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0z\"\u002F>",true,{"id":36,"title":37,"author":38,"body":39,"cefrLevel":944,"date":945,"description":946,"extension":947,"faqs":948,"intro":944,"language":944,"lastUpdated":945,"meta":961,"navigation":34,"path":970,"seo":971,"stem":972,"verbSlugs":944,"__hash__":973},"pages\u002Fspanish\u002Fvocabulary-by-cefr.md","Spanish Vocabulary by CEFR Level: What You Actually Need at A1 to C2","Michael McGettrick",{"type":40,"value":41,"toc":932},"minimark",[42,46,50,69,72,77,187,195,230,234,237,380,406,409,413,416,521,529,532,536,539,643,656,659,663,666,767,780,783,787,790,840,843,847,850,858,862,865,926],[43,44,37],"h1",{"id":45},"spanish-vocabulary-by-cefr-level-what-you-actually-need-at-a1-to-c2",[47,48,49],"p",{},"Spanish vocabulary growth is not linear and the CEFR levels are roughly the shape of the curve. A1 to A2 is a steep climb up the high-frequency core; B1 to B2 is a long abstract-vocabulary plateau most adults stall on; C1 to C2 is a long tail where most extra lemmas are specialist, literary or regional. The arithmetic decides the curriculum: the first 1,000 most frequent Spanish lemmas cover around 80% of everyday speech (Nation, 2006), the next 4,000 add another 10 to 15 percentage points, and the remaining ~90,000 words of standard Spanish account for the last 5 to 10%.",[47,51,52,53,58,59,63,64,68],{},"The Kilo Lingo position on this is unambiguous and we have said it before in ",[54,55,57],"a",{"href":56},"\u002Fresources\u002Fwhy-the-first-1000-words-matter","why the first 1,000 words matter",": an adult with a day job and 30 to 45 minutes a day should aggressively prioritise the frequency core and resist any detour that costs working memory without delivering a marginal sentence in return. The ",[54,60,62],{"href":61},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fcore-1000","Core 1,000"," and ",[54,65,67],{"href":66},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fcore-5000","Core 5,000"," lists are organised around exactly this logic. This page maps that logic onto the CEFR bands so you can see where your current vocabulary actually sits.",[47,70,71],{},"The numbers below are active vocabulary. Receptive vocabulary (words you recognise but do not produce) is usually 1.5 to 2 times higher at every level.",[73,74,76],"h2",{"id":75},"the-vocabulary-count-at-each-level","The vocabulary count at each level",[78,79,80,99],"table",{},[81,82,83],"thead",{},[84,85,86,90,93,96],"tr",{},[87,88,89],"th",{},"CEFR level",[87,91,92],{},"Active lemmas (approx.)",[87,94,95],{},"Coverage of everyday Spanish",[87,97,98],{},"What you can do",[100,101,102,117,131,145,159,173],"tbody",{},[84,103,104,108,111,114],{},[105,106,107],"td",{},"A1",[105,109,110],{},"400-600",[105,112,113],{},"60-70%",[105,115,116],{},"Survive a transaction; one-clause sentences only.",[84,118,119,122,125,128],{},[105,120,121],{},"A2",[105,123,124],{},"1,000-1,500",[105,126,127],{},"75-85%",[105,129,130],{},"Hold a slow conversation about familiar topics.",[84,132,133,136,139,142],{},[105,134,135],{},"B1",[105,137,138],{},"2,500-3,000",[105,140,141],{},"~85-90%",[105,143,144],{},"Travel, daily life, deal with most everyday situations.",[84,146,147,150,153,156],{},[105,148,149],{},"B2",[105,151,152],{},"4,500-5,500",[105,154,155],{},"~95%",[105,157,158],{},"Full adult conversation, work in the language.",[84,160,161,164,167,170],{},[105,162,163],{},"C1",[105,165,166],{},"7,500-9,000",[105,168,169],{},"~98%",[105,171,172],{},"Operate professionally; read novels for pleasure.",[84,174,175,178,181,184],{},[105,176,177],{},"C2",[105,179,180],{},"10,000+",[105,182,183],{},"99%+",[105,185,186],{},"Indistinguishable from an educated native in most contexts.",[47,188,189,190,194],{},"The coverage figures come from corpus work by Paul Nation (2006) on receptive vocabulary thresholds and from Mark Davies's frequency dictionary of Spanish, the standard reference for Spanish lemma frequency. The Council of Europe descriptors themselves are deliberately quiet on word counts (CEFR is about what you can ",[191,192,193],"em",{},"do"," with a language, not how many words you know) but the empirical correspondence between band and lemma count is consistent across studied learners.",[47,196,197,198,201,202,205,206,205,209,205,212,205,215,205,218,221,222,225,226,229],{},"A clarifying note on lemmas. A ",[191,199,200],{},"lemma"," is the dictionary form of a word. ",[191,203,204],{},"Hablar",", ",[191,207,208],{},"hablo",[191,210,211],{},"hablas",[191,213,214],{},"hablaba",[191,216,217],{},"hablaria",[191,219,220],{},"hablado"," all count as one lemma. This is why Kilo Lingo organises ",[54,223,224],{"href":61},"its