Going from A1 to B1 takes about 250 to 310 focused hours in a language close to English. At one hour a day, that is roughly nine months. At 30 minutes a day it is closer to a year and a half, and for Japanese, Chinese, Korean or Arabic the same climb takes about three times longer.
What A1, A2 and B1 mean in plain words
The levels come from the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), a scale from the Council of Europe that many schools and exams use [3]. There are six levels, A1 to C2. The first three are the ones most people ask about.
| Level | What you can do | A real sentence you might say |
|---|---|---|
| A1 | Use familiar phrases. Introduce yourself, ask simple questions and answer slowly, clear ones. | "Hello, my name is Ana. I live in Lisbon. Where is the station?" |
| A2 | Handle short, routine exchanges about shopping, work, family and places. Describe your day in simple terms. | "Yesterday I went to the market and bought some fruit. Can you say that again, please?" |
| B1 | Cope with most situations while travelling. Explain plans and opinions, tell a story, follow the main point of clear speech on familiar topics. | "I would like to change my booking because my plans have changed. Could you tell me what the options are?" |
The jump that people feel is A2 to B1. At A2 you survive with set phrases. At B1 you build your own sentences, cope when the conversation goes off script and give a reason for what you think. That is why the second half of the trip feels slower than the first.
Anyone can say they are "B1". A level only means something when you can do the tasks. The last section shows how to check with an official exam.
The official hour counts
Cambridge English publishes cumulative guided learning hours for each level, counting from a complete beginner [1]. "Guided" means time with a teacher or a structured course, and these figures were written about English. They are estimates, and Cambridge says so.
| Level | Cumulative hours from zero | Hours added by this level |
|---|---|---|
| A1 | 90 to 100 | 90 to 100 |
| A2 | 180 to 200 | about 90 to 100 |
| B1 | 350 to 400 | about 170 to 200 |
| B2 | 500 to 600 | about 150 to 200 |
Read the last column carefully. A1 to B1 is not one level away from the start, it is the middle of the range: about 250 to 310 hours. A2 to B1 alone is about 150 to 220 hours, roughly the same as everything before it.
Other exam bodies give different numbers, which is a useful reminder that these are not laws. The Goethe-Institut says German B1 takes 350 to 650 lessons of 45 minutes, depending on prior knowledge and learning conditions [5]. That is about 260 to 490 hours. The spread is wide because people are different.
Harder languages stretch the number
Cambridge's hours are a baseline. If you are learning a language that is far from your first one, expect more. The US Foreign Service Institute (FSI) sorts languages into groups by how long English-speaking diplomats need to reach professional working level [2].
The scale is far above B1, but the ratios show how much a language stretches the same journey.
US Department of State, FSI language timelines [2].
FSI's target sits well above B1, so do not read 690 hours as "B1 in 690 hours". Use the ratios. Japanese needs about three times the class time of Spanish. That is why the calculator below multiplies the baseline by 1 for languages close to English, 1.5 for a medium group and 3.2 for a hard group. It is a rough rule. For the real detail, see our guides to how long Spanish takes, French and Japanese.
Calculate your own A1 to B1 time
Pick your language group, your start and goal, and your real minutes. The result is a middle estimate.
What changes the number
- Your first language. A Spanish speaker learning Italian shares thousands of word roots. An English speaker learning Korean shares almost none. This is the reason for the language groups above.
- Focused minutes, not app minutes. Ten minutes of tapping tiles on the bus and ten minutes of speaking aloud are not the same hour. Count the time you were actually working.
- Speaking early. Guided hours in Cambridge's sense include a teacher who corrects you. When you study alone, you must add the speaking and the corrections yourself. See how to study English by yourself for a working routine.
- Days per week. Seven days of 30 minutes beats two days of 105. Memory needs repeated, short contact.
- Exposure outside study. Listening to podcasts, reading and watching with subtitles adds hours that a course does not count.
- Age, sleep, stress and time zone. Real life changes the number, and no calculator can see it.
If you study alone with an AI tutor, the maths is the same. The tutor helps you speak more often and gives you feedback, so your hours are more likely to be focused. It does not shorten the hour count by itself.
What 20, 45 and 90 minutes a day really buy
Times below assume a language close to English and seven days a week. Multiply by 1.5 or 3.2 for harder groups.
| Minutes a day | Hours a week | A1 to B1 (about 280 hours) | A2 to B1 (about 185 hours) | From zero to B1 (about 375 hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 2.3 | about 28 months | about 18 months | about 37 months |
| 45 | 5.3 | about 12 months | about 8 months | about 16 months |
| 90 | 10.5 | about 6 months | about 4 months | about 8 months |
Here is how the week might look at each pace.
