What are the four DELE pruebas?

Comprensión de lectura (reading), Comprensión auditiva (listening), Expresión e interacción escritas (writing), and Expresión e interacción orales (speaking). At C1 and C2 the skills are combined into integrated pruebas that also test language use (uso de la lengua).

How is DELE scored, and what does APTO mean?

Each prueba is scored out of 25 points. From A1 to C1 the pruebas form two groups of 50 points (reading with writing, listening with speaking), and APTO, a pass, requires at least 30 of 50 in each group. A strong group does not compensate for a weak one. C2 has no groups; each of its three pruebas has its own minimum of 20 points.

What does Solvi cover for DELE?

Solvi covers the two comprehension pruebas, Comprensión de lectura and Comprensión auditiva, from the official Modelo 0 sample set at each level, reported as a practice percentage per section. Writing and speaking are not covered, so a Solvi score cannot predict an APTO result: half of each APTO group depends on a prueba Solvi does not test.

How many official DELE sample sets are there?

Instituto Cervantes publishes one complete Modelo 0 sample set per level (A1 to C2): the candidate booklet with answer keys and listening transcripts, plus per-task audio. That is the set Solvi serves at each level.

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DELE: Exam Format, Levels, Timing & Scoring

Last updated October 20266 min read

The DELE (Diplomas de Español como Lengua Extranjera) is the official Spanish proficiency diploma issued by Instituto Cervantes on behalf of Spain's Ministry of Education, offered at every CEFR level from A1 to C2. At most levels the exam has four pruebas(tests): reading, listening, writing, and speaking. This guide covers the format from Cervantes' official Modelo 0 sample sets and per-level exam guides, as of October 2026; DELE revises its formats on a cycle (A1 and A2 changed in 2020, C1 and C2 in 2024), and the levels below follow the current formats. Solvi offers the two comprehension pruebas as timed practice; writing and speaking are not included.

The four pruebas

Prueba	What it is	On Solvi
Comprensión de lectura	Reading: texts with multiple choice and shared-list matching (statements to texts, paragraph insertion, cloze with printed options)	Yes
Comprensión auditiva	Listening: recorded texts, heard twice, with multiple choice and shared-list matching	Yes, with the original audio where served
Expresión e interacción escritas	Writing tasks, rated by examiners	Not included
Expresión e interacción orales	Speaking with an examiner, rated	Not included

At C1 and C2 the four skills are combined into integrated pruebas that also test uso de la lengua (language use: grammar and vocabulary in context). C1 has four pruebas: Prueba 1 (reading and language use), Prueba 2 (listening and language use), Prueba 3 (listening and written expression), and Prueba 4 (reading and oral expression). C2 has three: a single integrated Prueba 1 that combines language use, reading, and listening, then Prueba 2 (writing) and Prueba 3 (speaking). There is no separate listening paper at C2; its listening tareas sit inside Prueba 1, and Solvi presents them as a listening practice section without changing what the real format is.

Levels, structure, and timing

The two comprehension pruebas, level by level. Item counts and times are the ones printed in the Modelo 0 booklets; tareas are the tasks inside each prueba.

Level	Lectura (reading)	Auditiva (listening)
A1	25 items, 4 tareas, 45 minutes	25 items, 4 tareas, 25 minutes
A2	25 items, 4 tareas, 60 minutes	25 items, 4 tareas, 40 minutes
B1	30 items, 5 tareas, 70 minutes	30 items, 5 tareas, 40 minutes
B2	36 items, 4 tareas, 70 minutes	30 items, 5 tareas, 40 minutes
C1	Prueba 1: 40 items, 5 tareas, 90 minutes (with language use)	Prueba 2: 30 items, 4 tareas, 50 minutes (with language use)
C2	Prueba 1 integrated: 52 items, 7 tareas, 105 minutes (60 reading, 45 listening)

Every item in the current formats is closed-form: multiple choice or shared-list matching, so every answer can be checked against the official key printed in the booklet. A1's first tareas include picture options, which Solvi serves as images exactly as printed.

Scoring: 25 points per prueba, APTO by group minima

Each prueba is scored out of 25 points, for a 100-point exam. From A1 to C1 the pruebas are combined into two groups of 50: Grupo 1 is reading plus writing, Grupo 2 is listening plus speaking. The result is APTO (pass) or NO APTO, and APTO requires at least 30 of 50 in each group. A strong reading score cannot rescue a weak group, because each group mixes one comprehension prueba with one production prueba. C1 keeps the same group rule on its integrated pruebas: Grupo 1 is Prueba 1 plus Prueba 3, Grupo 2 is Prueba 2 plus Prueba 4. C2 has no groups; each of its three pruebas carries its own minimum of 20 points.

Solvi reports each covered section as a practice percentage: your correct answers divided by the section's items, times 100, which is the same proportion as the prueba's 25-point score. Because the writing and speaking pruebas are part of the real exam and are not covered here, Solvi never turns a practice percentage into an APTO prediction. Half of each APTO group depends on a prueba this site does not test.

What Solvi covers

Instituto Cervantes publishes one complete Modelo 0 sample set per level: the candidate booklet with the answer keys and the full listening transcripts, plus the per-task audio. Solvi serves that set at every level, 348 reading and listening items in total, with a bilingual explanation (Spanish and English) for every question in review. Listening is served complete at B1, B2, and C2. A1 and A2 are reading-only for now, and no recording of the C1 Modelo 0 listening paper is available, so C1 is reading-only; the DELE hub labels exactly which listening sections are served at each level rather than presenting a partial section as complete.

Take the DELE practice exams

The official Modelo 0 set at every level from A1 to C2, timed and scored per section, with bilingual explanations for every question.

Browse the DELE practice exams

Sources

All format, timing, and scoring facts on this page come from the official Modelo 0 sample sets and the per-level exam guides (guía del examen DELE) published by Instituto Cervantes as free candidate preparation material on its DELE exam pages. The format description is current as of October 2026. Solvi is not affiliated with Instituto Cervantes.