HSK 5 study guide: the new test, its speaking paper and a 20-week plan

HSK 5 is the level degrees in Chinese aim for

If HSK 4 opens the door to a Chinese-taught degree, HSK 5 is where you're expected to be when you leave. China's education ministry set that line in 2018.

Its quality standard for international students admits students to Chinese-taught programmes at level 4 and expects level 5 by graduation. CTI's guide to the old HSK 5 places HSK 5 at that fifth level, and some selective programmes recommend HSK 5 at entry.

Here's what the rules we read ask for:

Sources: the Ministry of Education's 2018 standard, China Pharmaceutical University's summary of it, Tsinghua's programme page, the China Scholarship Council's 2026–2027 call and Shanghai's work permit guide of 13 August 2026, all read 27 October 2026.

The work permit line is small but real. Shanghai's guide gives up to five points for Chinese, and HSK 5 is the level that earns all five.

So HSK 5 is the certificate that says you can study and work in Chinese. If you're applying somewhere specific, we suggest reading the programme's own page before you book, because selective universities set their own bar.

Your test date decides which HSK 5 you sit

The 13 December sitting is the first to use the new HSK, called HSK 3.0, Chinese Testing International announced. Earlier sittings, such as 7 November, use the old HSK 2.0 paper and its smaller word list.

For the December sitting, CTI takes paper bookings until midnight Beijing time on 16 November, and computer bookings until 3 December. Your centre may close sooner, so look it up today.

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

Expect to book the speaking paper with the written one. For its September pilot, CTI's rules said levels 3 to 6 must be booked together with their speaking paper.

CTI's 13 December notice doesn't repeat that rule. Most centres in our October check of CTI's directory list a level-matched speaking paper for that date, and none list the old HSKK. If your centre lists HSK 5 without one, ask it before you pay.

Under the old system, HSK 5 and HSK 6 candidates shared one speaking test, HSKK Advanced. Now HSK 5 has its own. The pilot rules priced HSK 5 with its speaking paper the same as HSK 5 plus HSKK Advanced, and each centre sets the actual fee.

For example, Hong Kong's CUHK lists HK$700 for HSK 5 and HK$500 for its speaking paper. Our HSK exam guide compares fees and centres in more countries.

CTI hasn't published next year's dates yet.

What's on the HSK 5 test?

HSK 5 checks that you can communicate accurately and appropriately at work and in study, in CLEC's words. CLEC writes the syllabus, and that phrase is how its competency profile sums up the level.

The written paper has 72 questions in three sections. Here's each part as it appears on CLEC's official sample paper, which prints characters only:

• Listening. You hear dialogues and short talks and pick one of four printed answers, 35 questions in two parts.
• Reading, part 1. You fill gaps in short texts, choosing a word or a whole phrase for each gap.
• Reading, part 2. You put the paragraphs of a short text back in order. This task is new at HSK 5.
• Reading, part 3. You read four longer texts, such as a profile of a volunteer barber, and answer three or four questions on each.
• Writing, part 1. You write a story of at least 100 characters from four pictures.
• Writing, part 2. You write an essay of at least 200 characters on a set topic.

The new paper is about a quarter of an hour shorter than the old one. Here's where the time went:

Sources: the covers of CLEC's new HSK 5 sample paper and CTI's old one. The old paper has 100 questions in about 125 minutes, the new one 72 in about 110.

So the new paper trades question count for longer answers. The eight sentence-building questions of the old writing section are gone, and the time goes to two longer essays.

Plan for a long afternoon on test day

On 13 December, plan to spend the afternoon at your centre. The written paper and the speaking paper are separate sessions, with a half-hour gap between them.

CUHK's December timetable starts HSK 5 at two and its speaking paper at twenty past four. CTI's September pilot used the same two times. Here's that afternoon, minute by minute:

Sources: CUHK's 13 December notes, CTI's pilot timetable and the sample papers' own timings. Your centre's times may differ.

That's close to three hours, and the speaking paper comes last, when you're most tired. We suggest you eat before you arrive, bring water, and use the gap to warm up your voice with a quiet retell.

Arrive 30 minutes early, as CTI's rules ask. Latecomers are refused once reading starts, and they aren't let into the speaking test at all.

The speaking paper: retell, tell a story, give your view

The HSK 5 speaking paper has five items in about 23 minutes, and ten of those minutes are preparation. You record your answers through a headset.

It opens with three warm-up questions, such as your name and the last five digits of your admission ticket number. Then come three parts, as CLEC's sample paper sets them out:

Source: CLEC's HSK 5 speaking sample paper and its recording.

We timed the sample recording from its first greeting to its last word. Here's how those 23 minutes unfold:

Source: our silence timing of CLEC's HSK 5 speaking recording. Short instructions between the steps are left out.

The retell is the part to start with. Each sample passage runs about 115 characters in four sentences, and it lasts just over half a minute. At HSK 4 you retell two sentences; here you hold a whole short passage in your head.

