A1 to B2 German: The Roadmap With Hours, Milestones and Exams
Going from A1 to B2 in German takes roughly 450 to 600 hours of guided learning according to the Goethe-Institut, or 600 to 800 hours if you count homework and self-study as our planning range does. At 2 hours a day that is about 10 to 13 months; at 1 hour a day, 20 to 26 months. Below: the hours for each level, what you can do at each stage, which exam marks it, and a month-by-month schedule for both paces.
The hours, level by level
The Goethe-Institut publishes how many lessons of 45 minutes learners usually need “depending on previous knowledge and learning requirements”. These are cumulative from zero (as of October 2026, from its exam pages):
| Level | Lessons of 45 min | Clock hours (our conversion) | Our planning range, with self-study |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | 80 to 200 | 60 to 150 | 70 to 100 |
| A2 | 200 to 350 | 150 to 263 | 180 to 260 |
| B1 | 350 to 650 | 263 to 488 | 350 to 500 |
| B2 | 600 to 800 | 450 to 600 | 600 to 800 |
Why two columns? Goethe counts guided lessons. Our planning column is the total time most learners need once they add homework, vocabulary and speaking practice on their own; it is the same range used in hours to reach B1 and hours to reach B2. Where the two disagree, use the larger figure for planning and the smaller one as the optimistic case.
One more cross-check: the Goethe-Institut’s own intensive classroom route is 1 course for A1, 2 for A2, 2 for B1 and 3 for B2, with 75 lessons per course. That is eight courses and 600 lessons, the same as the lower end of Goethe’s B2 range.
What each level means in practice
| Level | What you can do (Council of Europe wording, simplified) | Typical exam |
|---|---|---|
| A1 | Introduce yourself, ask and answer questions about personal details, and manage simple exchanges if the other person speaks slowly and helps | Goethe-Zertifikat A1 |
| A2 | Handle routine exchanges: shopping, local area, work basics, simple descriptions of your background | Goethe-Zertifikat A2 (see our A2 exam guide) |
| B1 | Understand the main points on familiar topics from work, school and leisure; deal with most travel situations; describe experiences and give reasons | Goethe-Zertifikat B1, telc B1, DTZ |
| B2 | Understand the main ideas of complex texts on concrete and abstract topics; interact with native speakers with a degree of fluency | Goethe-Zertifikat B2 |
Two notes on exams. First, official fees differ by country and centre; the Goethe-Institut’s Germany price list for 2026 shows 155 euros for A1 (adults), 175 for A2, 259 for B1 and 289 for B2. Check the page for your country before you plan, and plan for the fee of the level you need. Second, you do not need an exam at every level. Most people take one at the level their goal requires. The DTZ is the exam at the end of the BAMF integration course, which aims at B1.
Month by month at 2 hours a day
Using the midpoints of our planning range (A1 about 85 hours, A2 about 220, B1 about 425, B2 about 700) and 60 hours a month:
| Month | Level reached | What to be doing |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A1 | Pronunciation, greetings, numbers, present tense, your first few hundred words. Speak out loud from the first week |
| 2-3 | A2 | Perfekt, modal verbs, dative basics, everyday dialogues (shop, doctor, bakery) |
| 4 | A2 | Daily-life role-plays at speed; A2 exam if you need the paper |
| 5-7 | B1 | Subordinate clauses, Konjunktiv II requests, relative clauses, opinions with reasons |
| 8 | B1 | Timed B1 mocks; B1 exam if needed |
| 9-12 | B2 | Connectors, passive, hypotheticals, formal writing, native-speed listening |
| 13 | B2 | Mocks and exam |
At 2 hours a day this lands you at B2 in about month 12 to 13 if you follow your planning range’s midpoint, or at month 10 if you hit the low end. If you skip weekends, multiply the timeline by 7/5: the 12 months become about 17.
Practise your German out loud with SipLingo, free to try on iPhone and Android:
Month by month at 1 hour a day
| Months | Level reached | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | A1 | The vocabulary is the slow part; keep the speaking minutes in |
| 4-7 | A2 | The first plateau. Repetition beats new material |
| 8-14 | B1 | Longest single stretch (about 170 to 240 hours of work in our range) |
| 15-23 | B2 | Most people stop here; protect the speaking hour |
At 1 hour a day, B2 arrives around month 20 to 27 on our planning range (month 23 at the midpoint). The practical answer is to split the journey: aim for B1 first (month 12 to 16), see what it unlocks, then decide on B2. B1 or B2 helps with that choice.
Speed-ups that actually work
- Speak from the beginning. A1 speaking is limited, but starting it early means the phrases are automatic by A2. Our 80/20 rule covers which sentences give the most return.
- One course, not three. Switching courses repeats A1 content and costs weeks.
- Short daily beats long weekly. Revisiting material every day is how the words and patterns stay available.
- Test at each level before moving on. A free level test or a mock exam at the end of each stage prevents building B1 on a shaky A2.
If your timeline is short, plan around the hours in the tables above rather than around a course’s advertised duration.
Where SipLingo fits
Speaking is the skill that gets postponed on every roadmap, because it needs a partner. SipLingo is a voice app for the A1 to B2 range: you talk through everyday scenarios, get corrections in your own language, and see scores for word accuracy, grammar, fluency and intonation. It covers the speaking hours in the tables above, not the whole programme. You still need a course or textbook and, if you take an exam, its official materials.
Official sources
For the official details and the latest updates, see:
- Council of Europe: The CEFR levels (Council of Europe) – Official background on the six CEFR levels A1–C2 and how they are described
- Goethe-Institut: Goethe-Zertifikat B1 – official exam page – Modules, durations, fees, 350–650 lessons to B1, results in 2 days–2 weeks
- Goethe-Institut: Goethe-Zertifikat B2 – official exam page – B2 modules and timings: listening 40, reading 65, writing 75, speaking 15 min
Frequently asked questions
How can I learn German from A1 to B2?
Follow one structured course, add daily listening and vocabulary review, and put a share of your time into speaking and writing with feedback. Move to the next level only after a mock exam at the current one.
How many hours from A1 to B2 German?
Goethe quotes 600 to 800 lessons of 45 minutes from zero to B2 (450 to 600 clock hours) and about 80 to 200 lessons for A1 itself. Starting from the end of A1 you are looking at roughly 300 to 540 further clock hours by Goethe’s figures, or about 500 to 730 by our planning range.
How to go from A1 to B2 in German?
Work through A2 (everyday routines, Perfekt, dative) and B1 (subordinate clauses, opinions) before B2 range and fluency work. Each level is a bigger step than the last, so keep your daily hours steady rather than speeding up and burning out.
Can I learn B2 German in 1 year?
Yes, at about 2 hours of study every day it is possible, because 365 days at 2 hours is 730 hours. At 1 hour a day it takes closer to 2 years.
Add a daily speaking block to every level of the roadmap: start with one SipLingo voice lesson.
