Goethe-Zertifikat A1: Start Deutsch 1: format, time and pass mark

How to prepare

Goethe-Zertifikat A1 (Start Deutsch 1) is the first full exam shape in this app. You read short letters, signs and ads, you hear short conversations and announcements, you fill a form and write a message of about thirty words, and you speak in a small group.

The four modules are equal in the pass rule on the level page. Being strong at reading does not replace the speaking part. The app marks you ready when each module is at the ready line, which is stricter than the exam pass line.

A worked example

Hallo Anna, ich komme am Freitag um 18 Uhr. Ich bringe Kuchen mit. Bis dann, Sara.

A thirty-word message only needs the three points the task asks for, plus a greeting and a name.

At A1 the point is whether the other person can act on the message. Extra sentences do not raise the score if a required point is missing.

What usually drops the point

• Writing a long message and skipping one of the three points.
• Hearing a number and writing the next number because you translated it slowly.
• Introducing yourself with a memorised paragraph that never spells your name or says the number you were given.

How to use the mock

Learn each noun with its article, because the form and the signs use them. Then practise the three speaking rounds out loud. The mock records you if you allow the microphone.

1. Fill a form with your own name, city and phone number in German.
2. Listen to one course dialogue and write down only the time and the place.
3. Say your name, spell it, and say one number without reading.

Author: Fahrplan Deutsch. Last reviewed 2026-10-27. reviewed: false. A native-speaker review is still open. This page is not a Goethe-Institut paper.

How to spend the time

Spend the first week on the four shapes, not on a grammar list. One day is a form and a thirty-word message. One day is signs and two ads. One day is a conversation you hear twice and an announcement you hear once. One day is the three speaking rounds said out loud. The level page is the map; the skill pages are the work.

Keep a single sheet with the things A1 actually asks you to produce: your name spelled in German letter names, one phone number in groups, three short reasons (krank, keine Zeit, zu spät), and ten nouns with their article that appear on signs (Eingang, Ausgang, Kasse, Gleis, Uhr). If a word is not useful in a form, a sign, a message or a question, leave it for later.

When you start the mock, do one module and stop. Compare what you wrote with the skill page before you open the next module. A full mock on day one only tells you that four unfamiliar tasks feel fast. A single module tells you which of the three points you dropped.