How Long Does It Take to Learn French?
The short answer: about 360 to 400 hours of instruction to reach B1 and 560 to 650 hours to reach B2, starting from zero. At 5 hours a week, that is about 16 to 19 months to B1 and about 2 to 2.5 years to B2. These are the cumulative figures published by the Alliance Française de Leeds.
Hours by level
Levels follow the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), from A1 (beginner) to C2 (mastery). The hours are cumulative: each figure counts from zero, not from the level before.
Cumulative hours of instruction, and how long that takes from zero
| Level | Hours from zero | At 3 h a week | At 5 h a week | At 10 h a week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | 60–100 | 4 to 8 months | 2 to 5 months | 1 to 3 months |
| A2 | 160–200 | 12 to 16 months | 7 to 10 months | 3 to 5 months |
| B1 | 360–400 | 2 to 3 years | 16 to 19 months | 8 to 10 months |
| B2 | 560–650 | 3.5 to 4.5 years | 2 to 2.5 years | 12 to 15 months |
| C1 | 810–950 | 5 to 6.5 years | 3 to 4 years | 18 to 22 months |
| C2 | 1060–1200 | 6.5 to 8 years | 4 to 5 years | 2 to 2.5 years |
Source: Alliance Française de Leeds, “How long does it take to reach the next level?” (checked 6 October 2026). The weeks and months are our arithmetic: hours divided by hours a week, 4.35 weeks to a month, rounded outwards. Every figure is an estimate.
The early levels come quickly. The big jumps come later: B1 to B2 and B2 to C1 each take 200 hours or more on these figures.
What changes the time
The bands are a planning range, not a promise. Three things move you up or down inside them.
The languages you already speak
French shares its Latin roots with Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian and Catalan, so if you speak one of them, a lot of French vocabulary and grammar will look familiar from day one. English helps too: it borrowed a large share of its vocabulary from French. The published hours are not broken down by native language, so take any head start as your own estimate.
How much real French you listen to
Hours of instruction are not all equal. Plenty of learners can read far beyond what they can follow when French people actually talk, because their hours went into reading and grammar. If your goal is conversation, put a real share of your time into hearing natural speech at full speed. More on that in why you can read French but can't hear it and how to practise French listening.
Consistency
The arithmetic only works if the hours actually happen. A steady 3 or 5 hours every week, kept up for months, is what turns these bands into a date on the calendar.
A worked example
Say you are at B1 and want B2, and you can give it 5 hours a week.
- B2 sits at 560–650 cumulative hours, B1 at 360–400.
- Subtract band from band: 560 − 360 = 200 and 650 − 400 = 250. So roughly 200 to 250 hours.
- At 5 hours a week, that is 40 to 50 weeks: about 9 to 12 months.
That is the stage where many learners feel stuck. If that is you, read how long from B1 to B2 and how to break the intermediate plateau.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to learn French?
It depends on the level you want. The Alliance Française de Leeds puts it at 360 to 400 cumulative hours of instruction to reach B1 and 560 to 650 hours to reach B2, starting from zero. At 5 hours a week that is about 16 to 19 months to B1 and about 2 to 2.5 years to B2.
How many hours does it take to reach B1 in French?
360 to 400 hours of instruction in total, starting from zero, according to the Alliance Française de Leeds.
How long does it take to go from B1 to B2?
About 200 to 250 more hours: B2 sits at 560 to 650 cumulative hours and B1 at 360 to 400. At 5 hours a week that is about 9 to 12 months.
Can I learn French in 3 months?
You can reach A1 in three months: 60 to 100 hours over 13 weeks is roughly 5 to 8 hours a week. B1 in three months would take 360 to 400 hours, close to 28 to 31 hours a week, which is a full-time intensive course.
Is French faster to learn if I already speak Spanish or Italian?
Usually it feels faster: French shares its Latin roots with Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian and Catalan, so a lot of vocabulary and grammar will look familiar. The Alliance Française figures are not broken down by native language, so treat any discount as your own estimate.
Do hours on apps count?
The published figures count hours of instruction, such as classes. Time on an app is not the same thing, so the honest test is what you can do at the end of it: whether you can follow real spoken French. The free level test checks exactly that in about two minutes.
Where do these numbers come from?
From the Alliance Française de Leeds, which publishes the cumulative hours of instruction it expects for each CEFR level. The CEFR itself, from the Council of Europe, describes what you can do at each level. It does not set the hours.