Below are the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) proficiency levels along with their descriptions. These levels are widely used to assess and describe language ability. Merelingo uses these levels to help users indicate their proficiency in different languages. We also add (N) Native for users who are native speakers of a language.
CEFR Level:A1
Complete zero to basic understanding and use of common phrases and very simple sentences, often related to everyday situations. Can introduce themselves and ask for basic information.
CEFR Level:A2
Can give and understand basic information about themselves, their family, and their immediate surroundings. Can use simple phrases and sentences to communicate in everyday situations.
CEFR Level:B1
Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters. Can produce simple connected sentences on topics that are familiar. Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes, and ambitions, and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.
CEFR Level:B2
Can understand the main ideas of complex text or verbal communication on both concrete and abstract topics. Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity but may be blocked by holes in knowledge of language, culture, or a lack of self-confidence to produce correct language according to more advance grammatical rules.
CEFR Level:C1
Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognize implicit meaning. Can express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic, and professional purposes, but may not understand all idiomatic language to the degree of a native speaker.
CEFR Level:C2
Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. Can summarize information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation. Can express themselves spontaneously, fluently, and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations.
Not part of the CEFR framework. Used in Merelingo to denote native users.
Native