🇪🇸 Spanish level test
Free Spanish level test: find your real level by speaking
Quick answer
The SpeakBase Spanish level test is a free 3-minute spoken conversation with an AI tutor, graded on the CEFR scale (A1 to C1). You talk, Kate adapts the difficulty as you go, and you get your level free at the end. No download, no card, works in your browser.
Most online Spanish tests are multiple choice, so they measure reading and guessing. This one measures the thing you actually want: whether you can hold a Spanish conversation. You talk with Kate for about three minutes, she raises the difficulty until you start to struggle, and you get a CEFR level (A1 to C1) with specific tips in English on what to fix first.
3 minutes · free · no card · in your browser
What the test sounds like
Kate opens easy and adapts to you. A typical three minutes moves through prompts like these, in Spanish:
- Tell me about your morning, what did you do before this?
- You are at a cafe in Madrid. Order something and ask about the wifi.
- What would you do with a free week in Mexico? Why?
If you are stuck, say so in English. Kate explains and moves on; struggling near the end is normal and is exactly what tells the grader where your ceiling is.
What the levels mean in Spanish
| Level | What you can do |
|---|---|
| A1 to A2 | Introduce yourself, order food, ask directions, talk about your day in the present tense. |
| B1 | Tell a story in the past, handle a hotel or doctor's visit, give opinions with simple reasons. |
| B2 and above | Follow fast native speech, argue a point, use the subjunctive without stopping to think. |
What you get at the end
- Free: your CEFR level, from A1 to C1, based on the hardest questions you handled, and a one-line summary.
- Free: the rest of your free minutes, to keep talking with Kate at the level the test just measured.
- With Premium: scores for fluency, vocabulary, grammar and interaction, and up to three concrete tips in English on what to fix first.
The test is part of your free first lesson. After it, Premium is $11.99 a month, billed in US dollars, for Spanish conversation with Kate and a retest every seven days, so you can watch your level move.
What each level sounds like in Spanish
Spanish is easy to read, so many Americans who took it in school assume they are better at speaking it than they are. Here is one question answered at each level.
The question
¿Qué hiciste el fin de semana?
What did you do on the weekend?
A1
Yo... casa. Mi familia. Comida buena.
I... house. My family. Good food.
Single words, no past tense yet.
A2
El sábado fui a la playa con mi familia. Comimos pescado. Fue muy bonito.
On Saturday I went to the beach with my family. We ate fish. It was very nice.
Short sentences that work, past tense on common verbs.
B1
El sábado fuimos a la playa porque hacía mucho calor. Mientras mis hijos jugaban, yo leí un libro, y por la noche cenamos en casa de mi hermana.
On Saturday we went to the beach because it was very hot. While my kids played, I read a book, and at night we had dinner at my sister's.
Both past tenses used correctly in one story.
B2
Si hubiera sabido que iba a llover, no habríamos ido a la playa, pero al final nos quedamos en un café y la verdad es que lo pasamos genial.
If I had known it was going to rain, we would not have gone to the beach, but in the end we stayed in a cafe and honestly had a great time.
The subjunctive arrives without stopping to build it.
C1
Tenía pensado aprovechar el finde para ponerme al día con el trabajo, pero acabé dejándolo todo para echarle una mano a mi hermana con la mudanza, y no me arrepiento en absoluto.
I had planned to use the weekend to catch up on work, but I ended up dropping everything to give my sister a hand with her move, and I do not regret it at all.
Idiomatic, precise and relaxed.
These answers were written by us as examples. They are not recordings of students, and the test judges far more than one answer.
What the test hears in English speakers' Spanish
These are the patterns that decide a level. Most learners can explain the rule and still break it at speaking speed.
Soy cansado
Estoy cansado
Being tired is a state, so it takes 'estar'. 'Soy aburrido' and 'estoy aburrido' mean different things: a boring person, and a person who is bored right now.
Soy treinta años
Tengo treinta años
In Spanish you have your age. Saying it the English way is one of the first things that gives away A1.
Cuando fui niño, jugué al fútbol
Cuando era niño, jugaba al fútbol
Ongoing or repeated past takes the imperfect. This choice is often what separates A2 from B1.
Me gusto la playa
Me gusta la playa
The beach is what does the pleasing, so the verb agrees with it, not with you. 'Me gusto' means 'I like myself'.
La problema
El problema
Many words ending in -ma are masculine, and the ending suggests otherwise. Only spoken repetition makes it automatic.
Estoy embarazada (meaning 'embarrassed')
Tengo vergüenza
'Embarazada' means pregnant. It is a good example of why you want the correction before the real conversation.
What level do you need?
This is our rule of thumb, not an official standard. Check with the employer or school if a specific level is required.
| Your goal | Aim for | What that gets you |
|---|---|---|
| A trip to Mexico or Spain | A2 | Ordering, directions, hotels and simple small talk. |
| Talking with a partner's family | B1 | Telling stories, giving opinions and following most of the table. |
| Spanish-speaking customers or patients | B2 | Explaining, handling surprises and following fast speech. |
| Negotiating or presenting at work | C1 | Nuance, tone and persuasion without translating in your head. |
This test or the DELE?
They do different jobs. The DELE is the official diploma from the Instituto Cervantes, with exams at levels from A1 to C2. Take it when a school, an employer or a visa office wants a certificate. It has set exam dates and registration.
This test is for you, right now: three minutes, at any hour, to learn where you stand and what level to practice at. It is not a certificate and should not be presented as one. Many people use it to decide whether they are ready to register for a DELE level.
How to get a fair result
- Use a quiet room and headphones. Kate hears you better, and her voice will not echo back into your microphone.
- Keep talking when you are unsure. A broken sentence gives the grader something to judge. Silence gives it nothing.
- Say it in English when you are stuck. Kate will help and move on. Reaching your limit near the end is how the test finds your level.
- Any variety of Spanish is fine. Mexican, Caribbean, Spanish from Spain: use the words you know. The test does not penalise regional vocabulary.
What the test cannot tell you
It is a placement, not a certificate. Three minutes is enough to find your band, not to describe everything you can do, and a bad night's sleep can move you a little. Use the level to choose where to start, then measure again after a few weeks of practice.
It measures speaking only: fluency, vocabulary, grammar and how well you hold up your end of a conversation. It does not test reading or writing, and it does not score your accent, so a strong accent will not lower your level if you can be understood.
The result stops at C1. If you are close to native Spanish, it will tell you little you do not already know.
The level and a one-line summary are free. The four scores and the tips come with Premium, which also lets you retake the test every seven days. A free account gets one graded test.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is a 3-minute Spanish speaking test?
Accurate enough to place you in a CEFR band. The tutor raises the difficulty until you start to struggle, which is how a human examiner finds your ceiling too. It is a placement, not a certificate: use it to know where to start and to measure progress every few weeks.
Do I need to know any Spanish to take the test?
No. If you can only say 'hola', the test will find that out gently and place you at A1. Kate speaks slowly and explains in English when you are stuck, so complete beginners are welcome.
What do I get at the end?
Your CEFR level (A1, A2, B1, B2 or C1) and a one-line summary are free. A breakdown of fluency, vocabulary, grammar and interaction, up to three concrete tips in English and a retest every seven days come with Premium.
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