Free HSK practice tests and mock exams, by level

Pick a free test for your goal

Each of these is the best free option for one job. Here's our pick for each, checked on 11 October 2026:

Sources: each test's own pages, opened without signing in on 11 October 2026. CTI is Chinese Testing International, which runs the HSK.

Pick your level and your exam date in the finder. It lists every free test that fits, in the order we'd use them:

If you only do one thing, download the official paper for your level and do it against the clock this week.

Your test date decides the paper

Book a sitting on or before 7 November and you'll sit HSK 2.0. Book 13 December or later and you'll sit HSK 3.0, CTI announced.

The two papers aren't interchangeable. From HSK 3 up, the new papers have fewer questions, writing starts at HSK 2, and you book a speaking test with HSK 3 to 6. HSK 3.0 explained covers what changed and why, and our HSK exam guide covers dates, fees and registration.

Every full paper here has a listening and a reading section. Writing starts at HSK 3 on the old papers and at HSK 2 on the new ones, and from HSK 3 to 6 the speaking test is a separate paper.

For a mock, the main difference is the clock. Here's how long to time each one:

Sources: CTI's level pages for HSK 2.0; the cover of each official HSK 3.0 sample paper. Paper times include five minutes for your details, as on the day.

The new papers are shorter as well as quicker: HSK 4 drops from 100 questions to 70. So if a free site gives you 50 minutes for an HSK 4 paper, set your own timer.

Official HSK 2.0 papers sit under "Resources"

For every level from HSK 1 to 6, CTI posts one sample paper and its recording, free and with no sign-in. On chinesetest.cn, open your level and choose the Resources tab:

One trap: the orange "Do A Mock" button on the same page doesn't open a free test. It takes you to HSK Mock, the paid platform below.

Each sample paper is a PDF of the whole exam, with the answer key on its last page. The recording is an MP3 of the listening section.

There's no transcript of the recording. The answer key gives model sentences for the short writing items, but no model essay at HSK 5 and 6.

CTI also posts sample papers with recordings for the old speaking test, HSKK, at all three tiers, and a sample of the advanced HSK 7–9 exam.

Print the paper, play the MP3 once, and don't pause it. That's how the listening section runs on the day.

The HSK 3.0 pack has one paper per level

For HSK 3.0, the free official practice is one sample paper per level, written by CLEC, the centre behind the new syllabus. You'll find it under HSK3.0 at the top of chinesetest.cn:

"Sample Questions" downloads everything as one ZIP file. We read its file list without downloading it all. Here's what's inside:

Source: the file list of CTI's HSK3.0.zip, last updated 9 September 2026. The papers were compiled in July and August 2026.

Almost all of that is audio. If you only want one level, the Confucius Institute in Barcelona, an official test centre, posts each file on its own:

The answer keys list the answers and model sentences for the short writing items. There's no transcript and no model essay, as with HSK 2.0.

For levels 1 to 6, this is the only free full paper in the new format, so do it properly: timed, in one sitting, with the recording playing straight through.

CTI's online trial shows the computer-based test

If you'll sit the HSK on a computer, CTI's trial lets you try the computer-based test in your browser. It's free, and its screens read like the real thing, down to the exam-room rules.

The menu's "Try HSK 3.0" link offers two addresses; we used the second, with "intl" in its address. Here's what you'll see:

1. A welcome screen, where you pick English or Chinese.
2. A headphone check and a test of your connection.
3. A microphone test, which you can skip.
4. A sign-in form that asks for your name, email, gender and nationality, and the test you want.

The test list covers HSK 1 to 6, HSK 7–9 and the speaking tests for HSK 3 to 6. We stopped at the form, so we can't tell you whether the trial scores you at the end.

Use it in your last two weeks, to get used to typing answers and recording yourself under time.

HSK Mock is official, scored and paid

HSK Mock is the exam's own mock-test platform. It's run by CTI and Wo Hui Mandarin, and it's where CTI's "Do A Mock" button leads.

It added HSK 3.0 papers in January. Every paper is online only, and each one costs money:

Source: HSK Mock's level pages, prices in US dollars, checked 11 October 2026.

Two parts are free. A 15-minute level test covers all four skills, but you need an account to take it. A "Free practice" tab has word flashcards and drills.

What you're paying for is the score: HSK Mock says it marks papers by CTI's own standards. Its FAQ says speaking mocks come back within 48 hours.

If you'll pay for one thing, make it one HSK Mock paper near the end, after the free official paper.

Test centres host more real papers

The University of Manchester's Confucius Institute, an HSK test centre, hosts five real 2013 papers for each level, HSK 1 to 6. Each has its answer key, and all but one from HSK 2 to 6 have their recording:

The page calls the keys "answer sheets", but they're the answers, not a blank form. Recordings play on the university's video site, and HSK 1 has none.

