What is the HSK? The new exam’s nine levels, explained

By Andreu Puy · 27 October 2026 · 8 min read

The HSK is the standard test of Chinese, in simplified characters, for people who do not speak it as a first language. China’s Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC) sets what the exam covers, and Chinese Testing International (CTI) runs it. The new HSK, often called HSK 3.0, officially launches worldwide on 13 December 2026, and it has nine levels instead of six: HSK 1 asks for 300 words, HSK 6 for 5,400, and the top exam, HSK 7–9, for 11,000.

The nine levels

The syllabus puts the nine levels in three bands: HSK 1 to 3 are elementary, HSK 4 to 6 intermediate and HSK 7 to 9 advanced. For each level it lists the words you need, the characters you need to read and to write, and the grammar. The figures are running totals: each level includes the ones below it.

HSK 7, 8 and 9 share one list and one exam: your score decides which of the three you reach. Writing starts with one list of 100 characters for HSK 1 and 2 together, but the HSK 1 exam has no writing section, so it first counts at HSK 2.

The grammar items count the rows of the syllabus’s grammar tables, which it does not number: a row can be one structure or a short list of words, such as 上、下、里、外. The 2021 standard the exam is built on groups its grammar into fewer, larger points: 48 at level 1, 572 in all. Our HSK 1 grammar guide lists all 70.

What changed from the old HSK

The old exam, now called HSK 2.0, had six levels. The new one keeps the names HSK 1 to 6, but each level asks for more words:

So an old HSK 4 is closer in words to a new HSK 3 than to a new HSK 4. Beyond the word counts:

• Characters have lists of their own, one to recognise and one to write, as in the table above.
• Writing starts one level earlier. The old exam first tested writing at HSK 3; the new one starts at HSK 2. At HSK 2 and 3 you write characters from their pinyin and complete sentences; from HSK 4 you write sentences and short texts, from at least 80 characters at HSK 4 to at least 300 at HSK 6.
• HSK 7–9 is new. It adds translation into Chinese and has speaking built in.

HSK 3.0 has arrived in stages, which is why you will see it dated anywhere from 2021 to 2026:

• March 2021: China’s Ministry of Education publishes the standard the new HSK is built on (GF 0025-2021), with the same nine levels. HSK 1 lists of 500 words come from it: 500 words at level 1, 11,092 in all.
• November 2022: the first official HSK 7–9 exam.
• November 2025: the exam’s own syllabus, with smaller lists at the bottom: 300 words at HSK 1, 11,000 in all.
• 13 December 2026: the new HSK 1 to 6 officially launch.

This post, and Hanzio’s HSK decks, follow the exam syllabus.

What the exam looks like

HSK 1 to 6 are separate exams, taken on paper or on a computer at a test centre. Each has listening and reading, and from HSK 2 a writing part. The figures come from CTI’s description of the new exam. A question can be as small as picking the picture that matches what you hear, or as big as writing a short text: the writing part of HSK 5 and 6 is two of them.

The times are approximate because the listening part runs as long as its recordings; they also include filling in your details and the answer sheet. Speaking is not part of these exams: it has its own test, the HSK speaking test, held on the same dates.

HSK 7–9 is one exam, taken on a computer only: 98 questions in five parts, listening, reading, writing, translation into Chinese and speaking, about 210 minutes in all. As of October 2026, CTI has not published the pass marks for the new HSK 1 to 6, or the scores that decide level 7, 8 or 9.

HSK or TOCFL?

Taiwan has its own exam, the TOCFL (Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language), run by its Steering Committee for the Test Of Proficiency–Huayu (SC-TOP).

Take the HSK if you study simplified characters or are heading to mainland China, and the TOCFL if you study traditional characters or are heading to Taiwan. Our post on simplified vs traditional Chinese compares the two scripts.

How to register

1. Make an account on chinesetest.cn, CTI’s test website.
2. Find a test centre in your country, then pick a date and a format: paper or computer.
3. Register online before that date’s deadline.

In 2026, HSK 1 to 6 have 11 dates. The last, 13 December, is the official launch of the new exam: register by 16 November for paper or by 3 December for computer, Beijing time. HSK 7–9 has two, 9 May and 22 November. For HSK 1 to 6, results come out about two weeks after a computer-based test and about a month after a paper one; for HSK 7–9, about a month. CTI counts a score as valid for two years from the exam date.

How long does each level take?

There is no official figure for the new levels. What you can work out is how long the words take. At 10 new words a day, every day:

• HSK 1 (300 words): a month
• HSK 2 (500): about 7 weeks
• HSK 3 (1,000): about 3 months
• HSK 4 (2,000): about 7 months
• HSK 5 (3,600): about a year
• HSK 6 (5,400): about a year and a half
• HSK 7–9 (11,000): about 3 years

That is new words only. Reviews, grammar, listening, speaking and writing take time too, so plan for longer than this.

Getting ready with Hanzio

Hanzio has a deck for every level of the new HSK, HSK 1 to 6 and HSK 7–9, and for the six levels of the old one. Add one and the daily plan gives you a few new words each day, then reviews each word in up to four ways, meaning, pinyin, writing and listening, bringing it back just before you would forget it. If you learn traditional characters, Hanzio has the HSK 1 deck and the TOCFL word lists instead. For HSK 1 there is also a course of grammar lessons and short stories that bring in new words a few at a time.

For the words of each level, see our HSK 1, HSK 2 and HSK 3 word lists, and for the grammar, the HSK 1 grammar guide.

Frequently asked questions

What does HSK stand for?

Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì (汉语水平考试), Chinese for “Chinese proficiency test”. CTI’s documents for the new exam call it 中文水平考试 (Zhōngwén Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì) and keep the letters HSK.

How many levels does the HSK have?

Nine in the new HSK, which officially launches on 13 December 2026: HSK 1 to 6, each an exam of its own, and HSK 7–9, one exam whose score decides the level. The old HSK has six.

When did HSK 3.0 start?

In stages. The standard behind it came out in 2021, HSK 7–9 was first held in November 2022, and the new HSK 1 to 6 officially launch on 13 December 2026.

What CEFR level is each HSK level?

The CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) is the scale used to compare language exams across languages, in six levels from A1 for beginners to C2 for near-native. As of October 2026, CTI has not published a CEFR mapping for the new HSK. The old exam’s own table put HSK 1 at A1 and HSK 6 at C2, which teachers’ associations such as Germany’s FaCh disputed as too high. Taiwan’s TOCFL does publish one: Level 1 is A1 and Level 6 is C2.

Is the HSK in simplified or traditional characters?

Simplified. If you learn traditional characters, Taiwan’s TOCFL lets you take it in either script.

How long is an HSK score valid?

CTI counts an HSK score as valid for two years from the exam date.

Is the old HSK still offered?

The new HSK officially launches on 13 December 2026, and as of October 2026 CTI has not said when the old six-level exam stops. Ask your test centre which version a sitting uses.

Sources: the 2021 standard from the Ministry of Education; the first HSK 7–9 exam from CLEC; levels, words and characters from 中文水平考试 HSK 考试大纲 (CLEC, 2025); the format of HSK 1 to 6 from CTI’s structure and sample items for the new exam (2025) and of HSK 7–9; the dates from CTI’s 2026 calendar and launch notice; the score validity from chinesetest.cn; the old HSK from its introductions to HSK 1, HSK 2 and HSK 3; the TOCFL from SC-TOP’s 8,000-word list and level table.