New HSK Exam // The Only Guide You Need (Including Full New HSK Word List)

WHAT? There’s a new HSK Exam?

If you’re studying for the HSK exam, you may have noticed that things have changed.

👉 In 2022, the HSK introduced three advanced levels—7, 8, and 9—marking a significant update to its structure.

Since then, learners worldwide have been adjusting to this expanded framework, and the first global test for Levels 7-9 was held on November 26, 2022.

Read on to learn everything you need to know about these updates and what they mean for your Chinese learning journey!

🙋🏽‍♀️ Want to take our brand New 50 Question HSK 7-9 Quiz? 🙋🏽‍♀️

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New HSK || Introduction to HSK

New HSK || What Do We Know So Far?

New HSK || Overseas HSK & HSKK 2022 Updates

New HSK || Why the Change?

New HSK || What Does This Mean For You?

FREE DOWNLOAD || Full New HSK Word List

FREE HSK VOCAB TESTS || Take Yours Here

Passing the HSK || Two BIG Success Stories

New HSK || Tips

New HSK || Your FAQs Answered

FREE BONUS || Take Our NEW HSK Quiz

NEW HSK || Introduction to the HSK

HSK or Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (汉语水平考试) came about in 1992 as a proficiency exam for Mandarin Chinese.  

The exams are organised by Hanban (汉办). Hanban are a part of the Chinese education ministry, who are also in charge of the Confucius Institutes (孔子学院).

HSK is originally split into 6 levels covering 150 to 5000 words.

All the exams contain listening, reading and writing components – with HSK 1 and 2 not requiring the writing element.

We still do not know what the actual situation will be, but we do know that the New HSK Exam will contain more words, more levels and it will be no doubt harder – as the following below will illustrate.

You can find the official HSK website here.

NEW HSK || What Do We Know So Far

Announced in May 2020, released via the official HSK official Twitter Account, the HSK exam will change from six to nine levels!

In order to mark the examinees’ current progress, the nine levels will be sub-divided into three stages.

For advanced learners to acquire native-level proficiency certifications, the highest classification will be be further divided into three distinct levels.

We also know the New HSK consists of these four elements:

• Syllables – 1,110 in total
• Chinese characters – 3,000 in total
• Vocabulary – Total is 11,092
• Grammar – Total of 572 items

This exam is in the form of a home exam meaning you will not need to travel to a test centre, but instead take the exam at home.

This exam is in the form of five parts

• Listening
• Speaking
• Reading
• Writing
• Translation

NOTE | Translation is divided into interpretation and translation, both of which are translated from foreign languages into Chinese.

The exam is divided into two sessions in the morning and afternoon, with a 10 minute rest in the morning.

FOR STUDENTS OUTSIDE OF CHINA | Overseas students need to contact their local test centre to register and pay offline. At present, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and South Africa can take the new HSK exam. Cross border registration is not allowed.

More details will be released on this very soon and when they are, we’ll be updating this article.

IMPORTANT | New versions of HSK Exams for 1-6 will most likely be released in 2023-24 and the rollout is expected to take a couple of years so the process remains a lengthy one.

Three Stages and Nine Levels 🤔

Officially referred to as HSK 3.0, the new HSK exam structure will be divided into three stages and nine levels with:

• Beginner at Level 1-3
• Intermediate at Level 4-6
• Advanced at Level 7-9

According to the Chinese Testing International Centre in Barcelona, the advanced levels (7-9) are for foreign students who want to specialize in Chinese language and literature, and other majors such as Sinology.

Whether it be the lower level or highest grade, you must learn more words so it will certainly be a harder test!

Here’s a side-by-side look at the Old HSK vs New HSK to give you a clear indication that the NEW HSK will be certainly more difficult.

Words and Vocabulary List 🧠

In a PDF published by the International Chinese Education (世界汉语教学 shìjiè hànyǔ jiàoxué), they further outline the new proficiency standards for all the levels.

The difficulty has certainly increased!

Focusing on the vocabulary column (词汇: cíhuì) a.k.a. the fifth column, we can see that just for level 1 the threshold has increased.

Instead of previously needing to learn 150 words for HSK 1, this has now increased to 500.

For HSK 6, students will now be required to learn 5,456 words and for HSK 9 students will be expected to know over 11,000 words!

Therefore, by increasing the threshold students will be pushed harder to learn more words.

You can find a full downloadable wordlist for the New HSK here.

Overseas HSK & HSKK 2022 Updates

Here’s to catch you up with the latest major changes that happened back in 2022. This will help you understand better the process of the new change.

Another change that has been made involves the speaking exam – the HSKK (note the extra K).

