- A short informative text (about the municipality, a school or a doctor).
That leaves a little under two minutes per question, including reading time, so managing your time matters more here than in KNS.
Typical question types
Most reading questions ask you to find information that is stated clearly in the text. Some ask about the purpose of the text or what someone should do. Two example situations:
- Finding information: you read a notice with a library's opening hours. The question asks what time the library closes on Saturday. The answer is in one line of the table; you don't need to understand the rest.
- Purpose and action: you read a short letter from a school to parents. The question asks what parents need to bring next week. To find it, you need to spot the sentence with the request.
You can see sample questions in the exam format on this page. All of them, and more, are in All Questions.
Common mistakes
- Reading the whole text word by word. Read the question first, then look for the relevant part of the text. You save time and don't get stuck on words you don't need.
- Choosing the option that repeats a word from the text. Wrong options often reuse words from the text but say something different. Check that the option really means the same as the text.
- Missing a negation. Small words like niet, geen, alleen and pas change the meaning completely.
- Being careless with dates, times and numbers. Days (maandag, zaterdag), months and times come up often. Learn them well beforehand.
- Spending too long on one hard question. Flag it and come back later. In the real exam you can also go back to texts and questions.
1. Learn the strategy
In the reading section of Topic Lessons, start with the Strategy lessons: reading the question first, finding the key word, spotting the traps in wrong options. These lessons have no questions; you apply what you learn straight away in the texts.
2. Study the texts with explanations
For each reading text you answer the questions and check them. The sentence each answer is based on is highlighted in the text, and you can see the meaning of difficult words right in the text. When you understand all questions of a text, mark it as Learned. There are more than 90 texts; two or three a day is a good pace.
3. Review in the question bank
In the reading section of All Questions, go through the texts again with the answers hidden. Note the texts you got wrong and go back to their explanations.
4. Practise against the clock
Use the reading practice exams to work in the real format: 19 questions with a time limit. There are more than twenty, and texts repeat as little as possible between them. After each exam, read the explanations for your mistakes and look at how you used your time: if you run out of time, focus more on reading the question first.
Before the exam
In the last days, take Lezen after KNS and before Spreken, in its real order, with the Real Exam Simulation. For the other parts, see the KNS guide and the Spreken guide; for the overview, the civic integration exam guide.
Sources
How many questions are in the Lezen part?
The reading part of the real exam has 19 questions and you have 35 minutes. The questions belong to several short texts; one text can have one or more questions.
Do I need to know every word in the reading exam?
No. A1 texts will contain words you don't know. What matters is finding the information the question asks for. Knowing basic words, days, months, numbers and times well covers most questions.
Can I go back to earlier questions in the reading exam?
The official practice exam lets you go back to texts and questions within the part. Once you finish and close the part, you can't go back. Our practice exams and the Real Exam Simulation work the same way.
What kinds of texts appear in Lezen?
Short everyday texts: emails, letters, notices, adverts, opening hours and schedules. Official sources don't publish a full list of text types, so reading many different kinds of texts is the best preparation.
What if I run out of time in the reading part?
Read the question first, then look for the right place in the text; don't try to translate the whole text. Flag questions you're unsure about and leave them for the end. Practice exams under time pressure show you which question types cost you the most time.
How long should I study for reading?
It depends on your level. If you're starting from zero, begin with basic vocabulary and then study a few texts every day. When you comfortably pass the practice exams within the time limit, you're ready.