CEFR levels explained: A1 to C2 (and A0)

Last updated: 2026-09-27

CEFR stands for the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, a scale from A1 to C2 that describes what a learner can actually understand and do, not just how much vocabulary they know. Attunly and most language apps add an informal A0 below A1 for absolute beginners with zero words yet.

If you've seen a language app, course, or exam list a level like "B1" or "A2" and wondered what it actually means in practice, this is the reference page. It covers where the scale comes from, what each level can understand by ear, why A0 isn't part of the official system, and how to figure out where you land.

What is the CEFR?

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages was published by the Council of Europe, an international organization focused on human rights, democracy, and cooperation across the continent. It's separate from the European Union, though the two are easy to mix up. The Council of Europe released the CEFR in 2001 after years of research and testing, as a shared way to describe language ability across countries and school systems.

The framework's big idea is to describe what a learner can do rather than what they've studied. Instead of "finished level 3 of the textbook," a CEFR level tells you something like "can follow a straightforward conversation about familiar topics." That's part of why it's spread well beyond Europe and now shows up in exams, textbooks, job listings, and apps worldwide, including Attunly's own story library.

The scale runs from A1 (the lowest official level) to C2 (mastery), split into three broad bands: A is "basic user," B is "independent user," and C is "proficient user." Each band splits into two levels (A1/A2, B1/B2, C1/C2), so there are six official levels in total. Universities, employers, and immigration programs often name a specific level as a requirement, for example "B2 for admission" or "B1 for citizenship," which is part of why the scale is worth understanding even if you're not taking a formal exam.

What can you understand at each level?

CEFR descriptions cover speaking, writing, reading, and listening, but since understanding by ear is usually the hardest skill and the one most learners underestimate, here's what each level typically looks like for listening specifically.

These are rough sketches, not a substitute for the Council of Europe's full descriptors, but they're a fair way to guess where you stand.

Why isn't A0 an official CEFR level?

The Council of Europe's own scale starts at A1. A0 doesn't appear in the framework at all. It's an informal label that apps, schools, and course books, Attunly included, add below A1 to mean "complete beginner": someone who doesn't yet know basic greetings or numbers in the language.

The gap it fills is real. A1 already assumes you can understand very basic phrases and simple exchanges, and someone starting from zero needs somewhere to begin before that description applies. Calling that starting point "A0" is common practice, but it's a convention the industry adopted for convenience, not something the Council of Europe defines or endorses.

How do you find your own level?

For casual learners picking their own material, a quick self-check is usually enough:

• If slow, simple speech about basic personal topics is a struggle, you're around A1.
• If that's comfortable but a normal-paced everyday conversation isn't, you're around A2.
• If you can follow the gist of a straightforward story or news item but miss plenty of detail, you're around B1.
• If you can follow most discussions and media but stumble on fast or unfamiliar topics, you're around B2.
• If only genuinely fast, dense, or idiomatic speech gives you trouble, you're B1 to C1 territory or beyond.

If you want a certified result instead of a self-estimate, official exams exist for many languages and map directly to CEFR levels: DELE for Spanish, DELF and DALF for French, and the Goethe-Institut exams for German are well-known examples. These matter for school, work, or immigration requirements. For choosing your next story or podcast, a self-check is plenty.

One thing worth knowing: your level usually isn't the same across every skill. It's common to read at a B2 level after years of textbooks and classes while still understanding spoken conversation at closer to A2 or B1, simply because listening got far less practice. If that's you, don't assume your reading level tells you what audio to pick. Test listening on its own.

How should you use CEFR levels when picking what to listen to?

Use your level as a starting point, not a ceiling. Material a little above where you're comfortable, understandable but with a bit of stretch, is what our comprehensible input guide calls the sweet spot for actually learning something. Material far above your level just turns into noise.

Listening comprehension usually lags behind reading, so if you're unsure, start a level lower than you'd guess from a grammar test. Our guide to learning by listening covers the daily routine: listen once without text, again with it, then loop until it's easy. When new material at your current level stops feeling like a stretch, that's your signal to move up, not a fixed number of hours or lessons.

It also helps to pick material by genre and topic, not just level. A B1 news story and a B1 slice-of-life conversation can feel very different depending on what vocabulary you already know from real life. If a level feels harder than it should, try a different genre at the same level before assuming you graded yourself wrong.

Written by the Attunly team at Mikesverse LLC. We build Attunly, a listening-first language app with graded stories in 10 languages, so we spend our days thinking about how people learn by ear.