If you have come across the word Abitur (or the common misspellings arbitur and abotur), you have probably seen it described as Germany's most important school exam. This short explainer covers exactly what it is: what the word means, how the grading works, which subjects you take, and how it lines up with qualifications like the British A-Levels. For a full preparation walkthrough, see our complete guide to the German Abitur.
Quick answer: The Abitur is Germany's highest school-leaving qualification, taken at the end of Gymnasium at around age 18. It is graded from 1.0 (best) to 4.0 (pass), covers a broad set of subjects including German, a foreign language, maths, a science and a social science, and grants the right to study at a German university. The word comes from the Latin abire, "to leave".
What Does Abitur Mean?
The word Abitur derives from the Latin abire, meaning "to leave" or "to depart". Fittingly, it is the exam students sit as they leave school. In everyday German it is almost always shortened to "Abi", which is why you will see searches like abi in german alongside abitur.
The Abitur is the final examination at the end of Gymnasium, the academic track of German secondary school (some students also reach it through a Gesamtschule or a vocational berufliches Gymnasium). Passing it awards the Allgemeine Hochschulreife, literally the "general university-entrance maturity", which is the right to study almost any subject at any German university. Students who leave after Year 10 instead receive the Realschulabschluss, or Mittlere Reife, the intermediate certificate one rung below. Its name uses the same word Reife, which is how you can tell the two sit on a single scale.
One point causes constant confusion for English speakers: the Abitur is not a university degree. It is a school-leaving diploma, closer to a high-school graduation certificate, but a rigorous, university-preparatory one.
Abitur in German: Spelling, Plural and Related Words
Abitur is a neuter noun, so in German it takes the article das: das Abitur. The stress falls on the last syllable, roughly ah-bee-TOOR.
The plural trips up almost every English speaker. You will often see abiturs written in English, but that form is really the German genitive singular, des Abiturs, meaning "of the Abitur". The true plural is die Abiture, and it is almost never used, because a student only ever sits one. In English it reads better to say "their Abitur results" than to pluralise the word at all.
These are the terms you will run into around it:
| German | What it means |
|---|---|
| das Abitur | The final exam, and the qualification passing it awards |
| des Abiturs | Genitive singular ("of the Abitur"), the source of the English "abiturs" |
| die Abiture | The rarely used plural |
| das Abi | The everyday short form, used by everyone |
| der Abiturient / die Abiturientin | A student in their Abitur year |
| die Abiturprüfung | The exam sitting itself, written and oral |
| die Abiturnote | The final grade, from 1.0 to 4.0 |
| die Allgemeine Hochschulreife | The formal name of the qualification the Abitur awards |
| der Abiball / die Abizeitung | The leavers' ball and the leavers' yearbook |
One word is worth separating out, because it is the most common mix-up in German school vocabulary: the Fachabitur. That is the colloquial name for the Fachhochschulreife, a narrower qualification that opens a Fachhochschule (university of applied sciences) and some university courses, but not the full range. The Abitur is the general version, which is exactly what allgemeine in Allgemeine Hochschulreife is doing.
Worth knowing too: Abitur is specific to Germany. Austria and Switzerland call their equivalent the Matura, and France the baccalauréat, so if you are comparing systems across borders those are the words to search for.
What Subjects Do You Take in the Abitur?
Unlike systems that let students narrow down early, the Abitur keeps a broad spread of subjects right through to the final exams. Students are typically examined in four to five subjects, and the mix must include:
- German (the core language subject)
- A foreign language (usually English, French, Latin or Spanish)
- Mathematics
- A natural science (biology, chemistry or physics)
- A social science (history, geography, politics or economics)
Two subjects are usually taken as Leistungskurse (advanced courses, with more hours and harder exams) and the remainder as Grundkurse (basic courses). The assessment combines long written papers with at least one oral examination, and the results of the final two years (the Qualifikationsphase) count towards the overall grade too. If you are at the stage of actually choosing them, our guide to Abitur subjects and grading walks through how to pick your Leistungskurse.
How Is the Abitur Graded?
The Abitur uses two scales that sit on top of each other, which is why the numbers can look confusing at first.
| Scale | Range | Best mark |
|---|---|---|
| Course points (Kurspunkte) | 0–15 per course | 15 |
| Total Abitur score | 300–900 | 900 |
| Final grade (Abiturnote) | 1.0–4.0 | 1.0 |
During the Qualifikationsphase every course is marked out of 15 points. Those points, together with the final written and oral exams, are added into a total between 300 and 900. That total is then converted into the headline grade you see on the certificate, which runs from 1.0 (best) to 4.0 (minimum pass), so, unlike most English-speaking systems, a lower number is better.
What Is a Good Abitur Grade?
Because the scale is inverted, a 1.0 is a perfect score and a 4.0 is the lowest pass. The national average is roughly 2.3. Anything under 1.5 is considered outstanding.
Grades matter enormously in Germany because of the Numerus Clausus (NC), a grade cut-off for oversubscribed university courses. For competitive programmes like medicine, applicants often need an Abitur close to 1.0, so the grade itself, not a separate entrance exam, decides who gets in. This is why German students treat the two-year run-up to the Abitur so seriously, and why targeted online tutoring with a verified tutor can make a measurable difference to the final number.
Is the Abitur the Same as A-Levels?
Yes, broadly. The German Abitur and the British A-Levels are equivalent pre-university qualifications: both taken around age 18, both at the end of secondary school, and both used to decide university admission. The key difference is breadth versus depth: A-Level students specialise in three or four subjects, while Abitur students keep a wider range through to the end. UK universities generally treat a full Abitur as equivalent to three A-Levels, with grade conversions set individually. If you need the actual numbers, we have the Abitur conversion tables for A-Levels, US GPA and the IB.
The Abitur is also comparable in role to the Austrian Matura and the French baccalauréat. Each is the national gateway from school to university.
What Is the Abitur Called in English?
There is no exact English equivalent. Credential evaluators usually describe it as a general higher education entrance qualification or a university-preparatory school-leaving diploma. The closest practical comparison is a strong set of A-Levels or a US high-school diploma combined with substantial Advanced Placement coursework, but none maps perfectly, which is exactly why the German term is kept untranslated.
Key Takeaways
- Abitur (from Latin abire, "to leave"; short form "Abi") is Germany's highest school-leaving qualification, taken at the end of Gymnasium around age 18.
- In German it is das Abitur, plural die Abiture. The "abiturs" you see in English is the genitive des Abiturs, not a plural. The Fachabitur is a different, narrower qualification.
- It grants the Allgemeine Hochschulreife (the right to study at a German university) but is a school diploma, not a university degree.
- Subjects stay broad: German, a foreign language, maths, a science and a social science, examined at basic and advanced levels.
- Grading runs from 1.0 (best) to 4.0 (pass), built from 0–15 course points and a 300–900 total.
- It is broadly equivalent to three A-Levels, and the grade is decisive for competitive courses via the Numerus Clausus.
Getting ready for the Abitur? Find an Abitur tutor on iTutorOnline who knows your state's curriculum, or read the full Abitur preparation guide for study strategies and exam dates.