Key Take Aways

• B1 is actually the bare minimum in Germany for getting hired or even for vocational training.
• The exam syllabus breaks down into 4 core skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
• Grammar makes up 6 of the biggest topics on the B1 syllabus: past tenses (like Perfekt and Präteritum) passive voice, relative clauses, Konjunktiv II, reflexive verbs
• When it comes to vocabulary – you really should be focusing on the stuff that’s actually useful work, travel, health.

Introduction

So you want to reach at least a German B1 level – that’s a great goal! This is actually the level that can really start turning your life around in German speaking countries. You’ll be able to apply for jobs in Germany, join vocational training programs and have real conversations without constantly having to ask people to repeat what they’ve said, only to still not quite get it

Think of B1 as your ticket to independence in German-speaking countries. You’ve come this far from a tourist with a phrasebook; you’ve become someone who can actually live, work and communicate with the people around you.

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What is German B1 Level?

Learners will become independent users at the B1 level. You can deal with every day situations on your own, you can explain something that happened last week, you can explain why you have an opinion and you can write a simple email that actually makes sense.

When you’re applying for a nursing job, a sales role or many other jobs, employers often want B1. Some universities also require B1 before you start their preparatory courses. It can also make your life easier – you can talk to your child’s teacher, you can read a letter from your doctor and you can talk a little with your neighbour.

German B1 Syllabus Overview

The B1 syllabus covers four skills you will need to pass the exam, and here’s how they actually look.

Reading You will be able to read personal letters, short news articles and instructions, without having to read every word. You might be able to tell what new words mean by looking at the context in which they are used.

Writing You will write letters and opinion pieces – you will be able to sum up an experience you had in sentences and tell us whether you like or dislike something.

German B1 Grammar Topics

Grammar at B1 Builds Directly On What You Learn at A2

The 6 Key Topics of B1 Grammar

These 6 areas are the foundation of B1 grammar and they’re all vital to get right.

Past Tenses: Perfekt & Präteritum

Past Tense in German is Perfekt and Präteritum. The first tense you would use when referring to done things is Perfekt which is produced either with haben or sein with a past participle.

I watched a movie yesterday – Ich habe gestern einen Film gesehen.

We flew to Berlin – Wir sind nach Berlin geflogen.

But, Präteritum is used in writing (letters and stories). It is usually used in conversation with common verbs like ‘war’ (was) or ‘hatte’ (had).

Es war ein schöner Tag – It was a nice day!

She had no time – Sie hatte keine Zeit.

Passive Voice

Using the passive voice means moving the focus from the person doing something to the thing that’s happening. To do the passive, you’ll basically have to use “werden” followed by the past participle. First off, get a grip on the present tense passive

For instance :

• The letter is being written – The letter gets written – Der Brief wird geschrieben. (or – Der Brief wird geschrieben – it kind of works either way )
• The food is being cooked – The food is cooked – Das Essen wird gekocht. ( people use this form in official looking documents sometimes, but probably wont use it when chatting with a friend .

When you’re shopping chatting casually with a friend, dont bother with the passive voice – it just sounds pretty unnatural when you use it like that.

Relative Clauses

Relative clauses add in a bit of extra info about a person or thing. They start off with words like ‘der, die, das’ or ‘welcher, welche, welches’ and the verb just keeps on going right to the end of the clause. For example :

• That’s the bloke who lives in Berlin – That’s the man who lives in Berlin – Das ist der Mann, der in Berlin wohnt.
• I’m on the lookout for a hotel that wont break the bank – I’m looking for a hotel that’s not expensive – Ich suche ein Hotel, das nicht teuer ist.

Konjunktiv II

Konjunktiv II is great for when you want to make polite requests or imagine what if type scenarios. Most verbs use ‘würde’ followed by the infinitive, but some common verbs do their own thing like ‘hätte’ ( would have ) and ‘wäre’ ( would be ). For instance :

• Can I get a coffee please – Can I order a coffee – Ich würde gern einen Kaffee bestellen.
• May I ask for some help please – Can you help me out – Könnten Sie mir helfen?

