Ergänzen Sie: Ich ___ Anna und komme aus Portugal.
Swiss fide test (Deutsch) · fide Deutsch
Free Swiss fide test German practice questions (all nine everyday themes)
Fifteen questions in Swiss Standard German, drawn from all nine everyday themes the fide test is built around. The questions are in German because the test is; each explanation is in English. These are the everyday-language items: the listening and reading tasks need audio and passages that a static page cannot carry, so they stay in the app. Format and permit levels are on the fide test page; the full bank of 453 questions, the Swiss-German audio, the writing and speaking modules and the level-indicator mock are in the app.
Practice
Free practice questions
Ergänzen Sie: Am Morgen ___ ich um sieben Uhr auf.
Ergänzen Sie: Meine Wohnung hat drei Zimmer, eine Küche und ein ___.
Wo arbeitet ein Lehrer?
Wo kauft man Brot?
Ergänzen Sie: Ich habe Kopfschmerzen und nehme eine ___.
Was brauchen Sie, wenn Sie mit dem Tram fahren?
Wo melden Sie in der Schweiz eine neue Adresse an?
Ergänzen Sie: Am Wochenende spiele ich Fussball im ___.
Was ist das Gegenteil von 'jung'?
Wie spät ist es? Es ist Viertel ___ acht (7:45).
Ergänzen Sie: Jeden Monat bezahle ich dem Vermieter die ___.
Was macht man in einem Deutschkurs?
Wo kauft man Fleisch?
Was ist die Notrufnummer für die Ambulanz in der Schweiz?
What these questions do and do not cover
The fide test has four skills and this page can honestly practise one and a half of them. Reading tasks need their passage, listening tasks need Swiss-German audio, and speaking and writing need an examiner or a model answer to compare against. What a web page does carry well is the everyday vocabulary and sentence-level German that sits underneath all four, which is exactly what the nine themed categories hold. Treat the fifteen below as a vocabulary and usage check across the whole everyday range, not as a mock.
The Swiss usage that catches people out
Most learners arriving at fide have studied German-German, and the everyday vocabulary is where that shows. None of these are difficult words. They are simply different ones, and they appear constantly in the situations the test is built around.
- ss, never ß: Swiss Standard German has no eszett, so it is heisse, Strasse, gross
- Velo, not Fahrrad
- Billett, not Fahrkarte
- Tram, and it is neuter, das Tram
- Spital, not Krankenhaus
- Kehricht for household waste, with the commune's rules attached
- Gemeinde, the commune, which is where most official business happens
- Krankenkasse, compulsory health insurance, a topic in its own right
Why a level test changes how you should prepare
Because fide grades rather than passes you, the usual exam tactic of drilling to just clear a threshold does not apply cleanly. Two things follow. First, the oral level is weighted, Sprechen two thirds and Verstehen one third, so speaking practice buys more level than listening practice does. Second, since oral and written are recorded separately, and most permits ask for a higher spoken level than written, it is normal and sensible to prepare the two parts to different depths rather than evenly.
Not connected to fide or the SEM
RiverMap Learning is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the fide secretariat, the State Secretariat for Migration or any accredited test centre. Every question here is original, written to the publicly documented format of the test; the official model tests and scenario materials are copyright-protected and none are reproduced. Book through an accredited centre and confirm the current format, levels and fee on the official fide page.
| Oral part | Written part | |
|---|---|---|
| Skills | Sprechen and Verstehen | Lesen and Schreiben |
| Duration | about 40 minutes | about 60 minutes |
| How the level is worked out | Sprechen two thirds, Verstehen one third | Lesen and Schreiben together |
| Recorded on the language passport | One level: A1, A2 or B1 | One level: A1, A2 or B1 |
| Typical permit requirement | A1 for family reunification, A2 for a C permit, B1 for naturalisation | A1 for a C permit, A2 for naturalisation |
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Can you fail the Swiss fide test?
Not in the usual sense. fide grades each part to a level of the Common European Framework rather than passing or failing you, and the language passport records one level for the oral part and one for the written part. What can happen is that you do not reach the lower level of the combination you chose, in which case you are not certified at that combination. That is why choosing between A1 to A2 and A2 to B1 matters more than it looks.
What German level do you need for Swiss naturalisation?
Ordinary and simplified naturalisation generally need spoken B1 and written A2. A C settlement permit needs spoken A2 and written A1, an early C permit needs spoken B1 and written A1, and family reunification on a B permit usually needs spoken A1. Cantons may set higher requirements than the federal minimum, so confirm your exact level with your canton or commune.
Are these real fide test questions?
No. The official fide model tests and scenario materials are copyright-protected, with rights held by the State Secretariat for Migration, and none of that material is reproduced. Every question here is original, written by RiverMap Learning to the publicly documented format of the test, in Swiss Standard German with an explanation in English.
Is the fide test in Swiss German dialect?
It is in Swiss Standard German, de-CH, which is the written and formal spoken standard used in Switzerland, not in dialect. In practice that means ss is always written instead of the eszett, and everyday Swiss vocabulary such as Velo, Billett, Tram, Spital, Gemeinde and Krankenkasse is used. Our listening audio is recorded with Swiss voices for the same reason.
How long does the fide test take and how long do results take?
The oral part takes about 40 minutes and the written part about 60 minutes, and they are separate parts rather than one sitting of 100 minutes. The result, the language passport, usually arrives about four to six weeks later. You book directly at an accredited test centre with no obligation to take a preparation course first.
Why do these free questions not include listening or reading tasks?
Because they would not work on a static page. A fide listening task needs its Swiss-German audio and a reading task needs its passage, so surfacing either here would give you a question you cannot answer. The fifteen questions on this page are the everyday-language items from all nine themes; the reading passages, the recorded listening tasks, the writing module and the speaking module with model answers are in the app.