Prüfungs

Prüfungs- is a German derivational prefix used to form terms that relate to examinations or testing. It is attached to base nouns to indicate an exam-related domain, procedure, or requirement. The prefix is productive in legal, academic, and administrative language and appears in many standardized terms used by universities, schools, and examination boards.

Common formations include Prüfungsordnung (the set of rules governing an examination), Prüfungsamt (office responsible for handling examinations), Prüfungsleistung (an examination result or performance), Prüfungsdauer (the duration of an exam), Prüfungsanmeldung (the process of registering for an exam), and prüfungsrelevante Kriterien (exam-relevant criteria). These compounds typically function as nouns, with the first component providing the meaning and the second specifying the scope or action.

Orthographically, compounds beginning with Prüfungs- are capitalized as standard German nouns: Prüfungsordnung, Prüfungsamt. When used as a non-noun attributive adjective before another noun, the corresponding form is written in lowercase: prüfungsrelevante Kriterien.

Origin: from Prüfung (examination) and prüfen (to test). The prefix conveys the idea of exam-related status or function and is widely used in German-speaking education systems and in legal/regulatory texts to categorize processes, requirements, and structures associated with examinations.