TORFL — Test of Russian as a Foreign Language (ТРКИ)

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at a glance

Exam

The standardised test of Russian as a foreign language (TORFL / ТРКИ): levels mapped to the CEFR, administered by authorised testing centres in various countries

Levels

ТЭУ Elementary = A1 · ТБУ Basic = A2 · ТРКИ-I = B1 · ТРКИ-II = B2 · ТРКИ-III = C1 · ТРКИ-IV = C2

Subtests

Five — Лексика. Грамматика (Vocabulary and Grammar), Чтение (Reading), Аудирование (Listening), Письмо (Writing), Говорение (Speaking)

Schedule

Commonly split over two days: Writing, Vocabulary and Grammar and Reading on day one; Listening and Speaking on day two

Pass rule

At least 66% correct in each subtest; by the commonly published rule, one subtest may be as low as 60%

If you fail a subtest

A failed subtest can usually be retaken on its own within a period the centre sets, rather than the whole exam; the terms are the centre's

Used for

Universities and employers that require a certificate of Russian, and learners who want an external benchmark. The certificate names a level (ТБУ, ТРКИ-I, ТРКИ-II), so check which one is asked of you

Where to register

Through an authorised testing centre; dates, fees and formats are set per centre — check the centre's current page

Dictionary

Allowed in Reading and Writing — bilingual up to B1, and also while preparing the speaking tasks that come with preparation time; monolingual at B2, where Reading allows it for the literary text only. Never in Vocabulary and Grammar or Listening, and not in B2 Speaking

What TORFL is and who takes it

TORFL — the Test of Russian as a Foreign Language, usually shortened to ТРКИ — is the standardised test of Russian for non-native speakers. Its levels map onto the CEFR, and the exam is administered by authorised testing centres in various countries, each of which sets its own dates, fees and formats.

The certificate is level-specific — you pass ТБУ, ТРКИ-I or ТРКИ-II, not “TORFL” — and you pass a level only by passing all five of its subtests. Who takes it: people whose university or employer requires a certificate of Russian, professionals who need documented Russian for a professional body, and learners who want an external benchmark for their level.

Before you book, confirm two things with whoever will read the certificate: that this is the exam they accept, and which level they require. If the requirement is stated as a CEFR level, use the ladder below to find the matching ТРКИ level.

Levels: which ТРКИ is A2, B1 and B2

The names trip people up. The elementary level (ТЭУ) is A1. The basic level (ТБУ) is A2 — the level this guide calls Basic. ТРКИ-I, the first certification level, is B1, and ТРКИ-II is B2; ТРКИ-III and ТРКИ-IV are C1 and C2. So “A2” is neither the elementary test nor the first certification level: it sits exactly one step below ТРКИ-I.

Structure: the five subtests at each level

Every level has the same five subtests. In the current papers, Vocabulary and Grammar, Reading and Listening are answered by choosing, not writing — multiple choice and, in places, matching, with some Vocabulary and Grammar items in groups of sentences that share one set of options (some older A2 papers also have a few listening answers to write in); Writing is free composition and Speaking is a live conversation with the examiners. A dictionary is allowed in Reading and Writing — bilingual up to B1, also while preparing the speaking tasks that come with preparation time; monolingual at B2, where Reading allows it for the literary text only. The shape of each level is stable; exact item counts and minutes vary between the paper and electronic versions, so we give numbers only for ТРКИ-II, where they are consistently published in the type tests, and describe the two lower levels by their tasks.

• ТБУ / A2 (an active vocabulary of about 1,300 words): Vocabulary and Grammar — multiple-choice items on verb tense and aspect, noun case, prepositions and time expressions; Reading — notices and signs, short texts and one longer text, with a dictionary; Listening — short utterances, dialogues and a monologue, with the recording usually played twice; Writing — a personal letter covering set points and a short note; Speaking — answering questions, starting dialogues in given situations and a prepared monologue.
• ТРКИ-I / B1 (about 2,300 words): Vocabulary and Grammar — multiple-choice items, some in groups of sentences that share one set of options, across all six cases, verb aspect, verbs of motion, complex prepositions and conjunctions; Reading — informative and descriptive texts, for both the gist and the detail; Listening — dialogues and monologues, each played once; Writing — a text based on a source you read and a personal letter; Speaking — answering the examiner's lines, starting dialogues in given situations, retelling a text you have read and answering questions on it, and a prepared monologue of at least twenty phrases on a topic.
• ТРКИ-II / B2: Vocabulary and Grammar — 150 items in 6 parts, 90 min, covering participles, verbal adverbs, aspect and register; Reading — 25 items, 60 min; Listening — 25 items, about 35 min, played once; Writing — 3 tasks in 55 min: a short recommendation letter based on printed information (50–70 words), a short official text such as an explanatory note (50–70 words), and an informal letter describing a person (100–150 words); Speaking — 15 tasks, about 45 min including preparation.

Scoring: the 66% rule

Each of the five subtests is marked separately and you need at least 66% in every one of them; by the commonly published rule a single subtest may be as low as 60% as long as the other four clear 66%, and some editions of the standard also require the whole test to reach 66% of its total points — which matters only when one subtest sits between 60% and 66%. Miss the line in any subtest and you have not passed the level, however strong the rest.