word pages by lemma",": you do not learn six words when you learn ",[191,227,228],{},"hablar",", you learn one word with six conjugated faces. Frequency counts in this article use lemma frequency throughout.",[73,231,233],{"id":232},"a1-beginner","A1 (beginner)",[47,235,236],{},"At A1 your lexicon is the highest-frequency core. The articles, the basic pronouns, the auxiliary and copula verbs, the numbers one to ten, the words for home and family. Around 400 to 600 lemmas, sequenced by frequency, will cover roughly 60 to 70% of any everyday Spanish conversation. Concretely, that means lemmas like:",[238,239,240,258,273,285,307,329,348,365],"ul",{},[241,242,243,247,248,252,253,257],"li",{},[54,244,246],{"href":245},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fel","el"," (the, masculine), ",[54,249,251],{"href":250},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fla","la"," (the, feminine), ",[54,254,256],{"href":255},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Funa","una"," (a\u002Fone) - the article system",[241,259,260,205,264,205,268,272],{},[54,261,263],{"href":262},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fyo","yo",[54,265,267],{"href":266},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Ftu","tu",[54,269,271],{"href":270},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fella","ella"," - subject pronouns",[241,274,275,279,280,284],{},[54,276,278],{"href":277},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fser","ser"," (to be, identity) and ",[54,281,283],{"href":282},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Festar","estar"," (to be, state) - the two copulas English speakers find unsettling",[241,286,287,291,292,296,297,301,302,306],{},[54,288,290],{"href":289},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Ftener","tener"," (to have), ",[54,293,295],{"href":294},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fhacer","hacer"," (to do, to make), ",[54,298,300],{"href":299},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fpoder","poder"," (to be able to), ",[54,303,305],{"href":304},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fquerer","querer"," (to want)",[241,308,309,313,314,318,319,323,324,328],{},[54,310,312],{"href":311},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fcasa","casa"," (house), ",[54,315,317],{"href":316},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fagua","agua"," (water), ",[54,320,322],{"href":321},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fhombre","hombre"," (man), ",[54,325,327],{"href":326},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fmujer","mujer"," (woman)",[241,330,331,205,335,205,339,205,343,347],{},[54,332,334],{"href":333},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fdos","dos",[54,336,338],{"href":337},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Ftres","tres",[54,340,342],{"href":341},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fcuatro","cuatro",[54,344,346],{"href":345},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fcinco","cinco"," - the number system",[241,349,350,354,355,359,360,364],{},[54,351,353],{"href":352},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fbueno","bueno"," (good), ",[54,356,358],{"href":357},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fgrande","grande"," (big), ",[54,361,363],{"href":362},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fpequeno","pequeno"," (small) - the first descriptive adjectives",[241,366,367,205,371,205,375,379],{},[54,368,370],{"href":369},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fhola","hola",[54,372,374],{"href":373},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fgracias","gracias",[54,376,378],{"href":377},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fadios","adios"," - the social register",[47,381,382,383,205,385,205,387,205,391,205,395,205,399,402,403,405],{},"The structural reason this set comes first: every multi-word Spanish utterance is built around an article, a pronoun and a verb. You cannot build a sentence without the closed-class function words (",[54,384,246],{"href":245},[54,386,251],{"href":250},[54,388,390],{"href":389},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fde","de",[54,392,394],{"href":393},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fen","en",[54,396,398],{"href":397},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fy","y",[54,400,54],{"href":401},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fa","), and the top 30 most frequent Spanish lemmas are almost entirely those connective items. Skip them and nothing else you learn will fire. This is why Kilo Lingo's ",[54,404,62],{"href":61}," list