What the CEFR levels mean
Every word on this site is tagged with a level from A1 to C2. Here's what each one means — so learners can study at the right level and teachers can build lessons that fit the class.
The six levels come from the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) — the international standard for describing how much of a language a person can actually use. They run from A1, a true beginner, up to C2, near-native command, grouped into three bands: A (basic), B (independent), and C (proficient).
The six levels at a glance
| Band | Level | What you can do at this level |
|---|---|---|
| A Basic user | A1 Beginner | Understands and uses everyday basics — greetings, simple questions, and familiar words about yourself and your immediate surroundings. |
| A2 Elementary | Handles routine, predictable situations — shopping, directions, and simple descriptions of your background and immediate needs. | |
| B Independent user | B1 Intermediate | Copes with most situations while travelling, describes experiences, and gives brief reasons and opinions. The threshold of using English on your own. |
| B2 Upper Intermediate | Follows and takes part in fairly complex discussions — including in your own field — fluently enough to talk with native speakers without much strain. | |
| C Proficient user | C1 Advanced | Uses English flexibly for social, academic, and professional purposes, and understands demanding, longer texts including their implicit meaning. |
| C2 Proficiency | Understands virtually everything read or heard and expresses yourself precisely, even in complex situations — a near-native command of the language. |
Band structure and level scheme follow the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), © Council of Europe. The descriptions above are our own plain-English summaries, not the Council's official text — see the official CEFR global scale for the canonical descriptors.
How we tag words
Where possible, a word's level comes from the Oxford Learner's 3000/5000 — a research-based list of the words most useful for learners, marked Oxford on the entry. Where a word isn't on that list, the level is inferred by a neural network and labelled as such and reviewed by a human editor.
Spotted a level that looks off? Tell us — corrections from real learners and teachers are the fastest way the dictionary improves.