Hindi B1 level means you can get through daily life in Hindi without switching to English: sort out a problem with a landlord or a shopkeeper, talk about your family and plans, follow a clear conversation and read short texts in Devanagari. There is no single international exam that certifies a CEFR level in Hindi, so B1 is mostly a description of what you can do; the nearest thing to an outside rating is a speaking interview scored on the American ACTFL or ILR scale. For an English speaker, A2 to B1 takes roughly 250 to 400 hours.
What can you do at Hindi B1 level?
The CEFR describes B1 as understanding the main points of clear speech on familiar matters, handling most everyday situations, describing experiences and plans and briefly explaining your opinions. Hindi adds four things to get right.
The ने construction. In the past tense, transitive verbs take ने on the subject and agree with the object: मैंने रोटी खाई (maiṃne roṭī khāī, I ate the roti) has a feminine verb because roṭī is feminine.
Gender everywhere. Verbs agree with gender, including yours: a man says मैं जा रहा हूँ (maiṃ jā rahā hūṃ, I'm going), a woman says मैं जा रही हूँ (maiṃ jā rahī hūṃ).
Compound verbs. कर देना (kar denā) and चला जाना (chalā jānā) add shades like completion, and they're everywhere in natural speech.
Two registers. Everyday Hindi borrows from Persian and English, formal Hindi from Sanskrit: शुरू (shurū, start) in speech, प्रारंभ (prārambh) on a notice.
Typical B1 sentences:
| Hindi | Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|
| मैं पिछले साल से हिंदी सीख रहा हूँ। | Maiṃ pichhle sāl se hindī sīkh rahā hūṃ. | I've been learning Hindi since last year. |
| अगर कल बारिश हुई तो हम घर पर ही रहेंगे। | Agar kal bārish huī to ham ghar par hī raheṃge. | If it rains tomorrow, we'll just stay at home. |
| मुझे लगता है कि दिल्ली में मेट्रो सबसे अच्छा विकल्प है। | Mujhe lagtā hai ki Dillī meṃ meṭro sabse achchhā vikalp hai. | I think the metro is the best option in Delhi. |
| मैंने उसे फ़ोन किया था, लेकिन उसने फ़ोन नहीं उठाया। | Maiṃne use fon kiyā thā, lekin usne fon nahīṃ uṭhāyā. | I called him, but he didn't pick up. |
| जब मैं छोटा था, तब हर गर्मी में नानी के घर जाता था। | Jab maiṃ chhoṭā thā, tab har garmī meṃ nānī ke ghar jātā thā. | When I was little, I used to go to my grandmother's every summer. |
Which exam proves Hindi B1?
There is no Hindi equivalent of the big European certificates. What you'll find instead are course qualifications, university courses with their own levels, and a speaking interview rated on its own scale.
| Exam or qualification | Who runs it | Levels | CEFR link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hindi language courses for international students | Kendriya Hindi Sansthan (Central Institute of Hindi), Agra, under India's Ministry of Education | Certificate (Course 100, basic and advanced), diploma (200), advanced diploma (300), postgraduate diploma (400) | None |
| ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview in Hindi | Language Testing International | ACTFL or ILR scale, speaking only | None listed: LTI offers CEFR-rated interviews, but lists Hindi for ACTFL and ILR ratings only |
If you need outside proof of your level, the oral interview is the most direct route, though it rates speaking only. Language Testing International says an OPI can be requested on the CEFR scale, but its language list names only ACTFL and ILR ratings for Hindi, so ask before you book (LTI on the OPI). The Kendriya Hindi Sansthan courses run for a full academic year, from August 2026 to April 2027 for the current intake, at the Agra headquarters and the Delhi centre, and Indian embassies advertise scholarships for them (2026-27 course brochure).
Hindi A2 vs B1: what changes?
B1 adds the structures that make Hindi sound like Hindi.
| Area | A2 | B1 |
|---|---|---|
| Past tense | Intransitive verbs: मैं गया (maiṃ gayā, I went) | Transitive verbs with ने, agreeing with the object |
| Aspect | Present habitual and progressive | Past habitual and progressive: जाता था (jātā thā), जा रहा था (jā rahā thā) |
| Mood | Commands and requests | Subjunctive and conditionals: अगर… तो (agar… to), चाहिए (chāhie, should) |
| Verbs | Simple verbs | Compound verbs: कर देना, ले लेना, बैठ जाना (baiṭh jānā, to sit down) |
| Reading | Letters and short words | Conjunct consonants such as क्ष, त्र and श्र, and short texts |
The ने construction is the milestone most learners remember, because the verb stops agreeing with whoever does the action.