is ordered by frequency rank: the first hundred entries are the connective tissue of the language.",[47,407,408],{},"Time to A1 for an English speaker at 30 minutes a day: roughly 6-8 weeks.",[73,410,412],{"id":411},"a2-elementary","A2 (elementary)",[47,414,415],{},"A2 expands into daily life. The past tenses arrive (preterite and imperfect), the day-of-week vocabulary, weather, food, the second tier of common adjectives. Around 1,000 to 1,500 active lemmas, with coverage rising to 75-85%. Example lemmas entering at this band:",[238,417,418,439,456,478,485,497,509],{},[241,419,420,423,424,428,429,433,434,438],{},[54,421,228],{"href":422},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fhablar"," (to speak), ",[54,425,427],{"href":426},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fcomer","comer"," (to eat), ",[54,430,432],{"href":431},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Ftrabajar","trabajar"," (to work), ",[54,435,437],{"href":436},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fllegar","llegar"," (to arrive)",[241,440,441,445,446,450,451,455],{},[54,442,444],{"href":443},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fsalir","salir"," (to leave), ",[54,447,449],{"href":448},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fentrar","entrar"," (to enter), ",[54,452,454],{"href":453},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fvolver","volver"," (to return)",[241,457,458,462,463,467,468,472,473,477],{},[54,459,461],{"href":460},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fayer","ayer"," (yesterday), ",[54,464,466],{"href":465},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fhoy","hoy"," (today), ",[54,469,471],{"href":470},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fmanana","manana"," (tomorrow), ",[54,474,476],{"href":475},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fsemana","semana"," (week)",[241,479,480,484],{},[54,481,483],{"href":482},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fgustar","gustar"," (to like) - the verb whose grammar trips up every English speaker for at least three months",[241,486,487,491,492,496],{},[54,488,490],{"href":489},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fpensar","pensar"," (to think), ",[54,493,495],{"href":494},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fcreer","creer"," (to believe) - the first opinion verbs",[241,498,499,503,504,508],{},[54,500,502],{"href":501},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Ffrio","frio"," (cold), ",[54,505,507],{"href":506},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fcalor","calor"," (heat) - weather vocabulary",[241,510,511,515,516,520],{},[54,512,514],{"href":513},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fcomprar","comprar"," (to buy), ",[54,517,519],{"href":518},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fesperar","esperar"," (to wait, to hope)",[47,522,523,524,528],{},"A2 is where conjugation starts paying real dividends, which is why the ",[54,525,527],{"href":526},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fconjugation","Spanish conjugation guide"," belongs in your routine from this point. The structural reason the band exists: A1 vocabulary lets you say a thing about now; A2 vocabulary lets you say a thing about yesterday or tomorrow, and that is the first step out of frozen-tense survival Spanish.",[47,530,531],{},"Time to A2 at 30 minutes a day: roughly 3-4 months from A1, 5-6 months from zero.",[73,533,535],{"id":534},"b1-intermediate","B1 (intermediate)",[47,537,538],{},"B1 is where Spanish becomes useful. Around 2,500 to 3,000 active lemmas, coverage around 85-90%, and the lexicon shifts from concrete to mixed-abstract. Opinion verbs, abstract nouns, the connective adverbs that hold longer sentences together. The subjunctive starts appearing in the input. Example lemmas at this band:",[238,540,541,553,575,597,609,626],{},[241,542,543,547,548,552],{},[54,544,546],{"href":545},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fparecer","parecer"," (to seem), ",[54,549,551],{"href":550},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fsuponer","suponer"," (to suppose) - more opinion