Italian Level Self-Test (A1-C1 Guide)

Level: A1 and up. No login, no score to submit — just a quick, honest way to find where to start in Italian.

By the end of this page you can…

…place yourself on the CEFR scale (A1 to C1), understand what each band means in real terms, and open the right first lesson.

How to use this self-test

Read each level from the top. For each can-do statement, ask whether you could do it right now, unprepared, without looking anything up. Your level is the highest band where you can honestly tick every line. The moment a band has even one line you cannot do, stop — that band is your current target, not your current level.

A1 — Beginner

• I can use greetings and very basic phrases (ciao, grazie, per favore).
• I can introduce myself and say where I am from.
• I can ask and answer simple questions about personal details, very slowly.
• I can understand familiar everyday words when people speak clearly.

A2 — Elementary

• I can handle short social exchanges: shopping, ordering food, asking directions.
• I can describe my family, job and daily routine in simple sentences.
• I can understand the main point of short, clear announcements and notices.
• I can talk about the past in a basic way (ieri sono andato…, yesterday I went…).

B1 — Intermediate

• I can cope with most situations while travelling in Italy.
• I can describe experiences, plans and opinions and give short reasons.
• I can follow the main points of clear standard speech on familiar topics.
• I can write simple connected text about things that interest me.

B2 — Upper intermediate

• I can hold a fluent, spontaneous conversation with native speakers without much strain.
• I can understand the main ideas of complex texts and most TV news.
• I can write clear, detailed text and argue a point of view with pros and cons.
• I can switch between past, present and future comfortably.

C1 — Advanced

• I can understand long, demanding texts and catch implied meaning.
• I can express myself fluently without obviously searching for words.
• I can use Italian flexibly for social, academic and professional purposes.
• I can produce well-structured, detailed writing on complex subjects.

Try a sentence at each level

Can you read and understand these without help? Comfort with each one roughly matches that band.

Where to start based on your result

• A1: open Start Learning Italian Here and begin the grammar backbone in order.
• A2–B1: jump into the Italian grammar section at the first point you feel shaky, such as indefinite articles.
• B2–C1: use the grammar pages as a reference to plug specific gaps, and focus your time on reading, listening and writing practice.

Quick recap before the quiz.

Practice

Quiz

Next

• Begin at Start Learning Italian Here
• Browse the Italian grammar section