Lithuanian B1 Level: Categories, Exams and Timeline

Lithuanian B1 level means coping with daily life in Lithuanian. It matches the second state language category, which many jobs in education and health need.

Author: QlangoPublished: March 2, 2026Updated: October 17, 20266 min read

Lithuanian B1 level means you can deal with everyday life in Lithuanian, follow clear speech on familiar topics and explain your views in simple connected sentences. It matches the second state language category (II), certified by the National Education Agency (NŠA), which as of October 2026 many jobs in education, culture, health care and social services require. From A2, an English speaker usually needs roughly 275 to 400 hours to get there.

What can you do at Lithuanian B1 level?

By the CEFR definition, a B1 learner manages most everyday situations alone. In Lithuanian, that means you can explain a problem at the doctor's, talk to colleagues about work, follow the main points of a radio report on a familiar topic and write a short email about your plans.

What makes Lithuanian distinctive at this level:

Seven cases and five noun declensions. Į parduotuvę (to the shop), iš darbo (from work), su draugu (with a friend).
The genitive of negation. A direct object switches case when the verb is negated: Turiu automobilį (I have a car), but Neturiu automobilio (I don't have a car).
Free, moving stress. Stress can fall on any syllable and can move as the word changes form. Written Lithuanian doesn't mark it, so you learn it word by word.
A past tense for habits. Next to the ordinary past, Lithuanian has a frequentative past: Vaikystėje dažnai važiuodavau pas močiutę (as a child I often used to go to my grandmother's).
Plural-only nouns with their own numerals. Metai (year) is plural in form, so "two years" is dveji metai, not du metai.

Lithuanian	English
Vilniuje gyvenu jau dvejus metus ir man čia labai patinka.	I've been living in Vilnius for two years already, and I really like it here.
Ar galėtumėte kalbėti šiek tiek lėčiau?	Could you speak a little more slowly?
Jei turėčiau daugiau laiko, mokyčiausi ir latvių kalbos.	If I had more time, I would also learn Latvian.
Mano nuomone, bilietai per brangūs.	In my opinion, the tickets are too expensive.
Vakar nuėjau į parduotuvę, bet pamiršau nupirkti pieno.	Yesterday I went to the shop but forgot to buy milk.

Which exam proves Lithuanian B1?

The state language proficiency exam for category II, run by NŠA. A Government resolution links the three categories to CEFR levels: category I is A2, category II is B1 and category III is B2 or higher (NŠA exam levels).

Exam	Who runs it	Level	CEFR link
State language category I	NŠA	A2 (a combined basic and category I exam covers A1 to A2)	Official
State language category II	NŠA	B1	Official
State language category III	NŠA	B2 or higher	Official
Lithuanian language C1 exam	NŠA	C1	Official
State language and Constitution exams for citizenship	NŠA	Category I (A2)	Official

The exams combine a written test with a conversation with an examiner. You register online through NŠA's exam portal, which also has practice tests.

Lithuanian A2 vs B1: what changes?

A2 gets you through set routines. B1 lets you tell stories, give reasons and handle surprises. The milestones:

Past, frequentative past and future. Nuėjau (I went), eidavau (I used to go), eisiu (I will go). Rytoj važiuosiu į Kauną means "tomorrow I'll go to Kaunas".
The conditional. Norėčiau kavos (I'd like some coffee) and jei turėčiau laiko (if I had time).
Negation and the genitive, applied every time, including with partitive meanings: nupirkti pieno (to buy some milk).
Reflexive verbs with prefixes. The reflexive particle moves inside: susitikti (to meet), Susitikime rytoj (let's meet tomorrow).
Cases after prepositions, chosen without stopping to think.
New vocabulary areas: work, health, housing, public services and current affairs.

How long does it take to reach Lithuanian B1?

Cambridge English estimates 350 to 400 guided learning hours from zero to B1 for English, and 150 to 220 from A2. Lithuanian takes English speakers longer: the US Foreign Service Institute puts it in Category III, at about 44 weeks of full-time classes, against 24 weeks for Danish or Swedish (FSI language categories). Scaling the Cambridge range by that ratio, about 1.8, gives the Lithuanian columns. All of these are rough averages for English speakers.

Daily study	A2 to B1, Cambridge baseline	A2 to B1, Lithuanian estimate (x1.8)	Zero to B1, Lithuanian estimate
30 minutes	10 to 15 months	18 to 27 months	about 3.5 to 4 years
60 minutes	5 to 7 months	9 to 13 months	about 2 years

Latvian speakers start closer, and speakers of Polish or Russian often find the case system less of a shock. More in how long it takes to learn a language.

Who needs Lithuanian B1?

Jobs are the main reason. As of October 2026, the Government resolution on state language categories applies category II, which is B1, to many staff in education, culture, health care and social protection, and to public servants whose posts need no more than college-level education, when they deal with the public or with standard documents. Since 1 January 2026 the same resolution also has a basic category, at A1, for foreigners selling goods or providing services during their first two years with Lithuanian residence documents.

Citizenship asks for less than B1. People seeking Lithuanian citizenship by naturalisation take the state language exam and the exam on the basics of the Constitution, and the language exam is set at category I, which is A2. A solid B1 covers it with room to spare.

How to reach Lithuanian B1 with Qlango

Qlango's Lithuanian course runs from A1 to B2, so B1 is the middle stretch and B2 follows. You study through your own language, so cases, the genitive of negation and the frequentative past are explained in the language you know best.

Short lessons with spaced repetition, so each word comes back just before you would forget it.
The writing answer mode trains ą, č, ę, ė, į, š, ų, ū and ž, which you need to spell correctly.
Building sentences and finding pairs for endings and word order.
Word Duel, Wordle, MinuteRush, Unscramble and Word Search for vocabulary review.
Books and Decoding Stories for longer reading in Lithuanian.
Chat with other learners, with message translation and AI help to write a reply, and with Premium an AI teacher for questions like "why automobilio after neturiu?"

A weekly learning plan and statistics over weeks, months and years show the progress. Start with the Lithuanian guide, and find every course on the supported languages page.

FAQ

Is Lithuanian B1 required for citizenship?

No. As of October 2026, the state language exam for citizenship is set at category I, which is A2, and you also need to pass the exam on the basics of the Constitution.

What is the second state language category?

It is the Lithuanian state language level that corresponds to B1. It applies to many jobs in education, culture, health care and social protection, and to some public service posts.

Who runs the Lithuanian language exams?

The National Education Agency (NŠA). You register through its online exam portal, and each exam has a written test and a speaking part with an examiner.

What comes after Lithuanian B1?

B2, which matches category III and is accepted by Vilnius University as proof of Lithuanian for its Lithuanian-taught programmes. See the Lithuanian B2 level page and what B2 means.