DELE Exam Guide: Format and How to Prepare

What the DELE is

The DELE diplomas certify your level of Spanish. The Instituto Cervantes has managed them since 1989. A DELE diploma does not expire.

How the exam works

• Each exam has four tests.
• You take it on paper, at an exam center.
• The exam is held on fixed dates, which the Instituto Cervantes announces every year.
• Results are published about two months after the exam.

Dates, prices, levels and sample papers are on the official site: examenes.cervantes.es.

How this site helps you prepare

• Level test: find out where you stand before you choose a level or a study plan.
• Reading practice: short texts by level with comprehension questions.
• Listening and dictation: train your ear sentence by sentence.
• Verb conjugations: every tense of the most common verbs.

Lessons to review

• The subjunctive
• Connectors for writing and speaking
• Letter and email writing
• Formal register
• Reported speech
• If clauses

This site is not connected with the Instituto Cervantes, SIELE or the College Board. The exam names belong to their owners.