2021 HSK exam dates & other details
Here are the 2021 HSK exam times for if you’re looking to test your Chinese language skills, or need to obtain an HSK certificate for your visa, company, or university.
The below dates are published by the official organization, Chinese Testing International Co., Ltd (CTI). But be aware, there is a disclaimer that these dates may still change (for unforeseen events, such as covid-19). The HSK exams take place in several locations, including online, Shanghai, and certificate exam locations abroad.
HSK exam information
Prices: Range from HSK 1 being 150 RMB to HSK 6 costing you 650 RMB. (For each level, add 100 RMB.)
Exam durations: Total exam duration ranges from 40 minutes for HSK1 to 140 minutes for HSK6, including 5 minutes to write down your personal information.
Levels: 1 to 6 (although in our very honest opinion, we think exams are only meaningful above HSK3)
Like the books, HSK exams come in six levels. See here how long it takes to learn Chinese.
| Level | Vocabulary to learn | Listening | Reading | Writing | Exam duration | Price in CNY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HSK1 | 150 words | 20 questions, 18 minutes | 20 questions, 17 minutes | Not tested yet | 35 minutes | 150 |
| HSK2 | 300 words | 35 questions, 28 minutes | 25 questions, 22 minutes | Not tested yet | 50 minutes | 250 |
| HSK3 | 600 words | 40 questions, 40 minutes | 30 questions, 30 minutes | 10 items, 15 minutes | 1 hour 25 minutes | 350 |
| HSK4 | 1200 words | 45 questions, 35 minutes | 40 questions, 40 minutes | 15 items, 25 minutes | 1 hour 40 minutes | 450 |
| HSK5 | 2500 words | 45 questions, 35 minutes | 45 questions, 45 minutes | 10 items, 40 minutes | 2 hours | 550 |
| HSK6 | 5000 words | 50 questions, 40 minutes | 50 questions, 50 minutes | 1 item, 45 minutes | 2 hours 15 minutes | 650 |
What about the new HSK levels?
The new HSK levels aren’t officially announced in all details yet, and the textbooks aren’t ready. A bit unfair to take exams, no? So we expect these exams to be ready at the end of 2021.
How to register for the HSK exam
Registrations for 2020/2021 exams are now open. It’s best to register as soon as possible, as seats are limited. For tests on paper you need to register at least a month ahead, for test on a computer about ten days ahead. You can register on chinesetest.cn by clicking ‘New User’. From there on you can choose a country, region, city, date, and level.
Chinese exams on paper test & computer tests
There are two ways to take the normal HSK test: on paper and using a computer, depending on your preference (especially for writing Hanzi). For both forms, you need to go to a physical location. Even though the translation of ‘网考’ sometimes may suggest it, there is no official online test which you can do from home.
What score do I need to pass?
You need to have at least 60% of the answers right to pass. This means 120 points out of 200 for HSK 1&2, and 180 out of 300 for HSK3 and above.
How long is my HSK diploma valid?
Your HSK diploma is a lifetime certification of your Mandarin skills, but (!) if you wish to apply for a university in China, usually the HSK diploma is only valid for applying to the university two years, start from the day you took the test.
HSK exam results
Results are published online around two weeks after the exam for computer tests, and around four weeks after the exam for paper tests. The official certificate can be sent to you, but you need to request it. (This is possible yet very difficult to do if you’ve done the test in China yet you’ve already moved back to your home country!)