20 minutes a day (about 2 hours a week). Five days of one short lesson plus a few new words. One day of listening to a slow clip you have already heard. One day of speaking a short answer aloud and recording it. It works for keeping the language alive. It is slow for B1, so aim at A2 first and set a checkpoint every three months.
45 minutes a day (about 5 hours a week). Three lessons of 30 minutes, two days of listening for 45 minutes, one day of reading a short text and one day of a 20 minute spoken conversation with a person or an AI tutor. This is the pace most adults can hold for a year.
90 minutes a day (about 10 hours a week). A 40 minute lesson, 20 minutes of review, 20 minutes of listening and 10 minutes of speaking, five days a week. On two days replace the lesson with a long conversation and writing three paragraphs. It works, but it needs a protected slot. If it burns you out by week six, drop to 60 minutes and keep going.
Can you reach B1 in six months?
Yes, if you start from A1 in a language close to English and study about 1.5 hours a day, every day, with speaking in the mix. That is about 280 hours in 26 weeks. From zero it needs about two hours a day. In a language from the hard group, six months to B1 is not a realistic goal for most people. Aim for A2, then decide.
If someone promises B1 in three months on 15 minutes a day, ask what they mean by B1. Usually they mean recognising common phrases, not the tasks in the table above.
A simple month by month route
- Months 1 to 3 (A1). Learn everyday sentences, the sounds and the most common verbs. Say every new sentence aloud. Record a 30 second introduction.
- Months 4 to 6 (A2). Talk about your day, your work and your family. Use past and future in short sentences. Hold one ten minute conversation each week.
- Months 7 to 12 (B1). Read short articles, follow videos on familiar topics and tell a story with a beginning and an end. Give reasons with "because". Handle a phone call about a booking or a problem.
- Every three months. Do an official sample paper. Note the section where you lose the most marks and spend the next month on it.
This is a shape, not a promise. Slide the whole thing wider if you study fewer hours.
Slova builds your path around a goal such as a move, family or work, or around a hobby you love. One Lexicon keeps every word from lessons, images, audio and texts, so your progress is visible.
Build a mini path →How to check you are really at B1
There is a simple test: can you do the B1 tasks without preparing them? A B1 learner can describe an experience, explain why they prefer something, and cope when a stranger asks an unexpected question. Then confirm it with an exam.
- English: Cambridge B1 Preliminary tests reading, writing, listening and speaking at B1 [4]. Sample papers are free on the site.
- German: the Goethe-Zertifikat B1 has four modules that you can take together or one at a time [5].
- French, Spanish and others: DELF B1 and DELE B1 work the same way. Start with the official sample tasks.
Try one sample paper before you book. It tells you which skill is weakest, and that is worth more than the certificate. If your speaking is behind your reading, which is common, our guide to improving English speaking and the article on speaking English fluently show what to practise.
Conclusion
A1 to B1 is about 250 to 310 guided hours for a language close to English, and about three times that for the hardest languages. Your months are your hours divided by your weekly hours. Ninety focused minutes a day gets many people there in about six months. Twenty minutes a day gets you there, but the road is long, so use checkpoints. Use the calculator, pick a pace you can keep and check yourself against a sample exam.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to go from A1 to B1 in English or another language?
About 250 to 310 focused study hours for a language close to English, based on Cambridge English guided hours. At 60 minutes a day that is about nine months. For hard languages such as Japanese or Arabic, expect two to three times as many hours.
How many hours do you need from A1 to B1?
Cambridge English lists 90 to 100 hours for A1 and 350 to 400 for B1, so the difference is roughly 250 to 310 hours. The Goethe-Institut gives a wider German range of 350 to 650 lessons of 45 minutes.
How long from A2 to B1?
About 150 to 220 hours. At 45 minutes a day that is roughly eight months, and at 90 minutes a day about four months. The step from A2 to B1 often feels slower because you must speak beyond set phrases.
Can I reach B1 in 6 months?
You can if you start at A1 in a language close to English and study about 90 minutes every day, including speaking. From zero it needs about two hours a day. For hard languages it is not realistic for most learners.
Sources
- Cambridge English. Guided learning hours cumulative hours per CEFR level
- US Department of State. Foreign Language Training, FSI timelines class hours by language group
- Council of Europe. CEFR level descriptions what each level means
- Cambridge English. B1 Preliminary B1 exam with four papers
- Goethe-Institut. Goethe-Zertifikat B1 350 to 650 lessons of 45 minutes