1. learning
  2. languages
  3. italian
  4. a2

italiana2in 55 days

Tell what happened and how things used to be, make plans, shop, cook, travel and see the doctor: everyday Italian in Bologna, 20 minutes a day.

  • free, no sign-up
  • follows CEFR A2 · CILS-style exams
  • audio · grammar · practice exams
Start day 1All 581 words
  • 0 xp
  • 0 day streak
  • 0 / 581 words met
  • 0 cards due
  • 0 / 55 dots

at a glance

CEFR A2 (CILS A2 · CELI 1 · PLIDA A2). About 20 minutes a day, in bites of one to three minutes.

  • 55days
  • 10units
  • 581words
  • 39grammar points
  • 27writing & speaking tasks
  • 2practice exams

before you start

Level A1, for example our Italian A1 course: the present tense, the passato prossimo, tu and Lei, and about 740 everyday words. Those words come back in every lesson here without being taught again.

pick your pace

People who decide when and how much stick with it far more often. Pick one: you can change it any time.

No pace picked yet. Steady is a great start.

your path

55 dots in 10 units. Every lesson is open, so jump anywhere. The pink dot is your next one.

free tools

print & share

Branded PDFs to print, stick on the fridge or send to a friend who wants to learn with you.

⬇ the whole course (PDF)
One PDF per unit

questions & answers

Is it really free?

Yes. Every lesson, the audio and both practice exams are free, with no sign-up and no ads.

How long does it take?

55 days of about 20 minutes: 43 days of new words and grammar, 10 review missions and 2 practice exams. Go faster or slower as you like; nothing is locked.

Does it match the CILS, CELI or PLIDA A2 exam?

All three test the A2 level of the Common European Framework (at CELI it is called CELI 1), and this course covers it. None of them publishes a word list, so our 581 words are our own selection based on the Profilo della lingua italiana (the Council of Europe reference description for Italian) and the Kelly frequency list, checked word by word, and the grammar follows the A2 syllabuses of CILS (Università per Stranieri di Siena), PLIDA (Società Dante Alighieri) and CELI (Università per Stranieri di Perugia). Our two practice exams copy the CILS A2 layout. This is not official exam material, and the score is only a guide.

What is on the real CILS A2?

Five parts, each worth 12 points: listening (about 30 minutes, each recording played twice), reading (40 minutes), language structures (40 minutes: grammar words, verb forms and words in gaps), writing (40 minutes: a short text of 40–60 words and a letter with a request of 25–40 words) and speaking (about 10 minutes: a conversation and a short talk). You pass with at least 7 of 12 in every part, and a part you fail can be taken again later. Check the Università per Stranieri di Siena website for dates and the current format before you book.

I finished A1. What is new here?

Talking about the past and the future. You learn the imperfetto (c’era, da piccola giocavo) and when it tells the scene of a story, the futuro (partiremo domani), the polite forms (vorrei, potrebbe…?, mi dica), the object pronouns (lo vedo, le scrivo, a me piace), reflexive verbs in the past (mi sono seduta), and how to link ideas with invece, infatti, quindi and però. Every A1 word counts as known, so the lessons build on what you already have.

How do accents and spelling work?

Italian is written as it sounds, and every word has a recording where one exists. The written accent only marks a stressed last vowel (città, perché, però) and tells a few short words apart: è (is) and e (and), là (there) and la (the). Day 47 puts them all together.

Where is my progress saved?

Only in this browser, on this device. There is no account, and clearing your browser data resets it.

after this course

Carry on with Italian B1 in 73 days: it builds on everything you learn here.

All italian levels

back up my progress

Your progress lives in this browser. Copy the code to move it to another phone or computer, then paste it there.