Which HSK exam should you take?
Two questions are being asked as one: which level to sit, and which version of the exam. The second is easier than the internet makes it look, because it is settled by a document you already have rather than by a launch date.
Old or new: read your booking
The exam you sit is the one named on your registration and your admission ticket. HSK 7–9 has run on the new standard for years. Levels 1 to 6 are in transition, and centers have moved at different speeds, so the only reliable answer is the one printed on your own booking. Prepare for that format, and ignore any article that tells you what you will be sitting — including this one.
If your booking says the old format, use the HSK 2.0 format guide. If it says the new one, use the new HSK page and register the speaking component alongside it from level 3 upward.
Should you wait?
| Your situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| You need a certificate for an application with a deadline | Sit the next available exam at a level you can pass. Old certificates are not being expired. |
| An institution asked for a new-standard result | Wait for a sitting that offers it, and confirm with them which level they mean. |
| You are studying with no deadline | Ignore the transition entirely. Keep learning, and pick an exam when you have a reason to sit one. |
| You are between levels and unsure | Take a timed practice paper. It answers the level question better than any amount of reading about the standard. |
The failure mode worth naming: spending six months waiting for a format instead of six months learning Chinese. The exam is a measurement. Nothing about which ruler is used changes what you have to build.
Which level
- Sit a full past paper under time, four to six weeks before the registration deadline.
- Clear the pass mark with 15 points to spare? Register for that level.
- Scrape it? Register anyway and spend the four weeks on targeted repair of exactly what the paper exposed.
- Miss it? Register for the level below now, and take the higher one on the next date. Two certificates cost less than one failure and a retake.
One caution specific to this moment: new level 4 asks for roughly 2,000 words where old level 4 asked for 1,200. If you are choosing a level under the new standard, calibrate against the new list rather than against what you remember about the old one. The comparison is on HSK 3.0 against HSK 2.0.
HSK or TOCFL
A different fork, and it is decided by geography rather than by difficulty: the HSK is the mainland exam in simplified characters, the TOCFL is Taiwan's, normally in traditional. Whichever institution is going to read the certificate has usually already chosen. See HSK against TOCFL.
In GraphChinese: the free adaptive placement answers the level question in about ten minutes and answers it more precisely than a practice paper does — it names the individual topics under your target that are not yet solid, rather than a score that hides which 40% you missed.
Frequently asked questions
Should I take HSK 2.0 now or wait for HSK 3.0?
Take the exam you can sit on the date you need. A certificate in hand beats a format you are waiting for: old certificates are not being expired by the transition, and the two exams test the same language. Waiting only makes sense if an institution has explicitly asked you for a new-standard result.
How do I know which format my test date uses?
Read your own booking. The exam you register for is named at registration and printed on your admission ticket, and that is the authority — not a launch date quoted in an article. HSK 7–9 is always the new standard; levels 1 to 6 depend on the center and the sitting.
Which HSK level should I register for?
The level you can already pass comfortably in a timed practice paper, not the level you hope to reach by the test date. The exam reports one number against a 60% bar at levels 1 to 6, so a comfortable pass at a lower level is worth more than a failed attempt at a higher one, and costs less.
Do I need to retake the HSK under the new standard?
No. Nothing about the transition invalidates a certificate you hold. Retake only if a specific institution asks for a new-standard result or a more recent date.
Does the new standard change which level a university wants?
Requirements are set by each university and are being updated at their own pace. A requirement written before the transition means the old level; where a new-standard level is meant, the published requirement normally says so. Ask the admissions office rather than guessing, because new level 4 is a bigger ask than old level 4.
Should I take the HSKK separately?
Under the old exam, only if the institution asks for it. Under the new framework the spoken component is required alongside the written exam from level 3, so at that level it is not a separate decision any more.
Register for the level you can already pass. The free adaptive placement tests you down to the topic in about ten minutes and names what is missing under your target level. The whole course, HSK 0 through HSK 6, is $49 once for lifetime access.
Start at your true level