HSK levels
The HSK, the 汉语水平考试, is the standard Chinese proficiency test for foreign learners. It matters if you want to study at a Chinese university, and some employers ask for it. If you are learning Mandarin to talk to people, it is a useful ruler and nothing more.
The test is mid change, so check before you register. A new nine level framework, HSK 3.0, has a published syllabus and has run trial sittings. Through 2026 most regular sittings have continued to use the older six level HSK 2.0 papers, and reports of the worldwide switch date have not all agreed. Ask your test centre which paper you will actually sit, and confirm it on the official site at chinesetest.cn before you pay.
The six level framework, HSK 2.0
This is the one most textbooks, apps and word lists are still built around, and the one most people mean when they say HSK 3 or HSK 5.
| Level | Words | Roughly what it means |
|---|---|---|
| HSK 1 | about 150 | A few dozen set phrases. Enough to greet, count and say where you are from. |
| HSK 2 | about 300 | Simple exchanges on familiar subjects. Shopping, directions, time. |
| HSK 3 | about 600 | Daily life, work and study at a basic level. The first level most employers recognise. |
| HSK 4 | about 1200 | Discussion across a fair range of topics, with reasonable fluency. |
| HSK 5 | about 2500 | Newspapers, films and a prepared speech. |
| HSK 6 | about 5000 | Reads and hears comfortably, and expresses itself in writing and speech. |
Word counts are cumulative: HSK 3 includes everything in HSK 1 and 2.
The nine level framework, HSK 3.0
The replacement splits proficiency into three stages of three levels each: levels 1 to 3 elementary, 4 to 6 intermediate, 7 to 9 advanced. It also changes what is tested rather than only how much, bringing in character writing and speaking at defined points instead of leaving them optional.
Levels 1 to 3
Elementary
Everyday exchanges, routine social situations and simple opinions. Roughly the ground this course covers and a bit beyond.
Levels 4 to 6
Intermediate
Discussion, work and study topics, and reading that is not written for learners.
Levels 7 to 9
Advanced
Already running as a single combined advanced exam, separately from the rest.
Where this course sits
Ninety days of ten minutes is not an exam course and does not pretend to be. By the end of it you will have roughly HSK 1 ground covered and a good part of HSK 2, with better pronunciation than a word list alone would give you. If you then want a certificate, the gap to a pass is mostly reading speed and test technique, and a dedicated HSK book is the right tool for that.
An honest word about aiming at the test
Learning to pass HSK and learning to talk to people are not the same project. The test rewards recognising words on paper, and it goes easy on the two things that actually stop conversations, which are tones and listening at normal speed. Use it as a deadline if deadlines help you. Do not let it decide what you study.