# CEFR Level A1

> A1 is the first level of the Common European Framework and the lower of the two Basic User levels. Its informal name is Breakthrough.

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Last updated: 2026-10-24
Publisher: Library of Ashurbanipal (Van Kush Family Research Institute), https://wiki.soapbox.community

**A1** is the first level of the Common European Framework and the lower of the two **Basic User** levels. Its informal name is **Breakthrough**.

## What A1 actually means

An A1 speaker can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at satisfying needs of a concrete type. They can introduce themselves and others, ask and answer questions about personal details — where they live, people they know, things they have — and **interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help**.

That last clause is the whole level. A1 communication is **cooperative**: it works when the other party is patient, and breaks down when they are not.

## What it is not

A1 is not nothing, and treating it as nothing is the most common error learners make about themselves. A person at A1 has crossed from zero to functional in a defined set of situations. They can arrive in a country and not be helpless.

It is also not conversation. A1 is survival and courtesy — greeting, ordering, asking directions, filling in a form with name and nationality and address.

## What it is worth in practice

- **Immigration.** Several European states require **A1** for an initial residence permit or for spousal and family reunification visas. Where that is the rule, an A1 certificate is not a nicety — it is the document that decides whether a family is allowed to live together. This is the single most consequential use of the level, and the requirements change with the politics of the moment.
- **Work.** Rarely sufficient on its own, but genuinely useful in trades and service work where a specific, limited vocabulary covers most of the job. See Language Registers Business Religious and Trade Language.
- **Study.** Not sufficient for any course taught in the language.

## Certificates at A1 with staying power

Prefer examinations issued by, or on behalf of, the country whose language it is. Those outlast the companies that sell courses.

- **Spanish** — **DELE A1**, Instituto Cervantes, issued on behalf of the Spanish Ministry of Education. No expiry.
- **French** — **DELF A1**, awarded in the name of the French Ministry of Education. A lifetime diploma.
- **German** — **Goethe-Zertifikat A1: Start Deutsch 1**, Goethe-Institut. There is also a *Fit in Deutsch 1* version for younger candidates.
- **Italian** — **CILS A1** (Università per Stranieri di Siena) and the corresponding **PLIDA A1** (Società Dante Alighieri).
- **English** — Cambridge's suite begins its main series at A2, with **Pre A1 Starters** existing in the Young Learners range. For adults at A1 the practical route is to prepare for A2 Key rather than to certify at A1.

## How long it takes

Published guided-learning-hours estimates for reaching A1 cluster around **80 to 100 hours** for a European language from a European starting point. Treat those figures as indicative only: they assume a related language, regular study and a teacher. A language distant from your own takes substantially longer, and immersion changes the arithmetic entirely.

## Where to go next

Straight to CEFR Level A2, which is where the level starts to pay — it is the point at which a person can describe their own background and manage routine transactions without assistance.

See also: CEFR The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages · Teaching English Abroad TEFL and TESOL · Making Money Certificate Pathways