What is A2 level Dutch? What you need to be able to do
2 min read
A2 is the language of everyday life: enough Dutch to manage ordinary, predictable situations — making an appointment, filling in a form, describing where you live. It is the level at which the integration exam tests your language, and nothing beyond that is asked of you.
That last point matters more than it sounds. Plenty of people spend years practising at a level the exam never asks for.
What A2 means for each skill
| Part | What you need at A2 | How the exam tests it |
|---|---|---|
| Reading | understand short everyday texts | 65 minutes, multiple-choice questions about a notice, an email, a leaflet |
| Listening | follow short conversations and videos | 45 minutes; the audio plays once |
| Writing | write short, practical texts | 40 minutes on paper, four tasks |
| Speaking | answer in an everyday situation | 35 minutes; you record your answer on the computer |
The number of questions per part and the exact pass mark are not published officially. Figures you find online are not confirmed by the official source, so we do not repeat them.
What A2 is not
At A2 you do not have to justify an opinion, build long complex sentences or follow abstract texts. That belongs to higher levels: the Staatsexamen NT2 tests at B1 (Programme I) and B2 (Programme II). That is not "a bit more vocabulary" — it is a different exam.
See the difference between A2 and NT2 if you are unsure which exam applies to you.
What A2 language actually looks like
- Short sentences. Four short correct sentences beat two long ones with mistakes — complexity earns you nothing.
- Ordinary connectors: en, maar, want, omdat, daarna (and, but, because, since, then).
- Present and perfect tense. At A2 those two carry you a long way.
- Talking around what you don't know. Lost the word? Huurcontract → "the paper for the house". That is not a workaround; it is exactly what A2 asks for.
- Not needing every word. In Reading, the answer often sits in a sentence containing three words you don't know. Full comprehension earns no extra marks.
How do you know whether you are at A2?
Not from a percentage in a coursebook, and not from a feeling. The only useful measurement is a practice exam under real conditions: against the clock, no dictionary, no translation app, and in Listening each fragment played only once.
What you see afterwards is usable: was it the time that beat you, or the language? Those are two very different problems with two very different fixes.
What to do next
- Read what the exam consists of
- Take an A2 practice exam
- Practise writing and speaking with instant feedback
Official source: inburgeren.nl — content of the language exams.