WordieWhat Is the CEFR?
CEFR: the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, a Council of Europe standard published in 2001 that describes language ability on six levels from A1 (beginner) to C2 (mastery) using can-do statements.
Also known as: Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, CEFR levels, CEF, A1–C2 scale
The CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) is an international standard for describing how well someone can use a language. It divides ability into six levels, from A1 for beginners to C2 for near-complete mastery, and describes each with practical "can-do" statements rather than grammar lists. It applies to any language and is used by exams, schools and employers worldwide.
Origin
The Council of Europe developed the CEFR during the 1990s and published it in 2001, after decades of work on communicative language teaching. Its goal was a common language for describing proficiency across countries, languages and institutions. In 2020 the Council published the CEFR Companion Volume, which updates and extends the descriptors (a provisional version appeared in 2018).
The six levels
| Level | Label | In brief, a learner can… |
|---|---|---|
| A1 | Breakthrough | use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases; introduce themselves |
| A2 | Waystage | handle simple routine tasks; describe their background and immediate needs |
| B1 | Threshold | deal with most situations while traveling; describe experiences and give brief reasons |
| B2 | Vantage | understand the main ideas of complex texts; interact with fluency and spontaneity |
| C1 | Effective operational proficiency | understand demanding, longer texts; use language flexibly for social, academic and professional purposes |
| C2 | Mastery | understand virtually everything heard or read; express themselves precisely, with fine shades of meaning |
The levels group into basic users (A), independent users (B) and proficient users (C). The framework also describes "plus" levels such as B1+ and, since 2020, a Pre-A1 level.
What the 2020 Companion Volume added
- Detailed descriptors for mediation (explaining, summarizing or translating for others).
- Descriptors for online interaction and for plurilingual and pluricultural competence.
- Scales for sign languages.
- Gender-neutral wording and removal of the "native speaker" as the benchmark at the top levels.
CEFR and vocabulary
The CEFR does not specify how many words each level requires; it is deliberately language-neutral. Researchers have tried to estimate it. James Milton (2010), testing learners of foreign languages in Europe on the most frequent 5,000 words, found vocabulary sizes rising from under about 1,500 words at A1 to roughly 4,500 to 5,000 at C2. Because that test stopped at 5,000 words, the higher figures are a floor rather than a ceiling. For English specifically, the Cambridge English Vocabulary Profile assigns individual words and meanings to CEFR levels.
Reading research gives another angle. Comfortable reading of authentic text needs roughly 98% lexical coverage, which for English novels and newspapers means knowing something like 8,000 to 9,000 word families (Nation, 2006). That is well beyond what many B2 learners know, which is why reading native material still feels hard at B2. See how many words you need to be fluent.
Example: the word reluctant across levels.
- A2 learner: does not know it; would say "doesn't want to."
- B2 learner: understands it in "She was reluctant to leave," but rarely uses it.
- C1 learner: uses it naturally, plus related forms: reluctance, reluctantly, "a reluctant hero."
Moving up a level is largely about turning words like this from receptive into productive knowledge.
Exam equivalents
Many exams report results on the CEFR scale. Cambridge English exams are aligned directly (B2 First, C1 Advanced, C2 Proficiency), and IELTS, TOEFL iBT and the Duolingo English Test publish their own mappings to CEFR levels. Treat these as approximate. Guides for specific exams: IELTS vocabulary and Cambridge C1 Advanced vocabulary.
Common misconceptions
- "CEFR is a test." It is a framework. Tests are mapped to it, with varying rigor.
- "Each level takes the same time." Higher levels take much longer; the gap from B2 to C1 is larger than from A1 to A2.
- "You are one level in everything." Profiles are often uneven, such as B2 reading and B1 speaking.
- "C2 means native-like." The 2020 update explicitly moved away from the native speaker as the yardstick.
To estimate your own vocabulary, try the vocabulary size estimator.
Sources: Council of Europe (2001). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. Council of Europe (2020). CEFR Companion Volume. Milton, J. (2010). The development of vocabulary breadth across the CEFR levels. Nation, I. S. P. (2006). Canadian Modern Language Review.
Frequently asked questions
What do the CEFR levels mean?
A1 and A2 are basic users, B1 and B2 are independent users, and C1 and C2 are proficient users. Each level is defined by what a learner can do, for example B1 learners can deal with most situations likely to arise while traveling.
How many words do you need for each CEFR level?
The CEFR itself does not set word counts. Research estimates vary by language and test, but learners typically know a few thousand words by B1 and B2, and C-level users need considerably more, especially for reading.
Is B2 considered fluent?
B2 is the level at which learners can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible. Many universities and employers use B2 or C1 as a minimum requirement.
What changed in the 2020 CEFR Companion Volume?
It updated and extended the descriptors, added a Pre-A1 level, developed descriptors for mediation, online interaction and plurilingual competence, added sign languages, and replaced references to the native speaker with gender-neutral, non-native-speaker-based wording.
Related terms
Vocabulary Size Test
an assessment that estimates the total number of words a person knows, usually by testing a sample of words from each frequency band and multiplying the results up to the full word list.
Vocabulary Size
The number of words a person knows, usually measured in word families or lemmas and usually referring to receptive knowledge, meaning words recognized when reading or listening.
Receptive Vocabulary
The words a person can recognize and understand when reading or listening, whether or not they can produce those words in their own speech or writing.
Productive Vocabulary
The words a person can retrieve from memory and use correctly in their own speaking and writing, with the right form, meaning, grammar and collocations.
High-Frequency Words
The most common words of a language, usually defined as the first 2,000 to 3,000 word families, which together make up the large majority of the words in everyday speech and writing.
Lexical Coverage
The percentage of the running words (tokens) in a text that a particular reader knows. At 98 percent coverage, about one word in fifty is unfamiliar.
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