HSK 1 study guide: the new test, its 300 words and an eight-week plan

Your test date decides which HSK 1 you sit

The 13 December 2026 sitting is the first to use the new HSK, known as HSK 3.0, Chinese Testing International announced in September. Earlier sittings, such as 7 November, use the old HSK 2.0 paper.

So check the date on your booking before you choose a word list. The old HSK 1 list has 150 words, and the new one has 300.

For 13 December, CTI takes paper bookings until midnight Beijing time on 16 November. So if you want to sit on paper, book by mid-November.

CTI's computer-based cut-off is 3 December, but your centre may close sooner. Most centres we checked stopped taking computer bookings on 27 November.

Results come out on 28 December for the computer test and 15 January on paper, CTI's date service shows.

If December is too soon, wait for next year's dates. CTI hasn't published them yet, and this year's calendar only came out in late December. For fees, test centres and the rules on the day, see our HSK exam guide.

What's on the HSK 1 test?

HSK 1 checks that you can handle simple exchanges about everyday life. That's how CLEC, which writes the syllabus, sums up the level in its competency profile.

So the paper tests only listening and reading, with 40 questions split evenly. On the official sample paper, pinyin sits above every line of Chinese, so you can sound out a word before you can read its characters.

Here's the paper, part by part, as we read it on the sample. Each part has five questions:

• Listening, part 1. You hear a word or short sentence and pick the matching picture from three.
• Listening, part 2. You hear a question or remark and pick the right reply from three printed answers.
• Listening, part 3. You hear short dialogues and match each one to a picture.
• Listening, part 4. You hear a sentence and a question about it, then pick the answer.
• Reading, part 1. You match each sentence to a picture.
• Reading, part 2. You match each question to its reply.
• Reading, part 3. You fill each gap from a bank of six words.
• Reading, part 4. You read a short text and answer a starred question about it.

A starred question asks about the speaker, such as what they want to know. Here's one we wrote in that style:

• "Where's the bookshop?" 书店在哪儿？ Shūdiàn zài nǎr?
• ★ What does the speaker want to know? A place.

The new paper still takes about 40 minutes, but it shares them out differently:

Sources: CTI's HSK 1 page, which still describes the old paper, and the cover of CLEC's HSK 1 sample paper.

So if you practise on an old paper, give reading the full 20 minutes. Old papers also use some different question types, such as true-or-false pictures, so learn the format from the new sample.

The word list doubles, but half is familiar

The new HSK 1 list has 300 words, twice the old 150. If you've studied the old list, though, much of the work is done.

We matched every word on the new list against the old HSK 2.0 lists. Almost half come straight from the old HSK 1, and only four old HSK 1 words left the level.

Here's where the new list's words sat on the old exam:

Source: our count, matching CLEC's 2025 syllabus to CTI's HSK 2.0 lists by written form. The old list printed some forms with 儿(ér) beside the main word, such as "here", 这儿(zhèr), beside "this", 这(zhè), so we count those as old words.

So if you learned the old list, start with the words you haven't met. Our HSK 1 word list shows what changed from HSK 2.0 and lets you mark the words you know.

About a quarter of the list is new to the HSK. Most of it is everyday Chinese that the old list left out:

• "fun", 好玩儿(hǎowánr)
• "cinema", 电影院(diànyǐngyuàn)
• "train", 火车(huǒchē)
• "Chinese character", 汉字(Hànzì)

A few words dropped from much higher levels. "Dumplings", 饺子(jiǎozi), was an HSK 4 word, and "madam", 女士(nǚshì), was HSK 5. "Miss", 小姐(xiǎojiě), went the other way, up to HSK 5.

You'll also need to recognise 246 characters. You don't need to write any yet: the syllabus's first handwriting list covers HSK 1 and 2 together, and HSK 2 is the first level to test it.

One caveat: a list labelled "HSK 3.0" with 500 words at level 1 follows the 2021 Standard, not the exam. HSK 3.0 explained shows how the two lists differ.

Pass marks for the new HSK 1 aren't out

On the old HSK 1, you pass with 120 of 200 points, CTI's HSK 1 page says. Your report shows a listening score, a reading score and a total, and only the total decides.

For the new paper, nobody can tell you the pass mark yet. On 16 October, we found no new score scale in CTI's launch notice, its pilot notice or its HSK 1 page, which still shows the old numbers.

