I know there will be a bunch of parameters—a big one being familiarity with the topic, but around what size of vocabulary do you think you’d need to have a very simple conversation? I am picturing a conversation where the person you are speaking to understands you are a learner and is patient, but also one where the conversation is pretty improvised as opposed to just talking like you’re reciting a phrase book.
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5000 words and N1.5 grammar
How would you measure the size of your active vocabulary? And also keep in mind that you need to actually be able to reproduce the grammar you “know” in order to have a smooth conversation. There are people who pass N1 and can’t hold a conversation, because reading and listening is different from speaking. Some people may be able to speak well even with a relatively small vocabulary because they know the most common words and they are good at expressing themselves or finding ways to get their thoughts across even in situations where they can’t find the exact words they’re looking for.
So in short, I don’t think anyone can answer this question for you. You’ll know once you get there.
My journey so far
~1000 Order food at Izakaya
2000~3000 Daily conversation with neighbors
5000~8000 Talk about work with my coworkers
Not there yet, but I would guess fluency, would be 15000~20000
But the definition of fluency depends from person to person. For me it is to hold a conversation about any topic using long and complex sentences and speaking without hesitation at speeds nearly to native speaker.
Also note that words alone means nothing. You can grind 100.000 words and still have basic conversation level. But I do believe it is impossible to be fluent in a language with a limited vocabulary.