verbs",[241,554,555,559,560,564,565,569,570,574],{},[54,556,558],{"href":557},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fvida","vida"," (life), ",[54,561,563],{"href":562},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fmundo","mundo"," (world), ",[54,566,568],{"href":567},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Flugar","lugar"," (place), ",[54,571,573],{"href":572},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fhistoria","historia"," (history, story)",[241,576,577,581,582,586,587,591,592,596],{},[54,578,580],{"href":579},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fverdad","verdad"," (truth), ",[54,583,585],{"href":584},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fidea","idea"," (idea), ",[54,588,590],{"href":589},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fproblema","problema"," (problem), ",[54,593,595],{"href":594},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fmiedo","miedo"," (fear)",[241,598,599,603,604,608],{},[54,600,602],{"href":601},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fempezar","empezar"," (to start), ",[54,605,607],{"href":606},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fconseguir","conseguir"," (to manage to)",[241,610,611,615,616,620,621,625],{},[54,612,614],{"href":613},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Frecuerdo","recuerdo"," (memory), ",[54,617,619],{"href":618},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fpalabra","palabra"," (word), ",[54,622,624],{"href":623},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fpais","pais"," (country)",[241,627,628,632,633,637,638,642],{},[54,629,631],{"href":630},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fbastante","bastante"," (enough, quite), ",[54,634,636],{"href":635},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fsiquiera","siquiera"," (even, at least), ",[54,639,641],{"href":640},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fhacia","hacia"," (towards)",[47,644,645,646,650,651,655],{},"The plateau warning. Most adult learners hit B1 in 12 to 18 months and stay there for a year or longer because the methods that got them to B1 (apps, basic textbook, the occasional tutor) do not get them to B2. The plateau is a vocabulary plateau before it is a grammar plateau: the lexicon needs to roughly double, and apps do not deliver that volume. The ",[54,647,649],{"href":648},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fintermediate","intermediate grammar"," piece covers the subjunctive system, which is the other half of the bottleneck and is unpacked in detail in the ",[54,652,654],{"href":653},"\u002Fresources\u002Fspanish\u002Fspanish-subjunctive-explained","subjunctive explainer",".",[47,657,658],{},"Time to B1 at 30 minutes a day: roughly 12-18 months from zero.",[73,660,662],{"id":661},"b2-upper-intermediate","B2 (upper intermediate)",[47,664,665],{},"B2 is the first level you can credibly say you \"speak Spanish\". Around 4,500 to 5,500 active lemmas, coverage around 95%, and the new vocabulary is mostly abstract, formal and register-sensitive. Journalism vocabulary, formal-informal distinctions, the full subjunctive in all its uses. Example lemmas entering at this band:",[238,667,668,685,702,714,726,743,760],{},[241,669,670,674,675,679,680,684],{},[54,671,673],{"href":672},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fgobierno","gobierno"," (government), ",[54,676,678],{"href":677},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fdecision","decision"," (decision), ",[54,681,683],{"href":682},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fopinion","opinion"," (opinion)",[241,686,687,691,692,696,697,701],{},[54,688,690],{"href":689},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fderecho","derecho"," (right, law), ",[54,693,695],{"href":694},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fley","ley"," (law), ",[54,698,700],{"href":699},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Flibertad","libertad"," (freedom)",[241,703,704,708,709,713],{},[54,705,707],{"href":706},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fmedio","medio"," (medium, means, half), ",[54,710,712],{"href":711},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fasunto","asunto"," (matter, issue)",[241,715,716,720,721,725],{},[54,717,719],{"href":718},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fmantener","mantener"," (to maintain), ",[54,722,724],{"href":723},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Freferir","referir"," (to refer)",[241,727,728,732,733,737,738,742],{},[54,729,731],{"href":730},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fesperanza","esperanza"," (hope), ",[54,734,736],{"href":735},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fdolor","dolor"," (pain), ",[54,739,741],{"href":740},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fsalud","salud"," (health)",[241,744,745,749,750,754,755,759],{},[54,746,748],{"href":747},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fhospital","hospital"," (hospital), ",[54,751,753],{"href":752},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fmedico","medico"," (doctor), ",[54,756,758],{"href":757},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fenfermedad","enfermedad"," (illness)",[241,761,762,766],{},[54,763,765],{"href":764},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fapenas","apenas"," (hardly, barely) - the