A1 · Absolute beginner
You can introduce yourself, say where you are from, and ask for something simple in a shop or café. You understand only when the other person speaks very slowly and is willing to help. Vocabulary stays inside the most common words. Grammar is the present tense, articles, pronouns, and simple questions. You do not follow a real conversation, and you do not understand locals talking to each other. Errors are constant. This is minimum survival: short situations with one outcome. You can always point, repeat, or ask to be spoken to more slowly.
Exit. Resolve the situation with set phrases and help from the other person.