how long does it take to learn spanish

February 12, 2026

It usually takes between 6 months and 2 years for a motivated adult to feel comfortably conversational in Spanish, depending mainly on how many hours you study and how efficiently you practice. Reaching strong fluency where you can handle almost any everyday situation typically takes around 1.5–3 years of consistent work for an English speaker.

How many hours does it take?

Language researchers and schools often talk in study hours , not calendar time.

A rough guide (CEFR levels):

A1 (very basic): 70–80 hours, often 2–3 months at an easy pace.

A2 (simple conversations): 150–180 hours, often 4–7 months.

B1 (solid “travel-ready” intermediate): about 300–450 hours.

B2 (conversational fluency): about 540–620 hours.

C1–C2 (advanced/near-native): often close to 1000 hours total or more.

So if you study 1 hour a day, 5–6 days a week, you can realistically:

hold basic conversations in 4–6 months (A2)
be comfortably conversational in 12–24 months (B2)
feel “fluent” in everyday life after 1.5–3 years (B2–C1)

Timeframes by intensity

Here’s how those hours translate into real life:

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Study habit	Basic talk (A2)	Conversational (B1–B2)	Strong fluency (C1-ish)
Casual: ~30 min/day	8–10 months	2–3 years	3+ years
Steady: ~1 hour/day	4–6 months	12–24 months	1.5–3 years
Intensive: 2–3 hours/day	2–3 months	6–12 months	~1.5 years or less

These ranges assume you’re using effective methods (lots of listening, speaking, and real input), not just memorizing lists.

What changes the speed?

You’ll learn Spanish faster if:

Your native language is related (English, French, Italian, Portuguese, etc.). Spanish is classified as a relatively “easy” language for these speakers (around 600–750 hours to good proficiency).

You study consistently (even 30–60 minutes daily beats long but rare cramming).

You get real speaking practice early: tutors, language exchanges, voice notes, or conversation classes.

You live with the language: podcasts, YouTube, series, social media, music, and reading.

You’ll go slower if:

You only use apps and never actually speak.
You study in short “sprints” then quit for weeks.
You avoid listening practice and rely only on textbooks.

A realistic story-style timeline

Imagine this path if you start from zero and work ~1 hour a day:

Months 1–3 – You can introduce yourself, order food, ask simple questions, survive travel with patience and body language (A1–A2).

Months 4–9 – You handle daily topics: work, family, plans, past trips; you still make mistakes but you can chat for 15–20 minutes (B1).

Months 10–24 – You follow most everyday conversations, join group chats, watch some shows with subtitles, and express your opinions in detail (B2).

After ~2 years+ – With continued practice, you sound natural in most situations, can argue, joke, and talk about abstract topics (C1).

If you want to go faster

To tilt things in your favor:

Set a clear target: “Conversational by next year” is more useful than “be fluent someday.”

Combine methods: one main course or tutor, plus daily listening, speaking, and vocabulary review.

Track hours instead of obsessing over months; focus on getting to the next 50–100 hours of quality practice.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.