INFORMATIONAL HANDOUT ABOUT THE HSK TEST

Productive and receptive skills are tested in separate tests.

There are six written levels and three oral levels.

  1. WRITTEN TEST
  1. HSK Level 1

I can understand and use basic phrases in Chinese to communicate with others.

Test content:

-150 vocables

-about 180 characters

-Test of listening and reading comprehension

The test lasts about 40 minutes.

HSK Level 1 / Number of questions / Length in minutes
Listening comprehension, 4 parts / Parts 1 to 4: 5 questions each
for a total of 20 questions / about 15 minutes
Reading comprehension, 4 parts / Parts 1 to 4: 5 questions each
for a total of 20 questions / about 15 minutes
Filling out the answer sheet / about 5 minutes
Filling out personal information / about 5 minutes
Total / 40 questions / about 40 minutes
  1. HSK Level 2

I can talk about certain familiar, everyday topics in Chinese.

Test content:

-300 vocables

-about 360 characters

-Test of listening and reading comprehension

The test lasts about 65 minutes.

HSK Level 2 / Number of questions / Length in minutes
Listening comprehension, 4 parts / Parts 1 to 3: 10 questions each
Part 4: 5 questions
for a total of 35 questions / about 25 minutes
Reading comprehension, 4 parts / Parts 1 to 3: 5 questions each
Part 4: 10 questions
for a total of 25 questions / about 20 minutes
Filling out the answer sheet / about 5 minutes
Filling out personal information / about 5 minutes
Total / 60 questions / about 55 minutes
  1. HSK Level 3

I can communicate in everyday, university and professional situations and present my own opinion. During a stay in China, I can independently solve most communication problems and make myself understood.

Test content:

-600 vocables

-about 660 characters

-Test of listening comprehension, reading comprehension and writing skills

The test lasts about 90 minutes.

HSK Level 3 / Number of questions / Length in minutes
Listening comprehension, 4 parts / Parts 1 to 4: 10 questions each
for a total of 40 questions / about 35 minutes
Reading comprehension, 3 parts / Parts 1 to 3: 10 questions each
for a total of 30 questions / about 25 minutes
Writing, 2 parts / Parts 1 to 2: 5 questions each
for a total of 10 questions / about 15 minutes
Filling out the answer sheet / about 5 minutes
Filling out personal information / about 5 minutes
Total / 80 questions / about 85 minutes
  1. HSK Level 4

I can talk about general topics and communicate with native speakers in a relatively fluent way.

Test content:

-1200 vocables

-about 1500 characters

-Test of listening comprehension, reading comprehension and writing skills

The test lasts about 90 minutes.

HSK Level 4 / Number of questions / Length in minutes
Listening comprehension, 3 parts / Part 1: 10 questions
Part 2: 15 questions
Part 3: 20 questions
for a total of 45 questions / about 30 minutes
Reading comprehension, 3 parts / Parts 1 to 2: 10 questions each
Part 3: 20 questions
for a total of 40 questions / about 35 minutes
Writing, 2 parts / Part 1: 10 questions
Part 2: 5 questions
for a total of 15 questions / about 25 minutes
Filling out the answer sheet / about 10 minutes
Filling out personal information / about 5 minutes
Total / 100 questions / about 105 minutes
  1. HSK Level 5

I can read Chinese newspapers and magazines, understand Chinese TV shows and give a lecture in Chinese.

Test content:

-2500 vocables

-about 3000 characters

-Test of listening comprehension, reading comprehension and writing skills

The test lasts about 125 minutes.

HSK Level 5 / Number of questions / Length in minutes
Listening comprehension, 2 parts / Part 1: 20 questions
Part 2: 25 questions
for a total of 45 questions / about 30 minutes
Reading comprehension, 3 parts / Part 1: 15 questions
Part 2: 10 questions
Part 3: 20 questions
for a total of 45 questions / about 40 minutes
Writing, 2 parts / Part 1: 8 questions
Part 2: 2 questions
for a total of 10 questions / about 40 minutes
Filling out the answer sheet / about 10 minutes
Filling out personal information / about 5 minutes
Total / 100 questions / about 125 minutes
  1. HSK Level 6

I can easily understand information in Chinese that I read or hear and express my opinion freely when speaking and writing.

Test content:

-5000 vocables

-about 6000 characters

-Test of listening comprehension, reading comprehension and writing skills

The test lasts about 140 minutes.

HSK Level 6 / Number of questions / Length in minutes
Listening comprehension, 3 parts / Parts 1 to 2: 15 questions each
Part 3: 20 questions
for a total of 50 questions / about 35 minutes
Reading comprehension, 4 parts / Parts 1 to 3: 10 questions each
Part 4: 20 questions
for a total of 50 questions / about 45 minutes
Writing, 1 part / Essay / about 45 minutes
Filling out the answer sheet / about 10 minutes
Filling out personal information / about 5 minutes
Total / 100 questions / about 125 minutes
  1. ORAL TEST

There are three different levels for the oral test.

The oral test can be taken separately from the written test.

  1. THE MARKING SYSTEM FOR THE HSK TEST

Maximum number of points for: / HSK Level 1 / HSK Level 2 / HSK Level 3 / HSK Level 4 / HSK Level 5 / HSK Level 6
Listening comprehension / 100 / 100 / 100 / 100 / 100 / 100
Reading comprehension / 100 / 100 / 100 / 100 / 100 / 100
Writing skills / - / - / 100 / 100 / 100 / 100
Maximum total number of points / 200 / 200 / 300 / 300 / 300 / 300
Passed with this number of points and above: / 120 / 120 / 180 / 180 / 180 / 180
  1. TEST FEES

WRITTEN TEST

HSK Level 1 / EUR 20
HSK Level 2 / EUR 20
HSK Level 3 / EUR 35
HSK Level 4 / EUR 35
HSK Level 5 / EUR 50
HSK Level 6 / EUR 50

ORAL TEST

Basic level (HSK levels 1 and 2) / EUR 15
Intermediate level (HSK levels 3 and 4) / EUR 25
Advanced level (HSK levels 5 and 6) / EUR 35
  1. TEST RESULTS

You can view your results about 4 weeks after taking the test online at

It is necessary to enter the test number that you receive on the day of the test. You will receive the results and your certificate by mail.