Or in hypothetical situations :

• If I had the time I’d come along – If I had time, I’d pop over – Wenn ich Zeit hätte, würde ich kommen.
• Id rather be in Germany – I would love to be in Germany – Ich wäre gern in Deutschland.

Reflexive Verbs

Reflexive verbs need an extra little pronoun that points back to the person doing the action. You find a lot of these verbs in dictionaries, and they start with ‘sich’. The pronoun changes depending on who is doing the action. For example:

• I wash myself – Ich wasche mich.
• We meet at 8 o’clock – Wir treffen uns um 8 Uhr.
• She is interested in music – Sie interessiert sich für Musik.

Some common reflexive verbs at B1 level include:

• sich erinnern (to remember)
• sich bewerben (to apply)
• sich ausruhen (to rest)
• sich beschweren (to complain)

Prepositions with Cases

**Prepositions at B1 level are divided into three main cases : – accusative, dative, or genitive. Some of these prepositions can switch between accusative and dative, and then there are the ones that are either one or the other. To make things simple , just remember its movement that becomes accusative and place becomes dative. Simple as that.

Accusative prepositions include: durch (through), for (no Für isnt used this way, for is used for ‘in favour of’ though), against (im against that), without ( I don’t do this), around (not the best way to describe but use um for ‘ on and around’).

You walk through the park by saying “Ich gehe durch den Park”.

Dative prepositions: out of (aus), at/near (bei), with (im with my friend), after/to (not the same meaning but can use nach and zu), from (von), to (zu).

I live with my parents by saying “Ich wohne bei meine Eltern”.

Prepositions that can be both accusative & dative: an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen.

Example 1: (accusative) I put the cup on the table – Stelle die Tasse auf den Tisch.

Example 2: (dative) The cup is on the table – Die Tasse steht auf dem Tisch.

The genitive prepositions are to be used in formal writing: during (während), because of (wegen), despite (trotz).

We stay home because of the weather by saying “Wegen des Wetters bleiben wir zu Hause”.

German B1 Vocabulary Topics

At B1 level vocabulary covers the everyday situations you experience. Be prepared to learn 200-300 new words per topic. Here are five themes with examples to get you started.

Work & Career
Learn the words for jobs, tasks and workplace actions to be able to talk about your workday & responsibilities.

Some key words: die Bewerbung (job advert), some know it as a CV, die Erfahrung (experience), die Frist (deadline), der Kollege (colleague), the meeting – die Besprechung.

In a sentence: Im an der Besprechung mit meinem Chef morgen (I have a meeting with my boss tomorrow).

Travel & Transport

Trips, Tickets & Directions
Talk about the ups and downs of traveling. Describe some of the problems you might run into like flights being delayed or your bags going missing.

Some key words: your ticket – die Fahrkarte, the platform – der Bahnsteig, the delay – Verzögerung, your suitcase – der Koffer, the place to stay – Unterkunft.

Because of the delay I was stuck, I missed my next connection because of the hold up I missed my next flight.

Health & Lifestyle
Describe your symptoms to a Doctor. Talk about your eating habits, how much you exercise and what your daily routine is like

Education & Technology
Talking about courses and exams. Explain how to use different apps and even websites. And how to get the best out of using them.

Some key words: the course – der Kurs, the exam – die Prüfung, your result – das Ergebnis, your app – die App, the computer screen – der Bildschirm.

The course I was taking online just came to an end, now I’ve got to wait for my exam results which will be out next week.

Environment
Talk about pollution and other things that can harm the planet, Simple things that you can do to help protect the environment.

German B1 Speaking Topics

At B1, it’s about getting your message across. You don’t need perfect grammar. People need to understand you. Practice these four speaking areas.

Giving Opinions

Learn a few phrases to introduce your opinion. State what you like and why you like it or not.

Phrases to use:

Meiner Meinung nach (in my opinion), Ich finde, dass (I think that), Ich bin der Ansicht (I am of the view).

Example:

Meiner Meinung nach ist öffentlicher Verkehr besser als Autofahren. (Mirror opinion – public transport is better than driving.)

Describing Experiences

Tell a story from your life. Talk about a trip, a job, or a celebration. Use past tense naturally.