These are HSK 2.0 papers, but they're still good practice. As we show below, their words mostly fit the new lists.

They're also different papers from CTI's samples and from Dig Mandarin's five below; we compared their answer keys. So for the old exam, you have at least 11 free papers per level.

Free sites add papers and instant scores

Several free sites post more papers, and some mark your answers as soon as you finish. These are the ones worth knowing:

Sources: each site's own pages, opened without signing in on 11 October 2026. All use the HSK 2.0 format, apart from HSKExam.net's HSK 7–9 sample.

HSKExam.net shows which sections are free, in green, and which need its paid plan:

Baolingo lets you take a paper as a timed test or practise it untimed, with the answer shown as you go:

Mandarin Zone has the most free HSK 4 papers we found, but it suggests about 50 minutes a paper. The real HSK 4 runs 105:

Dig Mandarin is the simplest: five printable papers per level with their recordings, and nothing to sign up for. Unlike CTI's sample papers, its PDFs include the listening script:

Many of these papers are real past exams, labelled with official codes such as H41001. Mandarin Bean posts the same papers online, section by section, and HSKLord writes its own practice tests.

Check any site's facts against CTI's. One we read gives the HSK pass mark as 120 of 200 at every level; from HSK 3, it's 180 of 300.

Old papers still fit the new word lists

Up to HSK 4, old HSK 2.0 papers use the new lists' words almost as much as the new papers do. We checked by splitting every official sample paper into words and looking each one up.

Here's the share of each paper's words that are on the HSK 3.0 list for its level:

Source: our analysis of CTI's six HSK 2.0 sample papers and CLEC's six HSK 3.0 sample papers, against the 2025 syllabus. Printed text only: the recordings aren't included. How we counted.

At HSK 5 and 6, old papers run harder, because many old HSK 6 words now sit at HSK 7–9.

The catch runs the other way. If you learned only the old word list, about one word in five on the new HSK 2 to 4 papers isn't on it.

So use old papers for skills and pace, and learn your words from a 2025 list. Save the new paper for the format.

Use your mocks in this order

Doing practice tests works. A major review of study techniques rated practice testing as one of only two with high utility, and a 2017 meta-analysis found practice tests beat restudying.

Spread them out rather than saving them all for the last week. Here's how we'd use twelve weeks:

Source: our own plan, built from the tests above. Shift it to fit your weeks.

For HSK 2.0, you have papers to spare. For HSK 3.0, the online trial and HSK Mock's two papers are the only new-format rehearsals left once you've done the sample.

Mark each section separately and keep a list of what you got wrong. Going back over those mistakes is where a mock pays off.

On HSK 2.0, you pass with 60% of the total: 120 of 200 at HSK 1 and 2, and 180 of 300 from HSK 3. On HSK 3.0, nobody can convert a mock into a pass or fail yet, so track your percentage per section and watch it rise.

Free practice for each section

Mocks show you which section to work on. These free tools help you practise it:

• Listening. Replay the official recordings, then try short dialogues at your level. SayMei's listening practice has over 3,500, free with no account.
• Reading. Use the reading sections of past papers for speed. For volume, read graded stories at your level; our guide to graded readers compares the apps.
• Writing. Copy the model sentences from the answer keys, then write your own. Our free HSK writing workbooks follow the HSK 3.0 words. Essays need someone to mark them.
• Speaking. Use the official speaking papers and recordings. Our HSKK guide has a timer that runs each paper with the official timings.
• Vocabulary. Learn from a list that matches your exam. Our free HSK word lists follow the 2025 syllabus, with audio and a CSV for flashcards.

Whatever your weakest section, practise it a little every day between mocks, not just the week before.

Where SayMei fits, and where it doesn't

SayMei doesn't have mock papers. If you need timed papers, use the official ones above.

What we do have is free: a level test that estimates your HSK 3.0 and HSK 2.0 level in about five minutes, the word lists, the workbooks and the listening practice.

Our level test checks words, listening and short sentences. It's an estimate, not a mock, and it doesn't test writing or speaking.

Our lessons help with the part mocks can't mark for you: speaking out loud. After a free trial, SayMei Premium is $5.99 a month for 200 minutes with Mei Lin, our AI teacher.

Our lessons and word lists stop at HSK 6, and we can't predict an HSK 3.0 score. Nobody can until the pass marks are out.

What to do next

• Check your version. Your test date decides whether you need HSK 2.0 or HSK 3.0 papers.
• Download the official paper for your level. It's free, and it's the closest thing to the real exam.
• Do it timed, in one sitting. Play the recording straight through and stop when the time's up.
• Drill your weakest section. Use past papers section by section until your next full mock.
• Practise speaking from day one. From HSK 3, it's part of every booking.

Not sure which level to book? Try our free Chinese level test first.