Fail a subtest and you normally retake only that subtest, not the whole exam, within a period the centre sets; the deadline and the fee for a partial retake are the centre's, so ask before you sit. Successful candidates receive the certificate for that level.

Registering

Register through an authorised testing centre; dates, fees and formats — in person or online — are set per centre, so check the centre's current page for the level you want and the documents it asks for.

How to prepare

The subtest that decides most ТРКИ results is Vocabulary and Grammar, and it is a selection paper: the inflected form is one of the options, and your job is to see why the others are wrong. That is trainable, and it is where the case system pays off.

• Work the cases as a system, not a list. Prepositions govern cases; verbs of motion govern aspect and prefix. Most wrong options on the paper are the right word in the wrong case or aspect.
• Sit an official type test (типовой тест) for your level, timed, early: each level has one, it is the exam's real shape, and your testing centre can point you to the current version.
• Read the questions before the text. In Reading you can use a dictionary (at B2, for the literary text only), so the skill under test is finding information, not knowing every word.
• At B1 and B2 the audio plays once. Predict the answer type, note fragments while it plays, and never stay with a missed item while the next one goes past.
• For Writing, learn the shapes: a personal letter with every required point addressed and the required questions asked, a short note, and at B2 a short recommendation built from printed information, a short official note and a letter describing a person. Lengths are counted — write to them.
• For Speaking, prepare flexible material about your work, your town and your reasons for learning Russian rather than scripts, and record yourself answering a likely prompt for two minutes.

How wspell's practice maps to ТРКИ

wspell has a separate practice bank for each level — ТБУ/A2, ТРКИ-I/B1 and ТРКИ-II/B2 — of around 650 items each, all free, in four sets: Reading (notices, letters and texts with comprehension questions in Russian), Listening, Grammar (the case, aspect and preposition choices the Vocabulary and Grammar paper is made of) and Vocabulary. Every item is a single question with options, graded on the spot with an explanation in Russian, and a timed mock runs reading, vocabulary-and-grammar and listening sections; writing and speaking are shown but locked. The real subtests ask several questions about each longer text or recording, which the bank does not have yet — practise those on a type test.

Two honest caveats. Writing and Speaking are not auto-graded here — in the real exam they are marked by examiners — so rehearse them with the type tests and a teacher or a recording. And our typed drills, where you produce the inflected form yourself, are deliberately stricter than the exam, which only asks you to pick it: use them for the case system, but do not mistake them for exam format. The timed mock applies the exam's own pass line, 66%, to each of its sections — reading, vocabulary and grammar, listening — and to the overall score, and at B1 and B2 it plays each recording once, as the real test does — aim for 66% and above in every skill.

Grammar charts and cheat sheets

The grammar as tables you can take in at a glance — verb tenses, case endings, declensions, prepositions — each on one page to read, print and share.

• Russian grammar cheat sheet: the essentials on one page

• Russian cases: all six cases in one chart
• Russian noun declension: a table for every noun type
• Russian adjective endings in every case
• Russian verb conjugation: the present tense
• The Russian past tense
• The Russian future tense
• Russian verb aspect: perfective and imperfective
• Russian verbs of motion
• Russian personal pronouns in every case
• Russian possessive pronouns in every case
• Russian prepositions and the cases they take
• Russian numbers and the noun after a number

Russian grammar tables →

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frequently asked questions

Which TORFL level is A2?

The basic level, ТБУ. It is not the elementary test (ТЭУ, A1) and not ТРКИ-I (B1); it sits one step below ТРКИ-I.

What is the pass mark for TORFL?

At least 66% in each of the five subtests; by the commonly published rule one subtest may be at 60%, and some editions also require 66% of the whole test's points. A strong subtest cannot make up for a weak one: a level is passed only when every subtest is.

What happens if I fail one subtest?

You normally retake that subtest, not the whole exam, within a period the centre sets. The deadline and the fee for a partial retake are set by the centre — check its rules before you book.

Which TORFL level do I need?

The level the university or employer that will read the certificate asks for — confirm it with them. If they state it as a CEFR level, A2 is ТБУ, B1 is ТРКИ-I and B2 is ТРКИ-II; the certificate names the ТРКИ level, not a CEFR letter.

Can I use a dictionary in the TORFL exam?

Yes, with limits. Up to B1 a bilingual dictionary is allowed in Reading and Writing and while you prepare the speaking tasks that come with preparation time; at B2 a monolingual one is allowed in Writing and, in Reading, for the literary text only. There is no dictionary in Vocabulary and Grammar or Listening, nor in B2 Speaking.

Is the exam held on one day?

Commonly over two days: Writing, Vocabulary and Grammar and Reading on the first, Listening and Speaking on the second. Some centres also offer online sittings; ask your centre what it offers.

How do I register for the TORFL exam?

Through an authorised testing centre. Dates, fees and formats are set per centre, so check the centre's current page for the level you want.

about this guide

ТРКИ/TORFL is the standardised test of Russian as a foreign language, administered by authorised testing centres. wspell is independent of the test and of every centre, and deliberately links none of them. The questions and passages in wspell's practice bank are original — written for wspell, not taken from any real or sample paper. Levels, fees, dates and formats are set by the centre you sit with — use its information, not this page, before you register.

The information here summarises official sources at the date shown and can change — confirm dates, fees and rules on the provider's official pages before you register.

No verification date for this page — confirm dates, fees and rules with the centre or provider you register with.