Example:

Last year I went to Munich. I visited the Deutsche Museum, it was very interesting. (Last year I went to Munich. I visited the German Museum, it was very interesting.)

Talking About Future Plans

Next week or next year, write what you’re going to do. Use the present tense with the time words, or use ‘werden’ for the future.

Example:

Nächstes Jahr werde ich eine Ausbildung beginnen. Ich möchte Mechaniker werden. (Nächstes Year I will start vocational training. I want to become a mechanic.)

Discussing Social Issues

Just talk about simple problems like housing, traffic, or noise. Bring one or two ideas to the table.

Example:

In meiner Stadt gibt es zu viel Verkehr. Die Stadt sollte mehr Fahrradwege bauen. (In my city there is too much traffic. The city should build more bike paths.)

German B1 Writing Tasks

The writing at B1 is really helpful. You’re going to write emails and short essays – and the key is to keep those essays well structured & have good connections between the paragraphs.

Emails (Formal & Informal)
Formal emails use a formal tone, “Sie”, and complete sentences. They also include a subject line, greeting and closing. Informal emails on the other hand use “du” and generally keep things pretty brief.

A good formal email will always start with some sort of formal opening like “Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren” (which is a polite way of saying Dear Sir or Madam) . And it’s always good to end with “Mit freundlichen Grüßen” (that’s Sincerely to you and me).

Opinion based writing
The exam might ask you : Sollen Schüler eine Uniform tragen? (Should students wear a uniform?) Then you write about 80 words . First state your opinion, then give two reasons with an example each. And finally wrap it up with a short conclusion stating your opinion.

Structure: Opening sentence with your opinion, Reason number 1 with an example, Reason number 2 with an example, Conclusion stating your opinion.

Short Essays
Write 120 words on a topic like “Meine Stadt” (My city). In your essay, describe the place where your city is, plus the people that live there & finally some thing thats special about your city (or something thats a problem). To link your sentences, you can use words like “außerdem” (as well as that), “deshalb” (therefore) and “obwohl” (although).

German B1 Exam Structure

Most people either go for the Goethe Zertifikat B1 or the telc Deutsch B1. They’re pretty much the same thing so lets look at what you can expect

Reading Module

You’ll be asked to read out a sign, or an email, or an article, and maybe a bit of a longer piece of writing. You’ll be answering multiple choice questions, match questions, and maybe even testing your truth detector with true or false questions.

Time alloted: 65 minutes – quite a squeeze.
25% of your total score – so worth getting it right

Listening Module

You will be listening to some announcements, a conversation or two, and maybe a radio report. The audio plays just once or twice and you’ll be trying to answer some multiple choice questions or fill in a few missing words.

Time allowed: 40 minutes – fly by
25% of your total score – same deal as the reading test

Writing Module

You’ll write a couple of texts. Your first one has to be a pretty informal email, just 80 or so words long. Your second attempt has to be more serious an opinion piece or letter, about 120 words.

Time allowed: 60 minutes. Long enough but only just.
100 points and another 25% of your total score

Preparation time – 15 minutes – just enough. Then 15 minutes of actual speaking
100 points and yes, another 25% of your total score

Tips to Complete German B1 Successfully

Getting to B1 in a short space of time comes down to cultivating good daily habits. Here are 5 tips to help you pass in no time.

Vocab Building Tricks Don’t just learn new words in isolation – think of a word and get it into a proper sentence, like something that actually happens in your life. Write down loads of example sentences to help it stick – and don’t just stick a little note on your wall – put actual sticky notes on stuff around the house to remind you. Try to recall the words you learnt yesterday – and you want to aim for adding 10 new sentences to your vocab per day.

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Conclusion

There are jobs in Germany and vocational training programs take you. Everyday life is a dream. Now you have all the grammar topics like passive voice and Konjunktiv II, the vocabulary categories from work to environment, and the exact exam structure for reading, writing, listening, and speaking.

You can do this level. Start out with 30 minutes today and work through each topic in the guide one by one. Take mock tests to see how you are doing. You can do this, and when you pass that test, it will all be worth it.

Ready to start your journey to B1? Join our German course today and get all the preparation materials, mock tests, and personal feedback from our experienced teachers.