Will CIMA certify my Egyptian or Levantine Arabic?

No. CIMA tests Modern Standard Arabic, as does every other credible Arabic certification. No major exam certifies a spoken dialect.

Neither dominates the market. CIMA covers all six CEFR levels and is strongest in the French-speaking world; Hamza is Saudi state-backed and covers A2 to C1. The right one is whichever the body asking for proof accepts.

CIMA Arabic reading

One of only two credible CEFR-mapped Arabic certifications, and the only one covering all six levels A1–C2. Strongest in the French-speaking world.

Official exam page

Arabic has no DELE and no JLPT. The certification landscape is genuinely fragmented, and CIMA is one of only two credible CEFR-mapped options — the only one covering all six levels from A1 to C2. Before anything else, though, you have to answer a question the exam does not ask you: which Arabic are you learning?

The reading section

Reading time: 45 minutesSource
Scored reading items: not published
Texts or passages: not published
Approximate words: not published

CEFR level: A1–C2Source
Published annual volume: not published — no annual figure exists from the awarding body
Awarding body: Institut du monde arabe, Paris, developed with France Éducation international

Question types the awarding body publishes

QCM (multiple choice)

Source

What that means in practice

A 45-minute multiple-choice compréhension écrite inside a roughly 3h15 exam of four compulsory papers; the certificate states the CEFR level achieved. IMA publishes the duration and format but no item count. Recognised by ALTE, registered in France Compétences' répertoire spécifique since 2021, and delivered at about 100 accredited centres worldwide. Like every credible Arabic certification, this exam tests Modern Standard Arabic, not a spoken dialect. If your goal is talking to people in Cairo, Casablanca or Beirut, no major exam certifies that variety.

Last verified 2026-08-29 Every figure on this page was checked against the awarding body on that date. Exam formats change; check the official page before you book.

How well reading practice fits this exam

A full reading section

Reading is a complete, separately scored section with real passages. Training it moves a number that appears on your result.

LingoRead trains reading. It does not prepare a speaking or writing paper, it does not mark free-text answers, and it does not issue or predict an official result.

Practise reading for this exam

Start with this exam already selected. You get a passage at your level every day, with audio, tap-to-translate and comprehension questions.

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Modern Standard Arabic, and nothing else

Like every credible Arabic certification, CIMA tests Modern Standard Arabic. If your goal is talking to people in Cairo, Casablanca or Beirut, no major exam certifies that variety, and preparing for MSA will not get you there. MSA is the language of news, administration, literature and formal writing — which is exactly what a reading exam tests, and exactly what a conversation is not.

That is not a criticism of the exam. It is the reason a reading-focused product like ours is a better fit for Arabic certification than for Arabic conversation, and we would rather say so than let you find out after a subscription.

What the reading paper looks like

CIMA’s compréhension écrite is a multiple-choice paper inside a longer exam of four compulsory papers, and the certificate states the CEFR level you achieved rather than passing or failing you. The awarding body publishes the duration and the format but not an item count, so this page states no number of questions.

It is recognised by ALTE and delivered at accredited centres in many countries, with its strongest presence in the French-speaking world. Whether it is the right certificate for you depends on who is asking for proof — ask them before you book, because in a fragmented market the answer is not obvious.

Reading practice for MSA

MSA reading is a volume problem before it is anything else: script fluency, unvowelled text, and the habit of parsing a sentence without pausing on every root. Short daily texts at your level, with tap-to-translate and comprehension questions afterwards, build all three at once.

LingoRead writes that Arabic passage for you every day at the level you are actually reading at. It trains reading only: the listening, writing and oral papers of CIMA are outside it, and so is spoken dialect.

Questions people ask

Free tools that help

Our four free tools are English-only for now, so there is no matching tool for this exam. They are still worth a look if you also read in English.

See the free tools

Other exams in this language

Hamza Hamza (A2–C1)