Hamza Arabic reading

Saudi state-backed and A2–C1 only. Its 60-minute reading block is the largest single section of the exam.

Official exam page

Hamza is the newer of the two credible CEFR-mapped Arabic certifications, backed by the Saudi state and covering A2 to C1 — not the full A1–C2 range. Its reading comprehension block is the largest single section of the exam, which makes it the better structural fit of the two for a reading-focused candidate.

The reading section

Reading time
60 minutesSource
Scored reading items
not published
Texts or passages
not published
Approximate words
not published
CEFR level
A2–C1Source
Published annual volume
not published — no annual figure exists from the awarding body
Awarding body
King Salman Global Academy for the Arabic Language (KSGAAL), Riyadh

What that means in practice

Reading comprehension is 60 minutes — the largest single block of a 155-minute, 75-question, four-skill exam. Only the all-skills question total is published, so no reading item count is stated. Launched 12 December 2023, held at least once every four months in Saudi Arabia and internationally, in person or online; ALTE associate member since 15 January 2026, and the academic variant has been administered at 17 Saudi universities. Like every credible Arabic certification, this exam tests Modern Standard Arabic, not a spoken dialect. If your goal is talking to people in Cairo, Casablanca or Beirut, no major exam certifies that variety.

Every figure on this page was checked against the awarding body on that date. Exam formats change; check the official page before you book.

How well reading practice fits this exam

A full reading section

Reading is a complete, separately scored section with real passages. Training it moves a number that appears on your result.

LingoRead trains reading. It does not prepare a speaking or writing paper, it does not mark free-text answers, and it does not issue or predict an official result.

Practise reading for this exam

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A reading-heavy exam, with limits stated

Reading comprehension takes the largest block of a four-skill exam. Only the all-skills question total is published, however, so no reading item count is stated on this page. The exam is held regularly in Saudi Arabia and internationally, in person or online, and the awarding body has an ALTE association and an academic variant administered at Saudi universities.

It is young. That is not a criticism either — but it does mean recognition is still spreading, and whether an institution accepts it is a question with a real answer that you should get before booking rather than after.

The same MSA answer

Hamza, like CIMA and like every credible Arabic certification, tests Modern Standard Arabic. If you are learning Arabic to speak with people in a specific country, this exam does not certify that and reading practice does not build it. If you are learning Arabic to read, study or work in formal registers, MSA is exactly the right target.

Being clear about this in advance is worth more than any study plan. It is the single most common mismatch between what learners want from Arabic and what the exams measure.

How to prepare

Daily MSA reading at a level you can actually hold, with comprehension questions afterwards, is the highest-yield preparation for a reading-heavy exam. LingoRead writes that passage, reads it aloud, translates any word you tap and saves it as a review card built from its own sentence.

We train reading only. The listening, writing and speaking sections of Hamza are outside what we do, and we do not simulate its format.

Questions people ask

Free tools that help

Our four free tools are English-only for now, so there is no matching tool for this exam. They are still worth a look if you also read in English.

See the free tools

Other exams in this language

Hamza Arabic test: reading is its largest section | LingoRead