Program Bahasa Mandarin (HSK)

Official competency profile

Communicate effectively in Chinese across everyday life, study, and work situations.

Integrated assessment format

Prepare for the HSK 3.0 Level 3 written assessment (about 83 minutes in the September 2026 global trial) together with the corresponding speaking assessment.

Speaking integration

Complete the mandatory paired HSK Level 3 speaking assessment in the HSK 3.0 trial format (about 15 minutes); Level 3 written and speaking components must be registered together.

Official competency profile

Communicate fully and coherently in Chinese across everyday life, study, and work situations.

Integrated assessment format

Prepare for the HSK 3.0 Level 4 written assessment (about 85 minutes in the September 2026 global trial) together with the corresponding speaking assessment.

Speaking integration

Complete the mandatory paired HSK Level 4 speaking assessment in the HSK 3.0 trial format (about 20 minutes); Level 4 written and speaking components must be registered together.

Official competency profile

Communicate accurately and appropriately in Chinese in work and academic settings.

Integrated assessment format

Prepare for the HSK 3.0 Level 5 written assessment (about 110 minutes in the September 2026 global trial) together with the corresponding speaking assessment.

Speaking integration

Complete the mandatory paired HSK Level 5 speaking assessment in the HSK 3.0 trial format (about 23 minutes); Level 5 written and speaking components must be registered together.

Official competency profile

Communicate richly and fluently in Chinese in workplace, academic, and general professional settings.

Integrated assessment format

Prepare for the HSK 3.0 Level 6 written assessment (about 125 minutes in the September 2026 global trial) together with the corresponding speaking assessment.

Speaking integration

Complete the mandatory paired HSK Level 6 speaking assessment in the HSK 3.0 trial format (about 23 minutes); Level 6 written and speaking components must be registered together.

Tasks

Use can-do communication tasks as an explicit syllabus dimension defining communicative objectives.

Topics

Use progressively organized communication topics as an explicit syllabus dimension.

Vocabulary

Use level-appropriate vocabulary as an explicit syllabus dimension.

Grammar

Use level-appropriate grammar as an explicit syllabus dimension.

Chinese characters

Use Chinese-character recognition/production requirements as an explicit syllabus dimension.

Worldwide official launch

Treat 13 December 2026 as the announced worldwide official launch date for HSK 3.0; registration deadlines differ by paper/computer format.

Personal basics

Exchange and understand simple personal information in familiar situations.

Event basics

Exchange basic event details such as time, place and participants.

Everyday objects

Identify, ask about and briefly describe common objects and basic attributes.

Weather

Exchange simple information about weather and preferences.

Places and environment

Exchange simple information about familiar places, locations and basic qualities.

Everyday social interaction

Handle basic greetings, thanks, apologies, requests and simple needs or feelings.

Food preferences

Exchange simple information about meals, foods and eating preferences.

Travel basics

Exchange simple information about everyday travel, destinations and directions.

Shopping basics

Exchange simple information about common goods, prices and purchase intentions.

Illness and visiting the sick

Communicate basic illness, care and simple medical-advice situations.

Leisure activities

Exchange simple information about common leisure interests and plans.

Study situation

Exchange basic information about school, subjects and study schedules.

School and after-school activities

Describe basic school circumstances and after-school activities.

Work information

Exchange basic information about occupations, workplaces and work schedules.

Traditional Chinese food

Recognize and exchange simple information about common traditional Chinese foods and preferences.

Personal circumstances

Exchange somewhat richer personal information such as appearance, birthday, habits and origin.

Event circumstances

Exchange simple event details including people, causes, changes and status.

Object comparison

Describe and compare common objects by attributes such as color, quantity, position and differences.

Weather conditions

Describe and discuss basic weather conditions and comfort.

Describing a place

Describe familiar places including position, distance and basic characteristics.

Everyday social interaction

Use routine politeness, requests, advice, choices, thanks and simple evaluations appropriately.