All overseas HSK3 to HSK6 test takers are required to take both HSK and HSK Oral Test.

The written and spoken part will come as a combo package. This change will only affect all overseas HSK testing sites. Testing sites in China will not be affected. 

HSK5 and HSK6 candidates must now take the Advanced level Speaking test:

HSK 5 + 高级 | Advanced oral test
HSK 6 + 高级 | Advanced oral test

HSK4 candidates must take the Intermediate level Speaking test, and HSK3 candidates must take the Beginner level Speaking test.

HSK 3 + 初级 | Primary oral test
HSK 4 + 中级 | Intermediate oral test

HSK Written and Speaking test result reports will be issued together.

NEW HSK || Why the Change?

There is no definite answer to this question.

But here’s some possible reasons:

• To make the exam harder
  • As more people are studying the language, the old classification could no longer meet the requirements of the new situation.
  • This new classification is more precise and further categorizes students language ability.
• To align with the European Framework
  • One major problem with the current HSK test is it does not directly correspond to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CETR)
  • For example, HSK 6 was nowhere near the “almost-native” C2 level and so on.
  • Thus, by adjusting the test to better reflect the CEFR system this should help give the HSK improved weighting and caliber on the international stage.

NEW HSK || What Does This Mean For You?

There has been no word so far on what this means for graduation requirements for international students in China.

HSK did however confirm the following: “The scores of candidates participating in HSK 1-6 levels are still valid, and the validity of the certificates already obtained remains unchanged”

Regarding text books HSK went on to say:

“The textbooks and courses compiled and developed according to HSK 1-6 levels can still be used. In the next 3-5 years, HSK 1-6 levels will be gradually adjusted according to the “Standards” and the actual conditions of Chinese learners in various countries.”

With the exam system changing, it is hard to go into details what this exactly means for you.

Previously, a level between HSK 4-6 was sufficient for students who wanted to pursue graduate or higher-level degree in Chinese.

As soon as more details are announced, we will update you.

If you have any more questions feel free to comment down below and we will try our best to answer them.

FREE DOWNLOAD || Full New HSK Word List

In keeping with the news above, the Ministry of Education in China have released this rather large (260 pages to be precise) PDF which is the full word list for each level of the HSK.

Whilst the wordlist shows all the words included in the new HSK curriculum, it still doesn’t show the breakdown from HSK 7 onwards.

These details will be released nearer the time presumably, but for now, here is the full document if you wish to download it.

PLEASE NOTE | it is a rather large file so may take some time to download, unless you have particularly fast internet!

FREE HSK VOCAB TESTS || Take Yours Here

As of right now, the HSK remains 6 levels and that means you can test yourself right here with our super handy quizzes.

We have two quizzes for every HSK level:

• Quick Fire 30 Questions – we randomly select 30 words from each HSK level to see how well you know your vocabulary.
• Full Vocab Tests – fancy buckling up and going all out? Our full vocabulary quizzes cover more words and will give you a clearer idea of how well you know your HSK level. (up to 500 words for the highest level HSK 6).

Results are instant and also sent to your email address, also showing where you slipped up!

PASSING THE HSK || Two BIG Success Stories

We take huge pride in our student pass rate of 95%. It not only shows our teachers are the best in the business but that all our students are so driven to succeed.

Motivation is a big part of language learning and we wanted to share two stories of students who boast this in abundance.

Language learning isn’t a talent, it’s a will to win.

Anthea and Emma, from France and Germany respectively, gave their all in their year with LTl and came out with HSK 6 certificates!

Here is an insight into their stories.

• Anthea came to China for 12 months with zero knowledge and a year later, went home to Germany with a HSK 6 certificate!
• Emma had planned to study with LTL in Chengde but sadly that all changed in 2020. Rather than put her plan to bed, she knuckled down for 12 months of online study and came away with an amazing HSK 6 pass!

Who knows, maybe they’ll go a step further and go full steam ahead for the HSK 7, 8 and 9!

NEW HSK || Tips

Our top tip to you is not to worry!

The new exam system is good for beginners and definitely a challenge for any advanced learner.

Although your current level will be most likely downgraded due to this new system, the good thing is that you can still aim for HSK 6.

Unless you intend to specialize in Sinology or otherwise, this level is probably enough to get you where you want to be!

FUN FACT – Did you know LTL students have a 98% pass rate when taking the HSK Exam. We genuinely know how to get you passing with flying colours.

If you want to take the perfect preparation course for your HSK Exam, drop us a message.

Here at LTL, we offer HSK classes both online and offline.

BONUS || NEW HSK QUIZ

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New HSK || FAQs