Lithuanian B2 level means you can work and study in Lithuanian, follow the news and argue a point with some precision. It matches the third state language category (III), certified by the National Education Agency (NŠA), and Vilnius University accepts a B2 certificate as proof of Lithuanian for its Lithuanian-taught programmes. For an English speaker at B1, that means roughly 180 to 450 more hours of study.
What can you do at Lithuanian B2 level?
B2 is the last stop before the CEFR's proficient levels. In Lithuanian it means taking part in a meeting at normal speed, reading a newspaper analysis or an official letter, writing a report or a formal complaint, and following a lecture in your field.
The grammar that marks this level is mostly about participles, and Lithuanian has an unusually rich set of them:
- Passive and impersonal forms. Įstatymo projektas buvo priimtas (the bill was adopted), Sakoma, kad... (it is said that...).
- The half-participle, for something the subject does at the same time: Eidamas namo, sutikau draugą (walking home, I met a friend).
- The gerund with its own subject, in the dative: Man grįžus namo, pradėjo lyti (when I got home, it started to rain).
- Participles in reported speech: Jis sakė esąs pavargęs (he said he was tired), the formal written way to report what someone said.
At B2 you understand all of these in writing and use the common ones in speech.
| Lithuanian | English |
|---|---|
| Nors suprantu beveik viską, tarmės man vis dar sunkiai suprantamos. | Although I understand almost everything, dialects are still hard for me to understand. |
| Tai priklauso nuo to, kaip į tai žiūrėti. | It depends on how you look at it. |
| Įstatymo projektas buvo priimtas, nors daugelis jam prieštaravo. | The bill was adopted, although many opposed it. |
| Jei būčiau tai žinojęs, būčiau ką nors pasakęs. | If I had known that, I would have said something. |
| Sakoma, kad šis metodas veikia geriau. | They say this method works better. |
Which exam shows Lithuanian B2?
The state language proficiency exam for category III, run by NŠA. Under the Government resolution on state language categories, category III corresponds to "not lower than B2" (NŠA exam levels).
| Exam | Who runs it | Level | CEFR link |
|---|---|---|---|
| State language category II | NŠA | B1 | Official |
| State language category III | NŠA | B2 or higher | Official |
| Lithuanian language C1 exam | NŠA | C1 | Official |
| University language tests | For example Vilnius University's Department of Lithuanian Studies | For admission to Lithuanian-taught programmes | Set by each university |
If you want to study in Lithuanian, check the university first. Vilnius University exempts applicants from further proof if they have passed the state Lithuanian exam or hold a B2 certificate from a competent institution, and otherwise asks them to register for its own test (Vilnius University).
Lithuanian B1 vs B2: what changes?
At B1 you can say what you mean in simple sentences. At B2 you compress, report and weigh arguments. The milestones:
- Participles everywhere. Active and passive, present, past and future: dirbantis (working), perskaitytas (read, finished), rašomas (being written).
- The half-participle and the gerund. Eidamas namo... and Man grįžus namo... replace whole clauses.
- Reported speech. Sakoma, kad..., Jis sakė esąs pavargęs, the forms that fill news reports.
- The conditional perfect. Jei būčiau žinojęs, būčiau pasakęs for regret, criticism and polite disagreement.
- Word formation. Prefixes change the meaning of verbs (eiti, išeiti, pareiti, nueiti), and suffixes build abstract nouns you meet in every official text.
- Listening to real speech, including regional accents and the Samogitian dialect, which even many Lithuanians find hard.