Daily eating

Discuss eating habits, meals, restaurant preferences and basic cooking ability.

Travel situations

Ask for and give directions and discuss simple travel arrangements and experiences.

Shopping situations

Discuss product attributes, prices, comparisons, choices and purchases.

Illness and medical care

Exchange simple information about illness, treatment, medication and visiting someone who is ill.

Leisure activities

Discuss common leisure activities and simple activity plans.

Family daily life

Describe family relationships, routines, birthdays and household activities.

Study and learning experience

Discuss study routines, methods, school stage and simple learning experiences.

School and after-school activities

Discuss school environment and after-school activity arrangements and processes.

Work and occupation

Discuss workplace, schedule, job experience and simple occupational evaluations.

Chinese New Year and traditional food

Exchange basic information about Spring Festival customs, greetings and traditional foods.

Chinese forms of address

Recognize and appropriately use common Chinese forms of address in everyday interaction.

Listening — statement verification

Determine whether a short follow-up statement accurately reflects information in a brief spoken passage.

Listening — short dialogue comprehension

Identify the answer to a question based on a short two-speaker exchange.

Listening — extended dialogue/passage comprehension

Extract explicit or implied information from a longer dialogue or short spoken passage to answer one or more questions.

Reading — contextual word selection

Choose a word that appropriately completes one or two connected sentences using context and grammar.

Reading — sentence sequencing

Order three sentences into a coherent mini-text using logical and discourse relationships.

Reading — short-passage comprehension

Read a short passage and identify information or meaning needed to answer one or two questions.

Writing — sentence construction from supplied words

Arrange supplied words into a grammatically and semantically appropriate Chinese sentence.

Writing — picture-cued sentence production

Produce a sentence that appropriately uses a supplied word in relation to a pictured situation.

Listening — short dialogue comprehension

Identify explicit or implied information from a brief two-speaker exchange and select the best response to a follow-up question.

Listening — extended dialogue/passage comprehension

Track details, relationships, and main ideas across a longer dialogue or spoken passage to answer one or more questions.

Reading — contextual gap completion

Use lexical, grammatical, and discourse context to choose a missing word or sentence within a passage.

Reading — statement alignment

Identify which candidate statement accurately matches the meaning of a short written passage.

Reading — passage comprehension

Extract main ideas, details, relationships, and reasonable implications from longer written passages.

Writing — sentence construction from supplied words

Produce a grammatical and meaningful sentence using a supplied set of Chinese words.

Writing — constrained short composition

Produce a coherent short composition of roughly 80 Chinese characters using supplied lexical prompts.

Writing — picture-based short composition

Produce a coherent short composition of roughly 80 Chinese characters based on a visual prompt.

Listening — short passage meaning match

Identify the option that best corresponds to the meaning of a short spoken passage.

Listening — interview comprehension

Integrate details and viewpoints from an interview to answer multiple comprehension questions.

Listening — extended passage comprehension

Follow longer spoken discourse and answer multiple questions about its content and implications.

Reading — sentence error recognition

Detect a linguistically ill-formed sentence among alternatives, drawing on grammar and usage knowledge.

Reading — contextual multi-gap completion

Select contextually and linguistically appropriate expressions for several gaps within a short passage.

Reading — sentence insertion/cohesion

Restore omitted sentences to passages by using discourse coherence, reference, and logical progression.

Reading — extended passage comprehension

Interpret longer written texts for main ideas, details, relationships, and implications.

Writing — narrative condensation

Read a long narrative, retain its essential content, and rewrite it as a substantially shorter coherent summary without adding personal opinion.

Official syllable/phonology standard dimension

Use the official HSK 3.0 syllable standard as an explicit pronunciation/phonological progression dimension alongside characters, vocabulary and syntax; query requirements by HSK level rather than treating vocabulary alone as the level definition.

Official assessment skill scope

Design progression across listening, speaking, reading and writing, with translation additionally assessed at advanced HSK levels; do not model HSK 3.0 as vocabulary-only progression.