kind of adverbial precision that B2 unlocks",[47,768,769,770,774,775,779],{},"The structural reason this band exists: B1 lets you say what you mean about familiar topics; B2 lets you say what you mean about unfamiliar topics by drawing on the abstract-noun core and the formal connective adverbs. B2 is also the band Spanish DELE certifies as the minimum for university admission and most professional roles in Spain (see the ",[54,771,773],{"href":772},"\u002Fspanish","Spanish pillar"," for the qualification mapping). The ",[54,776,778],{"href":777},"\u002Fresources\u002Fspanish\u002Fspanish-reading-list-by-cefr","Spanish reading list by CEFR"," sequences the novels and journalism that build B2 vocabulary at the right pace.",[47,781,782],{},"Time to B2 at 30 minutes a day: roughly 2.5-3.5 years from zero, with the B1-B2 stretch alone taking 12-18 months for most adults.",[73,784,786],{"id":785},"c1-advanced","C1 (advanced)",[47,788,789],{},"C1 is where you operate professionally. Around 7,500 to 9,000 active lemmas, coverage around 98%, and the new vocabulary is specialist: legal, medical, literary, academic. The lemmas that survive at this band are usually domain-tied (a Spanish-speaking lawyer learns one C1 sublexicon; a Spanish-speaking doctor learns another), which is why the published frequency lists thin out fast above rank 5,000. Example lemmas at this band:",[238,791,792,809,825,832],{},[241,793,794,798,799,803,804,808],{},[54,795,797],{"href":796},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fjusticia","justicia"," (justice), ",[54,800,802],{"href":801},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fjuez","juez"," (judge), ",[54,805,807],{"href":806},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fcorte","corte"," (court) - legal register",[241,810,811,615,815,819,820,824],{},[54,812,814],{"href":813},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fmemoria","memoria",[54,816,818],{"href":817},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fmentira","mentira"," (lie), ",[54,821,823],{"href":822},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Faveriguar","averiguar"," (to find out)",[241,826,827,831],{},[54,828,830],{"href":829},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Farte","arte"," (art) - cultural register",[241,833,834,835,839],{},"discourse-level adverbs like ",[54,836,838],{"href":837},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Facaso","acaso"," (perhaps, by any chance), the kind of formal hedge that appears in Spanish journalism and academic writing",[47,841,842],{},"The honest note: C1 is the highest level most adult learners realistically reach without a year living in the country or a partner who speaks Spanish at home. It is also the level beyond which extra vocabulary work has sharply diminishing returns for most life and career outcomes. C1 reads contemporary fiction comfortably, follows native-speed journalism without effort, and writes professional Spanish that a native colleague might lightly edit but not rewrite. If you have got this far, you have done the thing.",[73,844,846],{"id":845},"c2-mastery","C2 (mastery)",[47,848,849],{},"C2 is the long tail. Around 10,000 active lemmas and rising, coverage above 99%, and the new vocabulary is almost entirely literary, regional, technical or archaic. The Real Academia Espanola's dictionary contains around 93,000 entries; C2 means a working command of around 15,000 to 20,000 of them plus the cultural and stylistic reflexes of an educated native. The remaining 70,000+ are the specialist vocabulary nobody human knows in full.",[47,851,852,853,857],{},"Most adult learners should not aim for C2. C1 is where you operate; C2 is where you sound like an educated native of the country you grew up in, which is a different and rarer achievement that requires either childhood acquisition, a long immersion stretch or a domestic partner who speaks Spanish at home. The honest framing in the ",[54,854,856],{"href":855},"\u002Fresources\u002Fcefr-explained","CEFR explainer"," is the same one that applies here: aim for C1, ship at C1, and let C2 be a side-effect of a life you happen to lead rather than a study plan you grind for.",[73,859,861],{"id":860},"how-to-actually-build-this","How to actually build this",[47,863,864],{},"The Kilo Lingo prescription is unromantic and well-evidenced.",[866,867,868,879,888,897,910,920],"ol",{},[241,869,870,874,875,878],{},[871,872,873],"strong",{},"Start