Spiegel.de asks, “Sind Sie reif, ein Deutscher zu sein?” (“Are you ready to be German?”). Starting in September, foreigners wishing to obtain German citizenship will have to answer at least 17 out of 33 questions correctly on the politics, history, geography, and law of Germany in order to qualify for citizenship.
I made it, scoring 25 out of 33, though I must admit I did a lot of (educated) guessing. Unfortunately for the non-German-speakers out there, the test is in German, but if you speak German, take it and let us know if you have what it takes to become a German citizen. (I’m especially interested to hear how my German readers do!)
{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }
Yippee. I passed. I’m off down the Amt (just as soon as I find out which one).
BiBs last blog post..You say tomato
I passed!
Got a couple wrong about flag colors and capitals of other Bundesländer.* I can live with that!
*It’s called BRD (“Bayern und Rest Deutschlands”) for a reason.
“Sie haben 31 von 33 Punkten.
Sie haben es geschafft.”
piece of cake. though i didn’t know how many countries there are in the EU right now and i could care less which flag is raised in NRW.
ritas last blog post..stolpersteine: hagen
Hi, Mine said I had 29 from 33 correct however, when I wrote them on a piece of paper I only had 25 correct…In my defense, there were a couple of things I did not understand. Never the less, I am still NOT ready to be a citizen of Germany!! ha ha
That was fun.
@BiB: Let us know how it goes!
@cliff: I got the capital of Hessen, Rainer likes to quiz me on that kind of stuff during long car trips, but I also missed the flag colors.
@rita: Yeah, I missed both of those, but congrats, you’re ready to be German!
@andrea: Hmmm, I didn’t keep track of the number on paper, maybe I only got 21 right! But I think a couple of those were because I didn’t fully understand the questions, and I was too lazy/thought it was cheating to use a dictionary.
I am the loser who didn’t pass. I did get a 16 though, if I just remembered that the European parliament is in Strasburg! I didn’t cheat looking up words though, which put me at a disadvantage on a few questions. I could narrow it down to a 50/50 chance given the few words I could figure out in a couple of questions.
23/33. My crappy German is holding me back…what’s new!?
CN Heidelbergs last blog post..Germany: No Fortification with Vitamin D
I gave up. I thought my German was good but today I got schooled by a 4 year old and couldn’t understand most of what was being said on this test! Maybe after being here a year? (is that too soon?)
Danielles last blog post..Win your weight in Beer?
Congratulations! How long does it take for one to become a German citizen?
bluefishs last blog post..Jazz
Yes, I got 28 out of 33. I haven’t lived in Germany since 1956 and have only visited 5 times so I’m pretty proud of myself here…ciao
rosittas last blog post..Who Will It Be – Obama Or McCain?
Woo-hoo!! 25/33! Gimme the red passport already.
That was fun, but it was a lot of educated guessing for me, too. I beefed several of the law things due to my vocabulary limitations.
I’m German, and I must confess I only had 31 from 33 correct. It seems I got the same questions wrong as rita (#3).
So you asked for a german result : 27/33
I’ve got the german & britsh citizenship, but I was born and raised in Germany
@tammy: Well now you know where the European Parliament is!
@CN Heidelberg: Hey, you passed, so your German can’t be THAT crappy
@Danielle: Being able to give it a try after only a few weeks in Germany is awesome. I still hardly spoke any German after I’d been here a few weeks!
@bluefish: Oh, I have no idea. I’m not really interested in becoming German. I guess that’s why I’m an “expat” instead of an “immigrant.”
@rositta: Wow, congrats, that’s awesome!
@sarah: Yeah, like what the heck is a Schöffin and I guessed religious freedom for Freizügigkeit!
@matt & MC: Thanks for commenting! My husband got 32, he didn’t know the number of EU countries, but he was VERY disappointed in my performance (of which I was pretty proud). “How could you not know the colors of the NRW flag???” he asked incredulously. I’m going to point out that you guys (I’m assuming with MC) and Rita missed it too so it can’t be that bad that I did!
Woo hoo! I passed! Does this mean they’ll be sending me my German passport in the mail?
Juls last blog post..More balcony garden talk
WooHoo! 27/33!
Does it count if I’m not German or American?
indigo-aliens last blog post..The citizenship test
FWIW, my German wife just went through the test and scored 29/33.
@jul: I wouldn’t hold my breath
@indigo-alien: Thanks for commenting. Everyone counts here
I enjoyed your post about the test and the controversy surrounding it.
@15.Christina: NO, not really. I’m from NRW, so I had to have the colours right. But I failed on the questions about the EU… and the first Bundeskanzler, too (shame on me)
33 out of 33. 100% yay!!! lol
I was surprised I did as well as I did, 30 out of 33. I think the flag questions are kinda lame. Wouldn’t questions about the government be better for a citizenship test? This was also supposed to be simple, easy German, but it isn’t. I have lived here 21 years and think I am pretty darn good, and parts of it were tough. Who has ever heard of a schöppe?
I think I will keep my American pass just the same.
Jo
Jos last blog post..Happy Anniversary to my Husband
30 out of 33. I thought that was pretty good. I did better than my husband did on the U.S. one! LOL!
Claires last blog post..A Hairy Situation
Hey! I’m German-American (and live in Germany) and got 33/33! Wooohoo!
Karin@ marry me
I tried my best got 31 out of 33. Iam ready !
Hey! I’m German (living in NRW) and got 33/33.
But I have to say there are a lot of younger germans (18-25) i know who did quite badly… something i find pretty sad. because in my opinion any german who paid/pays attention in school and/or is remotely familiar with politics and history should have no problems getting at least 28/33.
@ bluefish: there is no short answer to your question, but if you want to know more… here is the link to the website of the Department of the Interior(it’s in english):
http://www.zuwanderung.de/EN/Home/home__node.html?__nnn=true
WOO-HOO!!..I took the test and got 31/33..wow and i’m only 14!!:)..but then again I can speak a bit of german..(BTW..there is the test translated into english!!)lol..if it wasn’t for that I won’t of passed!!!!:P
33/33!!! A real onehundredpercent german! (but who sorted out the questions?)
This test is typical for Germany: a buerocracy-made exam, politically very correct, which you can pass as often as you need, just to certify that Germany is not like it was in the old times…
Congratulations! All your thoughts on the test are interesting.
I scored 11 OUT OF 33!!! Understand I cannot speak ANY German What-so-ever!! I can’t even say Hello! Yet I was six away from being German! Yay!! I’m nnot even sure how I came across this page….
11 OUT OF 33