Free French Level Test: Find Your DELF or DALF Level

DELF A1 checks that you can introduce yourself, ask simple questions and understand short notices and messages. DELF A2 adds routine tasks: appointments, shopping, work, short emails and the past tenses (passé composé and imparfait). Both have the same four parts as every DELF exam: listening, reading and writing on paper (about 1 hour 20 minutes at A1, 1 hour 40 at A2), and a short speaking test. You pass with 50 of 100 points and at least 5 of 25 in each part.

France Éducation international publishes free sample papers for every DELF level (exemples de sujets), with the listening audio and the answers; past papers themselves are not published. There are versions for adults (tout public), teenagers (junior) and children (Prim). Three A1 and A2 examples from this test:

DELF B1 shows that you can use French on your own in everyday life: at work, with the authorities, while travelling. You can follow the main points of clear texts, tell a story, and give your opinion with short reasons. France asks for it for some residence permits.

DELF B2 shows that you can follow articles and discussions on concrete and abstract topics, argue a point of view and talk with native speakers without strain. Most French universities ask for B2 for a degree taught in French, and many employers do too.

Every DELF and DALF exam has four parts: compréhension de l’oral (listening), compréhension des écrits (reading), production écrite (writing) and production orale (speaking). Each is marked out of 25. You pass with 50 of 100, and at least 5 of 25 in each part. The diplomas do not expire.

In our test, B1 and B2 are the third and fourth groups of questions: B1 checks the subjunctive after il faut que, the conditional with si and the pronouns y and en; B2 checks the past conditional, concessions like malgré and avoir beau, and set phrases like prendre de court. Our test has no listening, writing or speaking part; the real DELF does. For official practice, see the DELF and DALF sample papers.

The DALF C1 asks you to work with long documents: you summarise several texts into one synthèse, write an argued essay, and give a talk from a file of documents, then discuss it. Many French universities let C1 holders skip their own French test. The DALF C2 goes further: a listening-based talk and a long written piece in a field you choose (humanities or sciences).

Our C1 questions check what those tasks rest on: nuanced connectors (quand bien même, pour peu que), the ne explétif and the subjunctive after à moins que, idioms such as faire la part belle à, and dense formal texts. For the official format, see the DALF sample papers.

TEF Canada (by the Paris Île-de-France Chamber of Commerce) and TCF Canada (by France Éducation international) are the French tests that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) accepts, for Express Entry, for example. Both test four skills: listening, reading, writing and speaking. IRCC turns the score for each skill into a level on the NCLC (Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens), the French twin of the CLB.

There is no official table from CEFR levels to NCLC; IRCC converts test scores, not CEFR levels. Alignment studies give a rough match, and they do not all agree, especially at the top:

Take this as a guide to which level to study for, not as a prediction of your NCLC. Our test only checks reading, vocabulary and grammar, while TEF and TCF Canada score listening, speaking and writing too, and IRCC looks at each skill on its own. For the exact score you need, see IRCC’s test equivalency charts; for the tests themselves, see TEF Canada and TCF Canada.

Slova is a speaking course: you learn by talking, with an AI tutor, from the first lesson. A written test tends to overrate speaking, so from B1 up we start you one step lower than your reading level.

New to French? Skip the test and start at lesson 1.