HSK Exam GuideEvery exam's format, scoring, and task types were checked against each exam board's own official documentation in July 2026.

Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi — Chinese Proficiency Test (3.0)

Score range

CEFR-aligned, Levels 1–9

Duration

Written paper: ~40m (Level 1) to ~140m (Level 6); Levels 7–9 combined exam (live since Nov 2022, listening+reading+writing+translation+speaking in one sitting): ~210m

Format

9 Levels (1–9) · replaces legacy HSK 1–6

Sections

5

Format

Test format & sections

Listening

~15m (Level 1) to ~35m (Level 6); ~30m within Levels 7-9 · 20 (Level 1) to 50 (Level 6); 40 within the combined Levels 7-9 exam

Multiple choiceDictation / gap-fill (higher levels)

Present at every level. Question count and required listening speed both rise steadily from Level 1 to Level 9.

Reading

~17m (Level 1) to 50m (Level 6); 60m within Levels 7-9 · 20 (Level 1) to 50 (Level 6); 47 within the combined Levels 7-9 exam

Multiple choiceMatchingCloze / gap-fill

Required reading speed rises from 80 characters/minute at Level 1 to 240 characters/minute at Levels 7-9.

Writing

None at Levels 1-2; 15-25m at Levels 3-5; ~45m for Level 6's single task; 55m within Levels 7-9 · None at Levels 1-2; 10-15 at Levels 3-5; just 1 at Level 6; 2 within Levels 7-9

Sentence-building (word/phrase ordering, Levels 3-5)Character completion from pinyin (Levels 3-5)Read-then-summarise from memory (Level 6)

Doesn't exist at all at Levels 1-2 — those exams are Listening + Reading only. First appears at Level 3, then collapses at Level 6 into one high-stakes task: read a ~1,000-character article, lose the text, then write a ~400-character summary from memory.

Speaking

Level-dependent; ~24m within Levels 7-9 · Mandatory from Level 3; 5 items within the combined Levels 7-9 exam

No speaking test (Levels 1-2)Separate level-matched HSKK oral test (Levels 3-6)Same sitting as the written paper (Levels 7-9)

Levels 1-2 have no speaking component at all. From Level 3, HSKK speaking is mandatory and level-matched to the written exam, but remains a SEPARATE test with its own sitting through Level 6. Only the combined Levels 7-9 exam puts speaking in the same sitting as listening/reading/writing/translation.

Translation

None below Level 7; 41m within Levels 7-9 · Not tested at Levels 1-6; 4 items within the combined Levels 7-9 exam

Sentence/passage translation (Levels 7-9 only — not tested at Levels 1-6)

Not a feature of Levels 1-6 at all — it only appears as its own distinctly-timed section within the combined Levels 7-9 exam, alongside listening, reading, writing, and speaking in one ~210-minute sitting.

Scoring

How HSK is scored

Written paper (Listening/Reading/Writing): Levels 1-2 out of 200 (120 to pass), Levels 3-6 out of 300 (180 to pass) — HSKK speaking is scored separately. Levels 7-9's pass-mark scale isn't publicly confirmed yet; check with your test centre. Broadly maps to CEFR: Level 6 ≈ C1, Levels 7-9 ≈ C2.

Score levels

Level 7–9
C2 — Proficient / near-native
Level 6
C1 — Advanced
Level 4–5
B1–B2 — Intermediate
Level 1–3
A1–A2 — Elementary

Typical requirements

Level 1-2Written exam is Listening + Reading ONLY — no Writing section, no speaking test at all
Level 3+HSKK speaking becomes mandatory — but as a SEPARATE test from the written paper, not combined with it, through Level 6
Level 6Writing shrinks to ONE task: read a ~1,000-character article, then summarise it from memory in ~400 characters
Level 7–9The only level where Translation is tested, and the only level where Speaking sits in the SAME exam as Listening/Reading/Writing
FAQ

HSK frequently asked questions

What is HSK 3.0 and when did it start?

HSK 3.0 is China's overhauled Chinese-proficiency test framework, expanding from 6 levels to 9. It rolled out in stages, not all at once: the 9-level framework was published in March 2021, the new Levels 7-9 launched as a real exam in November 2022, and the revised Levels 1-6 (following a November 2025 vocabulary revision) had their first global pilot in January 2026 and fully replace the legacy HSK 1-6 worldwide from July 2026. Older vocabulary lists, scoring scales, and the separate optional HSKK speaking test no longer apply under 3.0.

Is speaking still a separate, optional test?

It's no longer optional from Level 3 onward, but it's still a SEPARATE test (HSKK) from the written Listening/Reading/Writing paper through Level 6 — sat on its own, not in the same sitting. Levels 1-2 have no speaking test at all. Only at the combined Levels 7-9 exam is speaking part of the same sitting as everything else.

Do I need to write Chinese characters by hand?

There's no Writing section at all at Levels 1-2 — those exams are Listening + Reading only. Writing appears from Level 3 (sentence-building and character-completion from pinyin), then collapses at Level 6 into a single task: read a ~1,000-character article, then write a ~400-character summary from memory.

How much vocabulary do I need to know?

It depends on your level, and the distribution changed shape under 3.0 — an "inverted pyramid" where lower levels actually require LESS vocabulary than before (e.g. old Level 2's ~1,272 words dropped to about 500), while the top level's vocabulary load increased substantially. Studying an old legacy-system wordlist for your level will leave real gaps.

What's new about Levels 7–9?

Nothing, right now — Levels 7-9 are the one part of HSK 3.0 that ISN'T mid-transition. They launched as a real, administered exam back in November 2022, so by now it's a mature tier with several years of real candidates, not something still settling. They're advanced, near-native levels sharing a single combined exam, with an oral-defence-style speaking component and professional-level translation. The part of HSK 3.0 genuinely in flux this year is Levels 1-6, which just went through a vocabulary revision and are rolling out worldwide from July 2026.

I've studied for old HSK 4 or 5 before — does that still help?

Partially, but don't assume it's equivalent. The same level number now requires a different vocabulary set (2,000 words at the new Level 4, not the old 1,200), and you'll also need to register and prepare separately for the mandatory HSKK speaking test, which the legacy exam treated as optional. Translation still isn't tested at Level 4 under 3.0 either — it only appears at the combined Levels 7-9 exam.

How is HSK 3.0 scored, and what's the pass mark?

Each level's written paper has its own fixed points total and pass mark: Levels 1-2 score out of 200 (120 to pass), Levels 3-6 score out of 300 (180 to pass) — the same point scale the legacy test used, just applied to different content. HSKK speaking (Levels 3-6) is scored separately from the written paper. The combined Levels 7-9 exam's exact scoring scale isn't something we've been able to confirm — check with your test centre for that tier specifically.

Do Levels 1 and 2 have a Writing section?

No — the exams at Levels 1 and 2 are Listening and Reading only (40 and 60 questions respectively). There's no Writing section, and no speaking test, at either of these two levels. Writing first appears at Level 3.