So mark your practice tests against a margin, not a line. Treat the old 60% as a floor, and keep practising until you clear it with room to spare.

Whatever the pass mark turns out to be, your result counts as proof of level for two years from the test date, under CTI's rules.

How to pass HSK 1 in eight weeks

Eight weeks is enough for the new list if you study most days. It works out at about six new words a day, with the last week kept for review.

There's no official study time for the new list. CTI's guide to the old HSK 1 expected a semester of two to three class hours a week, for half as many words. So plan by words per week, and stretch the plan if your test is further off.

We built the plan around words per week. Here it is, two weeks at a time:

The topics are our grouping of the word list, not the syllabus's.

Each day, spend about half an hour: new words and reviews first, then a little listening or reading. Four habits make that time count:

• Learn every word by ear. Half the paper is listening, so play each word's audio and say it out loud.
• Learn question words first. What, 什么(shénme); where, 哪儿(nǎr); how many, 几(jǐ); and who, 谁(shéi) run through the reply and question parts.
• Learn words in families. This, that and which, 这(zhè), 那(nà) and 哪(nǎ), combine with 个(gè), 里(lǐ), 儿(ér) and 些(xiē) into a dozen list words.
• Drill numbers, times and prices. The sample paper has both a price and a clock time, so practise phrases like "half past three", 三点半(sān diǎn bàn).

Free HSK 1 practice tests, and one paid option

There are only a few full papers in the new format, so use them carefully. Save at least one for the last fortnight, when timing matters most.

We checked each provider's own page on 16 October. Here's how they compare:

Sources: CLEC's sample pack, CTI's trial, HSK Mock's HSK 1 page and the Resources tab of CTI's HSK 1 page.

SayMei's practice test follows the published structure of the new HSK 1: the same parts, number of questions and timing, with words from the 2025 syllabus. SayMei wrote every question, so it's a practice test in the new HSK format, not an official paper.

Like the real paper, it prints pinyin over the Chinese. You can play the whole listening section, or one part at a time, on its free listening page, and each recording plays twice.

At the back you'll find a transcript with pinyin and English, and an answer key. Its "Score yourself" box tells you which part to practise next, without predicting a pass. Get the HSK 1 practice test.

HSK Mock is the site that CTI's "Do A Mock" button leads to. For every other free paper, including real papers from past years, see our guide to free HSK practice tests. It found that the old HSK 1 sample's words fit the new list almost as well as the new paper's do.

So do the official sample first, because it's the real format. Keep SayMei's test for week 7, and a fresh paper for the final week.

Free resources that follow the new list

These cover each part of the paper:

• Words. Our HSK 1 word list has all 300 words with pinyin, English and audio, and a CSV for Anki or any flashcard app.
• Reading. The HSK 1 workbooks, free with an account, include a reading practice book of signs, messages and short stories, and a vocabulary recall workbook.
• Listening. Our listening practice has short dialogues you can play at full speed.
• Your level. The level test takes about five minutes and estimates whether HSK 1 is the right level to book.
• Textbooks. If you'd rather work from a book, our HSK book guide checks which ones follow the new list.

If you're going on to HSK 2, which tests handwriting, our HSK 1 writing workbook gets you started on characters.

Where SayMei fits, and where it doesn't

SayMei is an app for learning Mandarin by speaking with Mei Lin, an AI teacher. For HSK 1, its free parts do the most: the word list, the workbooks and the practice test.

Lessons with Mei Lin help you hear and use your words in real exchanges, which is what HSK 1 describes. SayMei Premium costs $5.99 a month for 200 minutes with Mei Lin.

Depending on your country, you start with a free first lesson or a free week that needs a card. We checked our pricing page on 16 October.

It isn't an exam simulator. SayMei has one HSK 1 practice test, it isn't official, and no one can turn its score into a pass or fail yet.

HSK 1 doesn't test speaking either, so lessons go beyond what this exam asks. If you only want the certificate, the free word list, a few timed papers and a stopwatch may be all you need.

What to do next

• Check your test date. It decides whether you study the old list or the new one.
• Book before your centre's deadline. It can fall days before CTI's, so look yours up today.
• Learn the new list by ear. Play each word's audio and say it out loud as you learn it.
• Do a timed paper halfway through. It shows which part needs the most work.
• Save a full practice test for the end. Take it in one sitting, with its listening page and a timer.

Start today with the first words on our HSK 1 word list.