B1 is the shift from surviving to understanding. Follow most everyday conversations, express opinions.
Roughly 1–2 years of study.
B1 is the threshold of independent use. Vocabulary jumps to roughly 2,000 words, covering most everyday conversation. You can express opinions, give reasons, talk about hopes and ambitions, and handle unexpected situations like missing a train or describing a problem to a doctor. Connectors and discourse markers (however, although, on the other hand, in fact) become essential.
If you can follow a TV show with subtitles in your native language, write a short email about a problem, and have a 10-minute conversation about your work or hobbies, you're around B1. Most learners reach B1 after 1–2 years of study. This is the most common starting point for IELTS candidates and the minimum for many study-abroad programs.
B1 is where flashcards alone stop being enough. You need volume of input: podcasts at natural speed, novels written for adults, real conversations. Use the word list as a checklist: which of these do I actually recognize fluently? Add the gaps to your spaced-repetition deck. Start writing short paragraphs about your day; output is what locks vocabulary into active recall.