Romanian B2 level means you use Romanian fluently enough for work and study: you follow the news, defend an opinion in a discussion and write a clear formal email, with mistakes that rarely get in the way. You can prove it with a certificat de competență lingvistică at B2 from an accredited institution, or with the ECL exam at B2. From B1, expect about 150 to 200 more hours.
What can you do at Romanian B2 level?
The CEFR's B2 user grasps the main ideas of complex text, talks with native speakers without strain for either side and writes clear, detailed text. In Romanian, that means:
- You follow TV debates, interviews and podcasts at normal speed.
- You talk about what might have been with the past conditional: dacă aș fi știut (if I had known).
- You make guesses with the presumptive mood, a Romanian speciality: o fi plecat (he has probably left).
- You use the passive and the gerund in writing: a fost construit, citind.
- You write formal letters with the expected formulas, from Stimate domnule to Vă mulțumesc anticipat.
Typical B2 sentences:
- Dacă aș fi știut că e închis, n-aș mai fi venit. (If I'd known it was closed, I wouldn't have come.)
- Deși locuiește aici de zece ani, încă nu vorbește bine românește. (Although he has lived here for ten years, he still doesn't speak Romanian well.)
- Podul a fost construit în secolul al XIX-lea. (The bridge was built in the 19th century.)
- O fi plecat deja, nu răspunde la telefon. (He must have left already, he isn't answering the phone.)
- Citind articolul, mi-am dat seama cât de serioasă e problema. (Reading the article, I realised how serious the problem is.)
Which exam proves Romanian B2 level?
Romania certifies Romanian as a foreign language through the certificat de competență lingvistică, issued by accredited universities that run a preparatory year in Romanian, by the Romanian Language Institute (ILR) and by Romanian cultural institutes abroad. The certificate states your CEFR level. The ECL Consortium also offers Romanian exams from A2 to C1 (ECL).
| Exam | Who runs it | Levels | CEFR link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Certificat de competență lingvistică | Accredited Romanian universities, the Romanian Language Institute, Romanian cultural institutes abroad | CEFR level stated on the certificate, from B1 up | Official |
| ECL Romanian | ECL Consortium | A2, B1, B2, C1 | Official, levels aligned with CEFR |
For official uses in Romania, the certificate of linguistic competence is the document the rules name. If a university programme or an employer asks for B2, check which issuers they accept before you book.
Romanian B1 vs B2: what changes?
B1 covers daily life. B2 lets you argue, speculate and write formally:
- Hypotheticals. The past conditional: aș fi venit (I would have come).
- The presumptive mood. O fi, va fi fost: Romanian's way of saying "probably" through the verb itself.
- Passive voice. A fi with the participle (a fost construită) and the se passive (se construiește un pod, a bridge is being built).
- Gerund clauses. Citind, văzând că (seeing that), and participle phrases in writing.
- Genitive and dative with demonstratives. Acestui om (to this man), acelei femei (to that woman).
- Register. Dumneavoastră against dumneata against tu, and the formulas of formal writing.
- False friends. Librărie is a bookshop. A library is a bibliotecă.