Exam schedule
Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK) exam dates
| Exam date | Format of the exam |
|---|---|
| Saturday October 17th 2020 | Paper & online |
| Saturday November 7th 2020 | Only online |
| Saturday November 21st 2020 | Paper & online |
| Sunday December 6th 2020 | Paper & online |
| Saturday January 9th 2021 | Paper & online |
| Saturday February 6th 2021 | Paper & online |
| Sunday March 7th 2021 | Only online |
| Saturday March 20th 2021 | Paper & online |
| Saturday April 10th 2021 | Paper & online |
| Saturday May 15th 2021 | Paper & online |
| Saturday June 19th 2021 | Paper & online |
| Sunday July 18th 2021 | Paper & online |
| Sunday August 22nd 2021 | Paper & online |
| Saturday September 11th 2021 | Paper & online |
| Sunday October 17th 2021 | Paper & online |
| Saturday November 6th 2021 | Only online |
| Saturday November 20th 2021 | Paper & online |
| Sunday December 5th 2021 | Paper & online |
HSK Speaking Test (HSKK) exam dates
| Exam date | Format of the exam |
|---|---|
| Saturday October 17th 2020 | Paper & online |
| Sunday December 6th 2020 | Paper & online |
| Saturday January 9th 2021 | Paper & online |
| Saturday March 20th 2021 | Paper & online |
| Saturday April 10th 2021 | Paper & online |
| Saturday May 15th 2021 | Paper & online |
| Sunday July 18th 2021 | Paper & online |
| Saturday October 17th 2021 | Paper & online |
| Sunday December 5th 2021 | Paper & online |
Youth Chinese Test (YCT) exam dates
| Exam date | Format of the exam |
|---|---|
| Saturday February 6th 2021 | Paper only |
| Saturday March 20th 2021 | Paper & online |
| Saturday May 15th 2021 | Paper & online |
| Saturday August 21st 2021 | Paper only |
| Saturday October 23rd 2021 | Paper & online |
| Sunday December 13th 2021 | Paper & online |
Business Chinese Test (BCT) exam dates
| Exam date | Format of the exam |
|---|---|
| Saturday January 30th 2021 | Paper & online |
| Sunday April 18th 2021 | Paper & online |
| Saturday June 12th 2021 | Paper & online |
| Saturday August 7th 2021 | Paper & online |
| Saturday November 13th 2021 | Paper & online |
Medical Chinese Proficiency Test (MCT)
| Exam date | Format of the exam |
|---|---|
| Saturday May 15th 2021 | Paper only |
| Saturday November 27th 2021 | Paper only |
Which HSK exam is for me?
Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK)
The vanilla flavor. The Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì, or Chinese Proficiency Test, is the international standardized test of Chinese language proficiency for non-native Chinese speakers. It goes from HSK 1 to HSK 6.
HSK Speaking Test (HSKK)
This test assesses the test takers’ oral Chinese abilities. HSKK consists of three levels: Primary, Intermediate, and Advanced.
Youth Chinese Test (YCT)
This is an international standardized test of Chinese language proficiency for under 16-year-olds, to assess their abilities to use Chinese as a second language. YCT is divided into writing and speaking tests, which are independent of each other. The writing test consists of four levels, simply 0 to 4, while the speaking test has two: Primary and Intermediate.
Business Chinese Test(BCT)
This is an international standardized test of Chinese language proficiency, to assesses non-native Chinese speakers’ abilities to use the Chinese language in real business or common working environments. The writing test consists of two levels, namely, BCT(A) and BCT(B). The oral tests (Oral iBT) and Computer Adaptive Test (CAT) and conducted via the internet.
Medical Chinese Test (MCT)
This test is for when you want to work in a Chinese hospital, laboratory (related to medicine), or something else related to medicines.
How to Prepare for the HSK Chinese Proficiency Test
There are in total six levels of the HSK tests. HSK1 and HSK2 only have the listening and reading parts, but levels HSK3 to HSK6 have an additional writing part.
Exam Listening
Listen to materials in previous tests. Listen to each question twice: the first time to get a general idea about the topic and the second time to understand every word. This is a very efficient way to accumulate your vocabulary for one specific level.
There are a few main categories of questions such as sports, time, plans, relationships, locations, reasons, manners, etcetera. Try to summarize the categories for your HSK and list the words related to each category. This will help you react quickly to the topic by reading the options in the given answers to the question.
Reading on HSK exam
Going through the whole word list of the HSK level is the last thing you want to do for your HSK preparation. Without a context, even if you memorize every word, it’s still hard to figure out the meaning of a whole sentence.
Do some of the reading exercises in previous HSK tests. As for the test, reading is not just about understanding words and sentences, it’s also about your speed. Try to limit the time to one minute for each question. A lot of students fail because there isn’t enough time to answer questions. Even though the questions are quite easy.
