Have any Question? Email Us 1272124467@qq.com
  • Teachers Guide
  • Students Guide
  • Registered
  • Login

  • Home
  • Course
  • Online Tutorial
    • Free Online Tutorial
      • Lession 1
      • Lession 2
      • lession 3
      • lession 4
      • lession 5
      • lession 6
      • lession 7
    • Paid Online Tutorial
  • Articles
  • Price
  • Contact Us
Teacher Guide | Student Guide | Registered | Login

  • Home
  • Course
  • Online Tutorial
    • Free Online Tutorial
      • Lession 1
      • Lession 2
      • lession 3
      • lession 4
      • lession 5
      • lession 6
      • lession 7
    • Paid Online Tutorial
  • Articles
  • Price
  • Contact Us

A Brief Introduction to the HSK Exam

  • Home
  • Articles
  • Chinese vocabulary
  • A Brief Introduction to the HSK Exam
054f5fa76f9ff7fb13bd8b6eebc0a633 80x80 - A Brief Introduction to the HSK Exam
How To Use 才
2019年7月20日
6629e67a3c0b093fa05f4a8e353ff68d 80x80 - A Brief Introduction to the HSK Exam
Chinese Character Riddles: Can You Solve Them?
2019年7月21日
Published by admin on 2019年7月21日
Categories
  • Chinese vocabulary
Tags
2ccbc8465b85cd1d0d9a4f51df96f2e1 - A Brief Introduction to the HSK Exam

What is the HSK?

 

The HSK, which is an abbreviation for the Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì, is the most important official Mandarin test in China. Its aim is to assess the Chinese language proficiency of non-native speakers.

 

Why the HSK is so important?

 

The HSK is like a stepping-stone to living in China. Whether you want to go to a Chinese college or work at a Chinese company, or whether you just want to communicate with Chinese people, the HSK serves as strong proof that you are linguistically qualified. Some Chinese colleges and companies even require that their foreign students and staff pass the HSK 4 (intermediate level) at the very least.

 

What kinds of exams does the HSK provide?

 

There are two important exams. These are the HSK itself and the HSKK.

 

A brief introduction to the HSK

 

The HSK assesses the Mandarin level of students, and includes listening, reading and writing. The HSKK exam, on the other hand, is short for Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǒuyǔ Kǎoshì and refers to the spoken version of the HSK.

 

The HSK is divided into six levels. These levels, along with the estimated study time for each, are included in the table below:

 

HSK Level What abilities you need to pass the test Estimated study hours for each stage How many words you need to know
HSK 1 Knowledge of some words and the ability to engage in very basic conversations 50 150
HSK 2 The ability to engage in basic daily conversations 50 300
HSK 3 The ability to engage in most types of daily conversations with ease 100 600
HSK 4 The ability to talk freely about non-professional topics 200 1200
HSK 5 The ability to talk freely, as well as read some books and newspapers 500 2500
HSK 6 The ability to speak almost like a native speaker 1000 5000

 

Important things you need to know about this chart:

 

What abilities you need to pass the test

 

This is just a rough estimate, and thus it differs from student to student. For example, a student who passes the exam with 60 points will definitely have a different level than a student who passes with 90. The test has a maximum score of 100.

 

Estimated study hours for each stage

 

First of all, the estimated study hours section is based on my many years of teaching, as well as my extensive experience supervising and writing the HSK. It is also based on personal research of my students who passed this exam. Nevertheless, this is simply an average time, mainly because it depends on the motivation level and learning speed of each individual student. Therefore, you should not get discouraged if it takes you a little longer to reach each level. The important thing is that you are trying and you are enjoying yourself.

 

How to calculate the time

 

Times can be calculated as follows: in order to pass the HSK 1, you need a total of 50 hours of study, while for the HSK 2 you need an additional 50 hours. This means that a complete beginner would require a total of 100 hours of study to pass the HSK 2. Similarly, a complete beginner would need to study almost 1900 hours in order to pass the HSK 6.

 

One more important thing you should know about the HSK

 

In the HSK 1 and HSK 2 exams, Pinyin is used alongside characters. However, once you get to the HSK 3 level, there is no Pinyin at all. Therefore, if you want to take the HSK 3 exam (or above), you will need to learn Chinese characters.

 

Fortunately, some schools now provide an online version of the HSK, which means that you can do the entire test on a computer. Of course, you will still need to take the test at an accredited school instead of in your home. Moreover, both the online and offline tests commence at the same time and use all the same materials.

 

The advantages of taking the online HSK tests are as follows:

 

  1. You can register up to one week before the exam date. For the offline version, you must register a full three weeks before the exam.
  2. You can get your score within a week, while you’ll have to wait almost a month for the offline test results.
  3. You’ll be able to type the characters on the computer instead of remembering precisely how to write them.

 

A brief introduction to the HSKK

 

The HSKK is divided into beginner, intermediate and advanced levels:

 

HSKK level What abilities you need to pass the test Estimated study hours for each stage How many words you need to know
Beginner The ability to understand and participate in daily conversations 50-100 200
Intermediate The ability to understand intermediate level Chinese and speak fluently with native Chinese people 100-150 900
Advanced The ability to understand advanced level spoken Chinese and fluently express your opinions 200-300 3000

 

As you can see, the HSKK requires a lot less study than the HSK. This is due to the fact that you don’t really have to learn that many characters when you prepare for the HSKK. It’s good for those students who don’t have enough time to practice Chinese characters or for those who only want to know how to speak Chinese. However, the HSKK is not as popular as the HSK. This is true in both China and abroad.

 

When to take the HSK

 

The timing of the exam differs from region to region. In certain countries, there may only be two HSK tests per year, while some schools in China might offer it once a month. Please check with your local examination center to confirm when you can take the exam and whether they provide the online version of the test.

 

In any case, the HSK is always held on a Saturday or a Sunday. Specifically, the HSK 2, HSK 4 and HSK 6 are all held in the morning, while the HSK 1, HSK 3 and HSK 5 take place in the afternoon. The reasoning for this seemingly odd schedule is that some students might not be completely sure about their current level, and may wish to attend two HSK tests in one day.

 

Other HSK tests

 

There are two other versions of this exam. They are:

 

  • The BCT: Business Chinese Test (for business people)
  • The YCT: Youth Chinese Test (for elementary and middle school students)

 

Both the BCT and the YCT are quite new, and neither is as popular as the HSK.

 

Useful websites

 

  • Hanban: This is the website for the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban). They provide some news about the HSK.
  • Chinese Test: This website provides study materials and pre-test practice for the HSK.

 

Very important notice

 

All the information provided here is based on current policies and may be subject to change in the future.

Share
0
admin
admin

Related posts

learn Chinese language
2019年9月20日

How Learning Chinese Can Help You Know Better about Chinese Culture


Read more
747a655354c34357b82f1f97ef560555 - 3 Properties Behind Mandarin Pronunciation: 普通话语音导论
2019年7月26日

3 Properties Behind Mandarin Pronunciation: 普通话语音导论


Read more
a0fac0fbf31e71e95eaeafb07518d04b - Learn Chinese: Seasonal Greetings
2019年7月26日

Learn Chinese: Seasonal Greetings


Read more

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

About

  • About Us
  • Service Regulations
  • Privacy Policy

Course Resources

  • One-on-One Classes
  • HSK courses
  • 5-person Group course
  • Custom learning programs

Support

  • Contact Us
  • How This Works
  • Frequently Asked Questions

Follow us

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
© 2019 Online Chinese Courses. All Rights Reserved.