The HSK exam format, level by level
The HSK (汉语水平考试, Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì) is one exam in six levels, and every level is built from the same three parts: listening, reading, and — from HSK 3 up — writing. What changes between levels is the length of each passage, the speed of the audio, and whether the paper prints pinyin. Here is the shape of every paper, what each section asks you to do, and where the difficulty actually sits.
Every level at a glance
| Level | Questions | Sections | Length | Max score | Pass |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HSK 1 | 40 | Listening 20, Reading 20 | ~40 min | 200 | 120 |
| HSK 2 | 60 | Listening 35, Reading 25 | ~55 min | 200 | 120 |
| HSK 3 | 80 | Listening 40, Reading 30, Writing 10 | ~90 min | 300 | 180 |
| HSK 4 | 100 | Listening 45, Reading 40, Writing 15 | ~105 min | 300 | 180 |
| HSK 5 | 100 | Listening 45, Reading 45, Writing 10 | ~125 min | 300 | 180 |
| HSK 6 | 101 | Listening 50, Reading 50, Writing 1 | ~140 min | 300 | 180 |
Two facts in that table do most of the work. HSK 1 and HSK 2 have no writing section and score out of 200, so 120 points passes. From HSK 3 the writing section appears, the paper scores out of 300, and 180 passes — 60% of the total, in every case. The times include the minutes the invigilator gives you at the end of the listening section to transfer answers, so the working time is a little shorter than the number shown.
Confirm the current structure on the official site before you register. Fees, dates, and the availability of the computer-based test change by country and by test center.
This page describes the six-level HSK 2.0 paper. A revised standard takes effect from July 2026 and renumbers the exam into nine levels with different vocabulary, fewer questions at levels 3–6 and a compulsory spoken component from level 3. Centers moved at different speeds, so the format you sit is the one named on your own booking. See the new HSK, explained and the two side by side.
The listening section
Audio plays once at HSK 3 and above. At HSK 1 and HSK 2 each item plays twice, which is the single largest reason those two levels feel gentle and HSK 3 does not.
- HSK 1–2: picture matching, true or false against a short statement, and short two-line dialogues. Everything is read slowly, twice.
- HSK 3–4: short dialogues followed by one question, then longer exchanges of four to six lines. Played once.
- HSK 5–6: interviews, news items, and short monologues that carry two or three questions each. Played once, at close to natural speed.
Where people lose points: the answer options are on the page while the audio is playing, and the exam rewards reading them first. If you read the options during the pause before each item, you know what to listen for; if you read them after, you have already lost the item. Practice that habit before test day, not on it.
The reading section
- HSK 1–2: match a sentence to a picture, fill a gap from a word bank, match two halves of a short exchange. Pinyin is printed above every character.
- HSK 3: gap-fill from a word bank, matching sentence pairs, and short passages with one comprehension question. No pinyin, and this is the level where that matters most.
- HSK 4: gap-fill, sentence-order questions, and passages of two to four sentences with one or two questions each.
- HSK 5: gap-fill inside paragraphs, a set of statements to match against short passages, and longer articles with several questions each.
- HSK 6: pick the sentence with an error out of four, gap-fill at paragraph level, statement matching, and long articles. Fifty questions in fifty minutes, so it is a reading-speed test as much as a comprehension test.
The writing section
Writing appears at HSK 3 and changes character completely on the way up:
| Level | What you write |
|---|---|
| HSK 3 | Five scrambled sentences to put in order, then five gaps where a pinyin syllable is given and you supply the character. |
| HSK 4 | Ten scrambled sentences to put in order, then five items that give you a picture and one word and ask for a sentence using both. |
| HSK 5 | Eight scrambled sentences, then two compositions of roughly 80 characters: one built from five given words, one from a picture. |
| HSK 6 | One task. You read a narrative of about 1,000 characters for 10 minutes, the text is taken away, and you retell it in about 400 characters in 35 minutes. |
The HSK 6 writing task is not a composition and it is not a summary. It is a retelling: the graders want the story, the names, and the sequence of events back, in your own sentences, without invented opinions. Learners who write an essay about the passage score badly on a task they understood well.
Computer-based against paper
Most test centers now offer both. The questions are the same. Three differences matter when you choose:
- Writing. On the computer test you type characters with a pinyin input method, so you need to recognize the right candidate rather than produce the strokes from memory. On paper you handwrite. These are genuinely different skills.
- Results. Computer-based scores are published sooner — commonly around two weeks, against roughly a month for paper. Your admission ticket carries the exact date.
- Dates. The computer-based test runs on more dates in most countries, which matters if you have a visa or application deadline.
If you take the computer test, practice typing Chinese first. It takes about ten minutes to set up and a week to stop being slow: how to type Chinese on a Mac, how to type Chinese on Windows.
What the exam does not test
The HSK does not test speaking at all. That is the HSKK, a separate exam with its own registration and its own three levels — see the HSKK, explained. The HSK also does not test handwriting if you sit the computer version, does not test tone production anywhere, and does not test whether you can hold a conversation. A learner can pass HSK 4 and still freeze in a taxi, which is a real outcome and a predictable one: nothing on the paper asks you to produce speech under time pressure.
In GraphChinese: speaking is trained from lesson one with the comment and question method, because the exam's blind spot is the thing most learners actually want. The exam-shaped skills are covered too — listening at natural speed, reading without pinyin, and character production — but they are not the whole course.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the HSK exam?
About 40 minutes at HSK 1 and about 140 minutes at HSK 6, including the extra minutes given for copying answers onto the answer sheet. HSK 2 runs about 55 minutes, HSK 3 about 90, HSK 4 about 105, and HSK 5 about 125.
Does the HSK test speaking?
No. Speaking is a separate exam called the HSKK, sold and sat separately in three levels (beginner, intermediate, advanced). A university that asks for spoken proficiency usually names the HSKK level it wants alongside the HSK level.
Is pinyin printed on the HSK paper?
At HSK 1 and HSK 2 every character on the paper carries pinyin above it, so those two levels test vocabulary and listening rather than character reading. From HSK 3 up there is no pinyin anywhere, which is why HSK 3 feels like a much bigger jump than 300 to 600 words suggests.
How many questions are on the HSK?
40 at HSK 1, 60 at HSK 2, 80 at HSK 3, 100 at HSK 4, 100 at HSK 5, and 101 at HSK 6. The count stops growing after HSK 4 because the individual questions get longer, not more numerous.
Is the computer-based HSK easier than the paper test?
The questions are identical. The computer-based test replaces handwriting with pinyin typing in the writing section, returns your score faster, and is offered on more dates. If you have practiced handwriting rather than typing, or the reverse, pick the format that matches what you practiced.
Know the format, then close the gap. GraphChinese's free adaptive placement finds the exact topics you are missing for the level you want to sit, then teaches them in dependency order with listening, reading without pinyin, and stroke-order writing built in. The whole course, HSK 0 through HSK 6, is $49 once for lifetime access.
Start at your true level