CEFR Levels: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide

“I’m B1 in Spanish” or “My goal is to reach B2 level in French”. Have you heard these terms thrown around in the language learning scene? If you’re wondering what they are, you’re in the right place.

In this ultimate guide to CEFR levels, I’ll cover exactly what those letter-number combos mean, how you can figure out what level you are, and if you should use them yourself.

Who this CEFR levels guide is for:

This guide is perfect for anyone who has been confused by CEFR language levels and is learning a language spoken in Europe.

Whether you’ve just started learning a new language, or you’ve been learning for years, you’ll find value in this guide.

After reading it, you’ll have an idea of which level you’re at, and can use that knowledge to plan your language learning routine going forward.

Who this CEFR levels guide is NOT for:

This guide is not for people who are already familiar with CEFR levels. If you already know which level you’re at, that’s great! You’re already equipped with the knowledge you need to plan your studies. I’d instead recommending finding out how you can plan how you’ll reach the level of your choice with SMART goals.

This guide is also not for people learning a language spoken outside of Europe. Of course, you can read it if you want to, but CEFR levels are only applicable to European languages. Since that’s the case, this guide likely won’t be much help to you if you’re learning a non-european language.

But no worries. If you’re learning a language spoken outside of Europe, there’s likely another levels system you can use to gauge your fluency.

Why read *this* guide?

When I was looking into CEFR levels before earlier in my own journey, I came across really brief summaries of each level. So brief, that I still didn’t know where exactly I stood. This guide will go into detail of each level, and will offer the insight you actually need to self-assess your CEFR level.

Now that that’s all out of the way, let’s get started.

What are CEFR levels?

CEFR stands for Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. It was created with the goal to provide a method of learning, teaching and assessing which applies to all languages in Europe.

There are three levels: A: basic user, B: independent user, C: proficient user. There are two levels within each A, B, and C level.

If this all sounds confusing, just scroll below to get the details.

A1: Beginner or Lower Beginner

This is the first CEFR level, and is considered beginner or lower beginner.

At this level, you can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases to discuss needs and tangible things. Think: saying you’re hungry, thirsty, or need help.

You can introduce yourself and others, and you can ask and answer questions about personal details covering things like where you live, family, and possessions.

Plus, you can interact with others who speak slowly, clearly, and can help you along. This includes repeating themselves or using synonyms for words you don’t know yet.

A2: Upper Beginner or Elementary

CEFR level A2 is considered upper beginner, or elementary.

At this level, you can understand sentences and commonly used expressions regarding topics of “immediate relevance.” This includes topics like employment, shopping, family info, and basic personal details.

You can communicate in situations that are simple and routine, where you exchange information and there isn’t much spontaneity involved. 

You can describe in simple language background info like where you’re from or your ethnicity, your “immediate environment” (so concrete things that are around you), and you can ask for help in a little more detail than before. Think: “I have a toothache; where’s the nearest dentist?”

B1: Intermediate

Now we’re out of the beginner stage, and moving into intermediate.

At this level, you can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar things you’d regularly encounter at work, school, relaxing time, etc. 

You can communicate in most travel situations where the language is spoken. Think: asking for directions, checking out at a store, making small talk, finding your way around a store, etc.

You can write simple texts on topics you’re familiar with and are interested in.
It’s also possible for you to talk about your experiences, dreams, hopes, and ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.

B2: Upper Intermediate

At a B2 level, you can understand the main ideas of complicated texts on both concrete and abstract topics. This includes technical discussions in your field of specialization.

You can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers pretty possible without strain for either party.

As an upper intermediate learner, you can also write clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue, giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.

Think: A text arguing your case for something.

C1: Advanced

At the C1 advanced level, you can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and you can recognize implicit meaning.

You can express yourself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Think: You don’t need to stop and think for a noticeable amount of time before saying an expression or word.

You can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes.

Plus, you can write clear, well-structured, and detailed texts on complex subjects.

