Every word on this page comes from the official Naar Nederland curriculum (lessons 21–65) — the exact source the KNS, Reading and Speaking sections of the basisexamen draw from. Organised into 22 exam-relevant modules, not a random alphabetical dump, so you study the words that actually show up on exam day.
There's no dedicated "Vocabulary" section on exam day, so it's easy to assume there's nothing specific to prepare here — just pick up Dutch words as you go. That's the trap: KNS, Reading and Speaking all draw on the same underlying word pool, so a weak vocabulary quietly costs you points in all three, not just one.
What most word lists get wrong: they're organised alphabetically, which is easy to build but useless to study from. Unlike a generic Dutch word list, every module here is built to match what the embassy exam actually tests: KNS civic-knowledge questions draw on History & Society and Politics & Law vocabulary directly; Reading passages are built from functional-text words like Shopping & Payments and Transport & Directions; and Speaking Part 1/2 answers rely almost entirely on the Daily Routine, Feelings & Opinions and Core Verbs modules.
The key skill is recognising these 1205 words on sight, in either direction — Dutch to English and back — since KNS and Reading show you Dutch text while Speaking asks you to produce it yourself. Studying vocabulary by exam relevance, not alphabetically, is the fastest path to a first-time pass — a single retake costs €50 per section at the embassy.
The first 10 words below, playable right now. No account needed.