Reference articles on history, science, culture and more
Encyclopedia

YKI test

Language certification

YKI (Finnish: Yleinen Kielitutkinto, Swedish: Allmän språkexamen, English: National Certificate of Language Proficiency) is an official certification in languages such as Finnish, Swedish and Northern Sámi issued by the University of Jyväskylä and sanctioned by the Finnish Ministry of Education, following a standardized exam comprising oral and written parts that match the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) requirements and proficiency levels.

01Scoring

The YKI certification divides linguistic proficiency into three broad levels: advanced, intermediate, and basic. These can be further divided into six levels that match the CEFR classification system.

CEFR YKI
A1 1
A2 2
B1 3
B2 4
C1 5
C2 6

02Languages

The YKI test is offered in English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Northern Sámi, Russian, Spanish and Swedish. Foreigners must pass the intermediate level certification in Finnish or Swedish (levels 3 or 4) in order to qualify for Finnish citizenship. YKI certificates in other languages can be used to prove official competency in a language when applying for a job or study position.

Watch videos about YKI testExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article YKI test, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.