English levels
CEFR levels explained: A1 to C2
CEFR is the scale most of the world uses to describe how good someone's English is — six levels from A1 to C2. Exams, employers and universities all quote it, but the labels only tell you what you can do, not what you need to know to get there. Vocabulary is the part that decides most of it.
What each level means
| Level | What you can do | Vocabulary |
|---|---|---|
| A1 Beginner | Introduce yourself, handle very basic everyday phrases. | ~500–600 |
| A2 Elementary | Cope with simple, routine exchanges on familiar topics. | ~1,000–1,500 |
| B1 Intermediate | Handle most travel situations and describe experiences and plans. | ~2,000–2,750 |
| B2 Upper intermediate | Follow complex text and argue a viewpoint fluently enough to hold a conversation with a native speaker. | ~3,250–4,000 |
| C1 Advanced | Use English flexibly for academic and professional purposes, catching implicit meaning. | ~5,000–8,000 |
| C2 Proficient | Understand virtually everything you read or hear and express fine shades of meaning. | ~10,000+ |
Vocabulary figures are approximate receptive word families and vary between studies — treat them as a sense of scale, not a target to tick off.
Why vocabulary is the bottleneck
Grammar runs out. Most learners have met every tense they will ever need by the end of B1, and everything after that is range: the words to say a precise thing precisely. That is why the jump from B1 to B2 feels so much bigger than A2 to B1 — the grammar barely changes and the vocabulary roughly doubles.
How exam scores line up
Most English tests publish a CEFR mapping, which is the easiest way to place yourself without sitting a placement test. IELTS 6.5–7.0, TOEFL iBT around 95–110 and Duolingo English Test 120–135 all land in the C1 region; B2 sits roughly at IELTS 5.5–6.5 and TOEFL 72–94.
The full score-to-CEFR tableHow to move up a level
Pick vocabulary one band above where you are and learn it in context rather than as a list — a word you have only seen in a glossary will not arrive when you need it. Then review on a schedule instead of rereading, because moving a few thousand words into long-term memory is exactly the problem spaced repetition was built for.
How Vocaby schedules reviews with FSRSFrequently asked questions
- What does CEFR stand for?
- The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. It describes language ability in six levels — A1 and A2 (basic), B1 and B2 (independent), C1 and C2 (proficient) — using what a learner can actually do rather than a test score, which is why exams map onto it rather than replace it.
- How many words do I need for B2?
- Most estimates put B2 at roughly 3,250 to 4,000 word families that you can recognise. The exact number varies by study and by how you count, but the practical point holds: reaching B2 from B1 means roughly doubling your vocabulary, not learning new grammar.
- What CEFR level is fluent?
- There is no CEFR level called fluent. Most people mean B2 or C1 — the point where you can hold a real conversation with a native speaker without either side straining. C2 is not native-level either; it describes precision and nuance rather than being indistinguishable from a native speaker.
- How do I find out my CEFR level?
- The quickest route is an exam score you already have, since IELTS, TOEFL, Cambridge and the Duolingo English Test all publish CEFR mappings. Failing that, judge by what you can do: if you can follow an unscripted podcast but reach for words when you speak, you are somewhere around B2.
- Does Vocaby label words by CEFR level?
- Vocaby groups words into decks by exam and by topic rather than by CEFR band, and each word carries a difficulty level so you can see roughly where it sits. If you are studying for a specific exam, the exam decks are the most direct route to the vocabulary that test rewards.
Level up the part that actually moves: your vocabulary.
29,000+ English words with audio, examples and FSRS spaced repetition. Free to start.