with the Core 1,000."," Work through the ",[54,876,877],{"href":61},"Core 1,000 Spanish words"," in frequency order. This is the highest-return 30 to 45 minutes you can spend on Spanish, period. Aim to recognise all 1,000 within six months and produce around 700 of them.",[241,880,881,884,885,887],{},[871,882,883],{},"Move to the Core 5,000."," The ",[54,886,67],{"href":66}," extends coverage from around 80% to around 95% of running Spanish and is the main vocabulary work of the B1-to-B2 stretch. Budget 18 to 24 months.",[241,889,890,893,894,896],{},[871,891,892],{},"Read at volume."," Above B1, vocabulary growth is bottlenecked on input. The ",[54,895,778],{"href":777}," sequences the graded readers, novels and journalism that deliver volume at the right level. Re-read rather than push through.",[241,898,899,902,903,905,906,909],{},[871,900,901],{},"Run the grammar in parallel."," Vocabulary without conjugation is a phrase book. The ",[54,904,527],{"href":526}," covers the tense and mood system you need to use your vocabulary, and the ",[54,907,908],{"href":648},"intermediate grammar piece"," handles the subjunctive that is the other half of the B1-to-B2 jump.",[241,911,912,884,915,919],{},[871,913,914],{},"Pronounce what you read.",[54,916,918],{"href":917},"\u002Fspanish\u002Falphabet","Spanish alphabet and pronunciation guide"," is the fastest way to fix the sound-to-spelling mapping; if you can pronounce a new lemma cleanly when you meet it on the page, it sticks.",[241,921,922,925],{},[871,923,924],{},"Produce, do not just consume."," Vocabulary you only read is receptive vocabulary. Vocabulary you say out loud, ideally to another person, becomes active. A tutor for 30 minutes a week is the cheapest production practice money can buy from B1 onwards.",[47,927,928,929,931],{},"The ",[54,930,773],{"href":772}," covers the wider learning approach, the FSI hours, the Spain-versus-Latin-America fork and the apps' specific failures. If you are starting from zero and want one route through the site, it is: pillar, Core 1,000, Core 5,000, reading list, conjugation guide, subjunctive explainer. Everything else is detail.",{"title":933,"searchDepth":934,"depth":934,"links":935},"",2,[936,937,938,939,940,941,942,943],{"id":75,"depth":934,"text":76},{"id":232,"depth":934,"text":233},{"id":411,"depth":934,"text":412},{"id":534,"depth":934,"text":535},{"id":661,"depth":934,"text":662},{"id":785,"depth":934,"text":786},{"id":845,"depth":934,"text":846},{"id":860,"depth":934,"text":861},null,"2026-06-10T00:00:00+00:00","Spanish vocabulary by CEFR band. The lexical core at A1 through C2 with example words, the structural reason each band exists, and the honest count an adult learner can hit in 30 to 45 minutes a day.","md",[949,952,955,958],{"q":950,"a":951},"How many Spanish words do I need to be fluent?","Fluent is not a CEFR level, so the honest answer depends on what you mean. To hold a daily conversation (B1) you need roughly 2,500 to 3,000 active lemmas; the first 1,000 of those cover around 80% of running speech (Nation, 2006). To work in Spanish at a professional level (C1) you need around 8,000 lemmas plus the specialist vocabulary of your field. Mark Davies's frequency dictionary of Spanish puts the top 5,000 at around 95% coverage of general written and spoken Spanish.",{"q":953,"a":954},"What CEFR level matches Duolingo Spanish?","By the published Council of Europe descriptors, a completed Duolingo Spanish tree typically lands at high A2 to low B1, not the B2 the company sometimes implies. The receptive vocabulary across the whole tree is roughly 1,500 lemmas, which is A2 by frequency. The output skills are usually a band lower than that because speech-recognition exercises do not produce real conversation. Take a DELE B1 mock if you want to know where you really sit.",{"q":956,"a":957},"Is B1 enough to live in Spain?","For daily life, yes. B1 covers shopping, basic bureaucracy, social conversation, asking for directions and dealing with the council. It does not cover working in a Spanish-speaking professional role (that is B2 minimum, C1 in language-sensitive sectors like law or medicine) and it does not cover Spanish university admission, which requires DELE B2. The honest framing is that B1 lets you live in Spain, B2 lets you work in Spain, and C1 lets you build a career in Spain.",{"q":959,"a":960},"What is the hardest Spanish vocabulary jump?","B1 to B2 is the hardest jump for most adult learners. The lexicon roughly doubles (3,000 to around 5,000 lemmas) and the new vocabulary is mostly abstract: opinion verbs, register variation, formal-informal distinctions and the connective tissue (sin embargo, por lo