C2: Proficient

When you reach proficiency, you can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read.

You can summarize information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation.

You can express yourself spontaneously, very fluently, and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in more complex situations.

Note: Even many natives aren’t C2 level! At this level you have an extremely broad vocabulary and can understand specialized words from a variety of fields without problem. This goes past just everyday words and phrases.

So, now that you know the various levels, how do you know where you are?

How Do You Test Your Own CEFR Level?

Some people like to self-assess using the guidelines listed above. If you’re pretty honest with yourself and have enough understanding of what the guidelines mean, this can work well.

It’s common for us to overestimate or underestimate our abilities though, so I don’t suggest self-assessing in this way.

What I recommend, and what I actually did when assessing my own Norwegian CEFR level, was to take a free online self-assessment test via Dialang.

It’s not official like a test put on by your target language’s country, but it’s better than nothing. And it’s free! This test is pretty comprehensive, so make sure you have about half an hour for each section.

The thoroughness of the Dialang test is one of the reasons why I rely on it for my own CEFR estimate. They cover a range of languages, so you’ll likely be able to use it no matter what your target language is.

To me, these kind of tests are the next-best-thing compared to official language exams.

The Official Option

If you want to know your official CEFR level, you can sign up for an official test from the country of your target language.

The benefits of this is that you know it’s accurate, and you have official record of your language proficiency that you can then use to apply for jobs or school.

The downside is that official tests are usually only available in the country the language is spoken, so you may have to travel. They can also be pretty pricey, but this ranges depending on the country.

Should You Use CEFR Levels?

Whether or not you use CEFR levels as a language learner depends on your goals. If you want to study at a foreign university, having record of your CEFR level may be mandatory.

I know for my own target language of Norwegian, if you want to get a bachelor’s degree taught in Norwegian you have to take the Bergenstest, which tests for B2/C1 level Norwegian.

Some jobs also may require a record of your language proficiency if they know you’re not a native speaker. This depends on the country, but I don’t think this is too common.

If you want to use CEFR levels to guide your language learning journey, they can be extremely useful.

Sometimes just knowing if you’re a beginner, intermediate, or advanced learner is enough. Although, how do you even know the difference between beginner and intermediate is if you don’t have some sort of gauge to judge by?

For language learners, you can use CEFR levels to create tailored goals, track your progress, and pick resources.

Why I Use CEFR Levels

Even though they aren’t useful in the real world, I like to track my CEFR level is because it helps me keep track of progress. It also makes it easy for me to shop for resources that will benefit me.

For Norwegian, there are books that I know are for B1 level, and then books for B2. Those are both considered intermediate but have entirely different books covering the upper and lower division!

I also like to have a CEFR level to use as a goal. This keeps me motivated, and comes with exactly what I need to know to reach that level. When used in combo with my SMART goal worksheet, I feel really prepared to study and make progress.

In everyday life outside of language study though, CEFR levels aren’t important.

Just think about the people you know that came from another country of have another first language. Do you think they know where they land on this CEFR scale? Probably not, because it’s not necessary!

As long as you can communicate with who you need to communicate with, you should be fine. The proof will be in your skills, not in a piece of paper stating your language skills.

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All in all…

Now you know everything you need to know about the CEFR levels. Whether you decide to find out your level or not, you have the information you need to make an informed decision. 

Just remember, there are 6 levels, ranging from elementary to proficient: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2. While C2 is a thing, a lot of language learners (myself included) strive for B2/C1 because not even the average native speaker is C2 level! But of course, choose the language goal that feels right for you, and strive for that.

Many learners choose to take a self assessment test to estimate what their language ability on the CEFR scale. I’ve done the same to gauge my Norwegian, and I find it very helpful for planning a language learning strategy.

If your goal is to reach a certain level on the CEFR scale, this SMART goal worksheet will be helpful. I created it with language learners in mind, so you can turn your goal into a strategy. Download it now to get started reaching fluency faster.