TELC B1 Leseverstehen has 20 items worth 75 points, a third of your 225 written points. You get 90 minutes for Leseverstehen and Sprachbausteine together, and that includes marking your answers on the answer sheet (Antwortbogen).
This guide covers each Teil: what it tests, how many points it's worth, how long to spend on it, and how to answer it. Each section ends with a short exercise and its solution.
Leseverstehen at a glance
| Teil | Skill | Task | Items | Points per item | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teil 1 | Global (Globalverstehen) | Match 5 short texts to 5 of 10 headlines | 1–5 | 5 | 25 |
| Teil 2 | Detail (Detailverstehen) | One longer text, multiple choice (a/b/c) | 6–10 | 5 | 25 |
| Teil 3 | Selective (Selektives Verstehen) | Match 10 situations to ads | 11–20 | 2.5 | 25 |
| Total | 20 | 75 |
Teil 1 and Teil 2 items are worth twice as much as Teil 3 items. One headline in Teil 1 earns the same as two ads in Teil 3, so don't rush the first two parts to save time for the third.
Wrong answers cost nothing; there is no negative marking. Never leave an item blank.
How Leseverstehen counts toward passing
To pass TELC B1 you need 60% in both exams:
- Written exam: 135 of 225 points (Leseverstehen, Sprachbausteine, Hörverstehen, Schreiben)
- Oral exam: 45 of 75 points
Within the written exam, a strong section can make up for a weak one. Leseverstehen is worth 75 of the 225 points, so it can carry a lot of that weight. See the full breakdown in how the TELC B1 exam is graded.
A time plan for the 90 minutes
| Block | Suggested time |
|---|---|
| Teil 1 | 15 min |
| Teil 2 | 20–25 min |
| Teil 3 | 15–20 min |
| Sprachbausteine Teil 1 + 2 | 20 min |
| Mark answers on the Antwortbogen + review | 10 min |
The most common time trap is spending 35 minutes on Teil 2 and then rushing Sprachbausteine. Wear a simple analogue watch (phones and smartwatches aren't allowed) and check it after each Teil.
Teil 1 — Globalverstehen (headlines)
The task: You read 5 short texts (usually 60–100 words each, like news items or notices) and 10 headlines (a–j). Each text matches exactly one headline. Five headlines are left over.
What it tests: whether you understand the main point of a text. You don't need to understand every word.
Strategy:
- Read all 10 headlines first and underline the key word in each (Umzug, Preis, Kinder, Wetter…).
- For each text, read the first and last sentence and ask yourself: "What is this text about?"
- Watch for distractor headlines. They reuse a word from the text, but the text is about something else.
- Cross out each headline once you've used it. The last matches get easier as fewer options remain.
Mini practice: Teil 1
Headlines
- a) Stadt sucht Freiwillige für Parkpflege
- b) Neue Busverbindung ab Montag
- c) Bibliothek verlängert Öffnungszeiten
- d) Park wegen Sturmschäden gesperrt
Text 1: Ab dem 1. November können Leserinnen und Leser die Stadtbücherei auch donnerstags bis 21 Uhr besuchen. Damit reagiert die Leitung auf viele Wünsche von Berufstätigen, die bisher nur am Samstag Zeit hatten.
Text 2: Nach dem Unwetter am Wochenende liegen im Stadtpark noch viele umgestürzte Bäume. Die Stadt bittet Bürgerinnen und Bürger, den Park bis auf Weiteres nicht zu betreten. Die Aufräumarbeiten dauern voraussichtlich zwei Wochen.
Show solution
- Text 1 → c. Longer opening hours (bis 21 Uhr, Wünsche von Berufstätigen) = verlängert Öffnungszeiten.
- Text 2 → d. Headline a is the trap: it mentions the park and the city, but nobody is asking for volunteers. The text says the park is closed after a storm.
Teil 2 — Detailverstehen (multiple choice)
The task: One longer text, often a newspaper article or report of about 400–500 words, followed by 5 multiple-choice questions (a/b/c). The questions usually follow the order of the text.
What it tests: precise detail. You need to know who did what, when, and why.
Strategy:
- Read the questions before the text. Underline names, numbers, and question words (warum, seit wann, was plant…).
- Read the text once from start to finish. When you reach the part a question asks about, stop and answer it.
- Eliminate options before choosing one. Usually one is clearly wrong, and one is partly true but doesn't answer the question.
- Match meaning, not words. The correct option almost always rephrases the text. An option that copies a phrase from the text word for word is often the distractor.
Paraphrase example: The text says "Die Veranstaltung wurde wegen des schlechten Wetters abgesagt." The correct answer says "Das Fest fand nicht statt, weil es regnete." The two share almost no words but mean the same thing.