tanto, en cuanto a) that makes longer sentences hold together. The methods that got you to B1 (apps, basic textbook, occasional tutor) do not get you through this jump. Volume reading at level is the only reliable fix.",{"category":962,"tags":963,"tldr":968,"authorsTake":969},"Methodology",[964,965,966,967],"spanish vocabulary","cefr","spanish learning","adult learners","Spanish vocabulary growth across CEFR bands is not linear: roughly 500 active lemmas at A1, 1,500 at A2, 3,000 at B1, 5,000 at B2, 8,000 at C1, and 10,000+ at C2; the first 1,000 most frequent lemmas cover around 80% of everyday speech (Nation, 2006) and are the highest-return target for any adult with a day job; the B1 plateau is a vocabulary plateau, not a grammar plateau, and the fix is volume reading rather than another app.","My Erasmus year in Madrid is when I learnt that the so-called B1 plateau is really a vocabulary problem in fancy dress. I could conjugate the subjunctive cleanly by Christmas; I still could not follow my flatmates arguing about the rent at the kitchen table in February. The grammar was fine. The lexicon was the bottleneck. Every word I did not know cost a half-second of guessing, and at the speed Madrileños actually talk, three half-seconds is the whole sentence gone.\n\nThe position I will defend is that Spanish vocabulary growth above B1 is almost entirely a function of input volume, and the apps stop helping right at the point where input volume matters most. Duolingo will get you to about 1,500 receptive lemmas across a six to nine month tree, which is high A2 by frequency. After that the curve flattens and the only way through it is the unglamorous one: 30 to 45 minutes a day of reading at slightly above your level, podcasts on the commute, and a tutor who makes you produce sentences. Nation (2006) put the coverage maths down decades ago and nobody has refuted it since.\n\nMy sharper take is that adults should not chase C2 vocabulary. C1 is where you operate; C2 is the long tail of literary, regional and specialist registers that an adult learner accumulates if they happen to live a life that requires them, and grinds for fruitlessly if they do not. Aim for the 5,000 most frequent Spanish lemmas, read them in real sentences until they stick, and let the next 5,000 arrive on their own schedule.\n","\u002Fspanish\u002Fvocabulary-by-cefr",{"title":37,"description":946},"spanish\u002Fvocabulary-by-cefr","k1okrHz7w7Kfi0NugId88NmzUfKprpK6D8LTPHqG0DQ",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":975},"\u003Cpath fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\" d=\"M12 7v14m4-9h2m-2-4h2M3 18a1 1 0 0 1-1-1V4a1 1 0 0 1 1-1h5a4 4 0 0 1 4 4a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h5a1 1 0 0 1 1 1v13a1 1 0 0 1-1 1h-6a3 3 0 0 0-3 3a3 3 0 0 0-3-3zm3-6h2M6 8h2\"\u002F>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":977},"\u003Cg fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\">\u003Crect width=\"8\" height=\"18\" x=\"3\" y=\"3\" rx=\"1\"\u002F>\u003Cpath d=\"M7 3v18m13.4-2.1c.2.5-.1 1.1-.6 1.3l-1.9.7c-.5.2-1.1-.1-1.3-.6L11.1 5.1c-.2-.5.1-1.1.6-1.3l1.9-.7c.5-.2 1.1.1 1.3.6Z\"\u002F>\u003C\u002Fg>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":979},"\u003Cg fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\">\u003Cpath d=\"m2 16l4.039-9.69a.5.5 0 0 1 .923 0L11 16m11-7v7M3.304 13h6.392\"\u002F>\u003Ccircle cx=\"18.5\" cy=\"12.5\" r=\"3.5\"\u002F>\u003C\u002Fg>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":981},"\u003Cg fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\">\u003Cpath d=\"M12 15V3m9 12v4a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H5a2 2 0 0 1-2-2v-4\"\u002F>\u003Cpath d=\"m7 10l5 5l5-5\"\u002F>\u003C\u002Fg>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":983},"\u003Cg fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\">\u003Crect width=\"18\" height=\"18\" x=\"3\" y=\"3\" rx=\"2\" ry=\"2\"\u002F>\u003Ccircle cx=\"9\" cy=\"9\" r=\"2\"\u002F>\u003Cpath d=\"m21 15l-3.086-3.086a2 2 0 0 0-2.828 0L6 21\"\u002F>\u003C\u002Fg>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":985},"\u003Cpath fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\" d=\"M13 21h8M15 5l4 4m2.174-2.188a1 1 0 0 0-3.986-3.987L3.842 16.174a2 2 0 0 0-.5.83l-1.321 4.352a.5.5 0 0 0 .623.622l4.353-1.32a2 2 0 0 0 .83-.497z\"\u002F>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":987},"\u003Cg fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\">\u003Cpath d=\"M6 22a2 2 0 0 1-2-2V4a2 2 0 0 1 2-2h8a2.4 2.4 0 0 1 1.704.706l3.588 3.588A2.4 2.4 0 0 1 20 8v12a2 2 0 0 1-2 2z\"\u002F>\u003Cpath d=\"M14 2v5a1 1 0 0 0 1 1h5M10 9H8m8 4H8m8 4H8\"\u002F>\u003C\u002Fg>",1781519645949]