Official quantitative language-element inventory

Use the national standard's complete inventory scale as a curriculum boundary: 1,110 syllables, 3,000 Chinese characters, 11,092 vocabulary items, and 572 grammar points distributed by proficiency level; do not equate a level with vocabulary count alone.

Three official evaluation dimensions

For each proficiency level, describe what learners can communicate, the topics/tasks they can handle, and measurable language quantity/complexity; combine these dimensions with the five language skills rather than designing from word lists alone.

Three-stage, nine-level proficiency architecture

Map beginner, intermediate and advanced Chinese proficiency to the official three-stage, nine-level HSK architecture rather than assuming the legacy six-level structure defines the new standard.

Contemporary-China discourse scope in upgraded HSK

Include comprehension and communication practice using independently authored texts about contemporary Chinese society, technological progress, ecological development, and related real-world developments, rather than restricting HSK preparation to decontextualized vocabulary and grammar drills.

Listening

Understand spoken Mandarin at the youth-oriented proficiency expected by this YCT level.

Reading

Understand written Mandarin at the youth-oriented proficiency expected by this YCT level.

Assessment format

Prepare for the official YCT Level 1 test structure: 35 total items, 35 minutes including candidate-information time; passing threshold 120/200.

Listening + Reading

Memahami dan memakai kosakata serta kalimat umum untuk kebutuhan sehari-hari dan memiliki dasar untuk belajar lebih lanjut.

Can-do

Memahami dan menggunakan ungkapan serta kalimat Mandarin yang sangat umum dan memiliki dasar untuk melanjutkan belajar.

Skill coverage

Listening; Reading; target kosakata resmi sekitar 80 kata.

Listening

Understand spoken Mandarin at the youth-oriented proficiency expected by this YCT level.

Reading

Understand written Mandarin at the youth-oriented proficiency expected by this YCT level.

Assessment format

Prepare for the official YCT Level 2 test structure: 40 total items, 50 minutes including candidate-information time; passing threshold 120/200.

Listening + Reading

Memahami dan menggunakan sejumlah ungkapan sederhana untuk memenuhi kebutuhan komunikasi pada situasi tertentu.

Can-do

Memahami dan menggunakan ungkapan/kalimat sederhana untuk komunikasi tingkat dasar.

Skill coverage

Listening; Reading; target kosakata resmi sekitar 150 kata.

Listening

Understand spoken Mandarin at the youth-oriented proficiency expected by this YCT level.

Reading

Understand written Mandarin at the youth-oriented proficiency expected by this YCT level.

Assessment format

Prepare for the official YCT Level 3 test structure: 60 total items, 60 minutes including candidate-information time; passing threshold 120/200.

Listening + Reading

Berkomunikasi secara sederhana dan langsung mengenai topik sehari-hari yang sudah dikenal.

Can-do

Berkomunikasi secara sederhana tentang topik sehari-hari yang familier dengan penguasaan Mandarin dasar yang baik.

Skill coverage

Listening; Reading; target kosakata resmi sekitar 300 kata.

Listening

Understand spoken Mandarin at the youth-oriented proficiency expected by this YCT level.

Reading

Understand written Mandarin at the youth-oriented proficiency expected by this YCT level.

Writing

Produce written Mandarin in the writing component required at YCT Level 4.

Assessment format

Prepare for the official YCT Level 4 test structure: 80 total items, 85 minutes including candidate-information time; passing threshold 180/300.

Listening + Reading + Writing

Menangani tugas komunikasi dasar dalam kehidupan dan belajar serta sebagian besar situasi komunikasi ketika bepergian di Tiongkok.

Can-do

Berkomunikasi pada tingkat dasar dalam kehidupan sehari-hari dan akademik; mampu menangani sebagian besar komunikasi dasar saat berada di Tiongkok.

Skill coverage

Listening; Reading; Writing; target kosakata resmi sekitar 600 kata.