Mini practice: Teil 2
Seit drei Jahren betreibt Marta Kowalski ein kleines Café in Leipzig. Am Anfang kamen vor allem Studierende, weil die Preise niedrig waren. Inzwischen hat sie die Preise etwas erhöht, aber die Zahl der Gäste ist trotzdem gestiegen: Viele Familien kommen am Wochenende wegen der hausgemachten Kuchen. „Billig war nie mein Ziel“, sagt Kowalski. „Ich wollte einen Ort, an dem man sich Zeit nimmt.“
Warum hat das Café heute mehr Gäste?
- a) Weil die Preise gesunken sind.
- b) Weil Familien wegen des Kuchens kommen.
- c) Weil mehr Studierende in der Nähe wohnen.
Show solution
b. Option a is the reverse of the text: prices went up (erhöht). Option c takes "Studierende" from the text, but students were the guests at the beginning, not the reason the café is busier now.
Teil 3 — Selektives Verstehen (situations and ads)
The task: You get 10 situations (items 11–20) and a larger pool of short ads (a–l): courses, apartments, jobs, events, services. Each ad can be used only once, and some situations have no matching ad. For those you mark x.
What it tests: whether you can scan quickly for the details that matter: who, when, where, how much, and what conditions apply.
Strategy:
- Read each situation and write down its 2–3 must-haves (e.g. weekend only · under €50 · for children).
- Scan the ads for those must-haves. Don't read every ad in full.
- One detail that doesn't fit rules an ad out. "Kurs am Wochenende" does not match an ad that says "montags und mittwochs", even if everything else fits.
- Don't force a match. If no ad meets all the must-haves, write x and move on. Spending three minutes trying to make an ad fit is the most common way to lose time here.
Mini practice: Teil 3
Situations
-
- Sie möchten am Wochenende einen Kochkurs machen.
-
- Ihr Sohn (8) möchte schwimmen lernen.
-
- Sie suchen einen Abendkurs für Spanisch.
Ads
- a) Italienisch kochen für Anfänger – jeden Samstag 10–14 Uhr, Volkshochschule Mitte.
- b) Schwimmkurse für Erwachsene – Anfänger willkommen, dienstags 19 Uhr.
- c) Französisch am Abend – A2/B1, montags und donnerstags 18:30 Uhr.
Show solution
- 11 → a. A Saturday cooking course.
- 12 → x. Ad b is a swimming course, but only for adults (für Erwachsene), so it doesn't fit an 8-year-old.
- 13 → x. Ad c is an evening course, but for French, not Spanish.
The two x answers here are the point of the exercise. In the real exam, situations without a match are what eat your time.
Five habits that raise your Leseverstehen score
- Questions before texts in Teil 2 and Teil 3. You read faster when you know what you're looking for.
- Skim Teil 1, scan Teil 3, read Teil 2 closely. Each part needs a different reading speed, and using the wrong one costs either time or points.
- Treat word-for-word matches as suspicious. Correct answers rephrase the text; distractors copy words from it.
- Mark every answer on the Antwortbogen as you go. Copying them all over in the last 5 minutes is where answers get lost.
- Build vocabulary in context, not from lists. Read short German news texts every day (nachrichtenleicht.de is a good B1 starting point) and save new words in a full sentence. For grammar words that come up again and again, see the top 100 verbs for Sprachbausteine.
Practice under real conditions
Reading strategies only stick once you've used them under time pressure. On SprachFlow you can start with a free timed Leseverstehen Teil 1 →. You get headlines, texts, and a timer, and every answer comes with an explanation of why the distractor was wrong.
Want the theory first? The TELC B1 reading pillar guide covers Leseverstehen and Sprachbausteine together. Sprachbausteine tips covers the other half of the 90-minute block.
FAQ
How many points is Leseverstehen worth in TELC B1?
75 points: 25 for each Teil. Teil 1 and Teil 2 have 5 items each (5 points per item). Teil 3 has 10 items (2.5 points per item).
How much time do I get for Leseverstehen?
There's no separate time limit. Leseverstehen and Sprachbausteine share 90 minutes, including marking your answers on the answer sheet. Plan about 50–60 minutes for reading.
Is there a pass mark just for Leseverstehen?
No. TELC B1 has no pass mark for individual sections. You need 135 of 225 points across the whole written exam (plus 45/75 in the oral exam), so a strong reading score can make up for a weaker section.
Do wrong answers lose points?
No. There is no negative marking, so answer every item, even if you have to guess.
Can I use a dictionary?
No. No dictionaries or electronic devices are allowed during the TELC B1 exam.
What's the difference between Leseverstehen and Sprachbausteine?
Leseverstehen tests whether you understand texts. Sprachbausteine tests grammar and vocabulary in context (fill-in-the-gap). They're printed in the same booklet and share the same 90 minutes, but they're scored separately (75 and 30 points). See the full TELC B1 exam structure.