Free HSK practice tests and mock exams, by level (video)
Every free HSK mock test we found, by level: the official HSK 2.0 and HSK 3.0 papers, the online trial, real past papers and free sites, and when to use each.
Chapters
- 0:00Start
- 0:21The short answer
- 0:43A free test for each goal
- 1:17Your test date
- 1:56Official HSK 2.0 papers
- 2:23The HSK 3.0 pack
- 3:09HSK Mock
- 3:42More free papers
- 4:32Old papers, new words
- 5:00Your mock plan
- 5:46Where SayMei fits
- 6:15What to do next
Transcript
Start
The best free HSK mock tests come from the people who write the exam. But here's the catch. The old exam has at least 11 free papers per level. The new one, which starts in December, has just one. From SayMei Guides, by Mei Lin: free HSK practice tests and mock exams, by level.
The short answer
The short answer. Start with the official papers. For the old exam, HSK 2.0, Chinese Testing International gives away a sample paper with its recording and answers for every level. For HSK 3.0, which starts on 13 December 2026, there's one free official paper per level, plus an online trial.
A free test for each goal
Each free test does one job best. For the new exam, the official HSK 3.0 sample papers. For the old exam, CTI's sample paper for your level. CTI is the organisation that runs the HSK. For real past papers with no sign-up, the Manchester Confucius Institute. Want a score the moment you finish? HSKExam.net or Baolingo. And HSK Mock sells scored official mocks, from $3.99 to $11.99 a paper.
Your test date
So which paper do you need? Book a sitting on or before 7 November, and you'll sit HSK 2.0. Book 13 December or later, and it's HSK 3.0. And they 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. The big difference for a mock is the clock. HSK 4 drops from 105 minutes to 85, and 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
For the old exam, CTI posts one sample paper per level, HSK 1 to 6, with its recording, free and with no sign-in. On chinesetest dot cn, open your level and choose Resources. One trap: the orange Do A Mock button on that page isn't free. It leads to a paid platform. Print the paper, play the recording once, and don't pause it. That's how listening runs on the day.
The HSK 3.0 pack
For HSK 3.0, the free official practice is one sample paper per level, from CLEC, the centre behind the new syllabus. It comes as one ZIP file, and it's almost all audio. The papers take 6 megabytes. The recordings take 186. For levels 1 to 6, it's the only free full paper in the new format, so do it properly: timed, in one sitting. Sitting the exam on a computer? CTI's free online trial lets you try the computer-based test in your browser. It asks for your name and email first. We stopped at that form, so we can't tell you whether it scores you. Use it in your last two weeks, to get used to typing answers and recording yourself.
HSK Mock
HSK Mock is the exam's own mock-test platform, run by CTI and Wo Hui Mandarin. Every paper costs money: $3.99 at HSK 1, $8.99 at HSK 4 and $11.99 at HSK 6. Levels 1 to 6 each have two HSK 3.0 papers and ten HSK 2.0 papers. You're paying for the score. If you'll pay for one thing, make it one paper near the end, after the free official one.
More free papers
Want real past papers? The University of Manchester's Confucius Institute hosts five real 2013 papers for each level, with answer keys. Dig Mandarin adds five printable papers per level, with recordings. We compared their answer keys: they're different papers from CTI's samples. So for the old exam, you have at least 11 free papers per level. Some free sites mark you instantly. HSKExam.net has three free papers per level, section by section. Baolingo has ten, with explanations, but needs an account. Mandarin Zone has 19, for HSK 4 only. But it suggests about 50 minutes a paper. The real HSK 4 runs 105. So check any site's facts against CTI's.
Old papers, new words
Are old papers still worth doing? We split every official sample paper into words and looked each one up. On the old HSK 4 paper, 96.1% of the words are on the new list up to HSK 4. On the new paper, 96.6%. At HSK 5 and 6, old papers run harder. So use old papers for skills and pace, learn your words from a 2025 list, and save the new paper for the format.
Your mock plan
Doing practice tests works. A major review of study techniques rated it one of only two techniques with high utility. So spread your mocks out. Over twelve weeks: start with the official paper, timed. Drill weak sections from past papers. Do a full paper at the halfway point. Rehearse with two unused papers in weeks 9 to 11. And in the last week, review your mistakes, with no new papers. Mark each section, and list what you got wrong. On HSK 2.0, you pass with 60%. On HSK 3.0, nobody can turn a mock into a pass or fail yet, because the pass marks haven't been published. So track your percentage per section, and watch it rise.
Where SayMei fits
Where does SayMei fit? We now have free HSK mock tests for HSK 1 to 6: practice tests in the new HSK format, with listening audio, transcripts and an answer key. They're our papers, not official ones, so use them after the official sample. And our lessons help with what mocks can't mark: speaking out loud. What we can't do is predict an HSK 3.0 score. Nobody can, yet.
What to do next
So, what next? Check your version: your test date decides it. Download the official paper for your level. Do it timed, in one sitting. Drill your weakest section with past papers. And practise speaking from day one. From HSK 3, it's part of every booking. You can practise speaking with Mei Lin, SayMei's teacher, in a short spoken lesson at your level. The full guide, with the test finder and every source, is on the page at saymei dot app.