So limit your time to answer practice question and then go back to each question to learn the new words.
It’s worth it to read some supplementary materials based on your HSK level. See our articles on Graded Chinese readers.
Writing on an HSK test
1 Make a sentence with given words
In HSK3, in the first writing part, you need to arrange some given words to make a correct sentence. It’s to test your Chinese grammar and vocabulary. If you take the internet-based test, you can just drag words to make a sentence.
So getting familiar with the sentence structures will help a lot. Take a look at the examples.
- S. + Adv. + Adj.
- 她Tā (she) + 很 hěn(very) + 漂亮 piàoliang (pretty)
And:
- S. +( V. )+ O. + V + 得(de) + Adv. + Adj.
- 我 (wǒ )＋说 (shuō) + 汉语 (hànyǔ) + 说 (shuō) + 得 (de)+ 很 (hěn) +流利 (liúlì)。
2: Make senteces based on keywords and the photo
This will be only seen on the HSK4 exam. First tip for HSK exams: Don’t write sentences that are too complicated. Try to use the key word in the right way. This is the most important part and can guarantee you a better score on your HSK test. A good way to get yourself prepared is to pick a few common verbs, nouns, and adjectives for each question, write a sentence with each one and have someone correct them for you.
3: Write a short composition or summary
This kind of Chinese writing is in HSK5 and HSK6 tests. It’s a long-term thing and will take lots of hard practice to get right. Go over the requirements from previous tests and follow these steps to prepare. Don’t forget to get the articles you’ve written reviewed by a native speaker. One can’t learn more than from our own mistakes.
- Step one: practice writing articles with a certain number of words.
- Step two: practice writing within limited time.
- Step three: review all the mistakes from your practice before the real test.
Frequent questions about the HSK exams
Do I need to learn Chinese characters to pass the exam?
There are 6 levels of HSK tests. For level one and two, everything is marked with Pinyin, therefore, you don’t need to know Chinese characters. For the rest ones, sorry, yes!
How much does the HSK exam cost?
The registration fee for HSK differs based on where you take it and which level you want to take. In Mainland China, HSK Level one is 150RMB. Each level after that costs 100RMB more than the last. Unfortunately, the higher your level is, the more expensive, eh?
Can I take an HSK exam whenever I want?
You wish. Nope. Test frequencies and dates vary in countries. In Mainland China, there are 12 test opportunities all year round, which means once in a month. They usually fall on Sundays and all levels are open.
Can I take an HSK test in any place?
Aha, you are thinking way too much. You have to take it at specific test centers. The good news is there are test centers in all the continents except Antarctica. Sorry, Antarctica 🙁
There are internet-based HSK tests. Can I take them home?!
Yes, there are internet-based tests and paper-based tests. The only difference is for the internet-based tests, you can type in characters, but for a paper-based test, you need to write everything by hand. This is why you still need to go to a test center, sorry that there is no such convenience.
How well do I need to speak Chinese to pass?
Good question! There are NO speaking requirements in the HSK! Most people do not know there is HSKK, specifically made for spoken Chinese, which consists of three levels: beginner, intermediate and advanced. We recommend it if you’d like to prove your speaking ability.
Which level of HSK do you suggest I participate in?
We don’t usually suggest our students to take HSK 1 and 2, because there are usually way too simple. You can probably pass HSK 1 after studying only one week of classes with GoEast. HSK3 is a good start since you need to master a good amount of vocabulary and grammars
If I start preparing two months ahead for an HSK exam, will I be ready?
We don’t suggest studying just for sake of the test. Instead, we suggest that you study comprehensive Chinese, and when your level is almost there (which your teachers should be able to tell you), start an HSK prep course to familiarize yourself with the test.
Is there a photo of me on the certificate?
Yes, the same one as the one you submit when you register. So remember to give your best-looking one 🙂
When do I get my HSK exam score?
You will get to know your score in 3 weeks after you take the test. It is not a pass-fail test. You have to get 180 points to pass, but your score is also shown on the certificate. Motivated now?
P.S: Read here our tips on how to pass the HSK2 exam.