The sample paper doesn't print the passages. Here's how the second one opens, as we transcribed it from the recording:

• "When a child tells a story, parents should be good listeners." 当孩子讲故事时，父母应该善于做孩子的听众。Dāng háizi jiǎng gùshi shí, fùmǔ yīnggāi shànyú zuò háizi de tīngzhòng.

The passage then says to act as if you'd never heard the child's story before, and ends with the payoff: the child comes to love reading. A good retell keeps that chain of advice, reason and result. "Parents should listen well, so their child slowly comes to love reading." 父母要做孩子的好听众，这样孩子会慢慢喜欢上阅读。Fùmǔ yào zuò háizi de hǎo tīngzhòng, zhèyàng háizi huì mànmàn xǐhuan shang yuèdú.

You have a minute and a half, so you can't stop at one sentence. Give the situation, what happened and the point, in that order.

For the photo story, the recording we transcribed says you may write an outline, 提纲(tígāng), on the test paper. Note one verb for each photo and a closing line.

The two questions ask for your view. The first sample question asks how the internet, 互联网(hùliánwǎng), has affected your life. The second gives a saying, "never too old to learn", 活到老，学到老 huó dào lǎo, xué dào lǎo, and asks what you think it means.

Two and a half minutes is as long as any answer gets on the HSK 3 to 6 speaking papers. Plan a view, two reasons with an example each, and a one-line ending, and you'll fill it.

Our guide to the HSK speaking test compares the speaking papers at every level and has a practice timer for each task.

Reading asks about 90 characters a minute

The reading section gives you 35 minutes for 35 questions. That's one minute per question, with everything you have to read inside that minute.

We counted every Chinese character a candidate reads in the reading section of both official sample papers. That includes the texts, questions and answer choices, but not the instructions. The new paper has about 3,100 characters, the old one about 4,800.

Divide by the minutes, and here's how the pace compares with HSK 4 and with native adults:

Sources: our count of CLEC's new and CTI's old sample papers, and Brysbaert's 2019 review of reading-rate studies, converted at its own 1.5 characters per word. The exam figures include time to answer.

Two things stood out when we compared them. The jump from HSK 4 is real: you need to read half as fast again. But the new HSK 5 asks for a little less than the old one did, because its 35 minutes carry less text.

The averages hide the hard part. The last three texts on the sample run about 370 characters each, with four questions apiece. At a minute a question, you need to read each text in about two and a half minutes to leave time for its questions.

That's about 150 characters a minute on the long texts. We suggest training for exactly that: time yourself on a 370-character article, and aim to finish it in two and a half minutes with the gist clear.

Writing doubles to 300 characters

The writing section has only two items, but it's where HSK 5 asks the most of you. You have 40 minutes to write at least 300 characters.

In the first item, you see four pictures and write at least 100 characters telling the story. The sample tells a story about Li Ming and friends. In the second, you write at least 200 characters on a topic. The sample topic is something you once tried, and how you felt afterwards.

The old HSK 5 asked for two short essays of about 80 characters each. So the new paper roughly doubles how much you write, in the same 40 minutes.

On paper you write by hand. The syllabus's handwriting list expects 550 characters from memory by HSK 5, and about 1,500 to recognise.

We'd give the topic essay a simple shape: what you tried, what happened, what you learned. The key word here, try, 尝试(chángshì), was an old HSK 6 word and is now on the HSK 5 list. An opening line could be "Last year I tried cooking for myself." 去年我尝试过自己做饭。Qùnián wǒ chángshì guo zìjǐ zuò fàn.

One caveat: CLEC's sample answer key gives no model essay. We'd draft those 200 characters on paper with a timer, because typing speed won't help you on a paper test.

The word list grows to 3,600, and 576 words are new

The new HSK 5 adds 1,600 words, for 3,600 in all. That's almost half as many again as the old HSK 5 asked for.

We matched every word on the new HSK 5 list against the old HSK 2.0 lists, using the same method as our HSK 3 and HSK 4 guides. Just over half were old HSK 5 words. Most of the rest had never been on any HSK list.

Here's where the new HSK 5 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 syllabus numbers 1,600 entries at HSK 5; some share a written form with another entry.

Many of the 576 new words are the everyday Chinese of phones, shops and services. All but four are written with characters that already appeared on the old lists. A few examples:

• "top up", as with a phone or a card, 充值(chōngzhí)
• "upload", 上传(shàngchuán)
• "platform", 平台(píngtái)
• "second-hand", 二手(èrshǒu)
• "book an appointment", 预约(yùyuē)

Another 125 words moved down from the old HSK 6, such as "screen", 屏幕(píngmù), and "innovation", 创新(chuàngxīn). Going the other way, about a quarter of the old HSK 5 words moved up to HSK 6 or beyond, such as "part-time job", 兼职(jiānzhí). A handful left the lists, among them "tai chi", 太极拳(tàijíquán).

That reshuffle matters if you passed the old HSK 5. We counted what you'd already know: about 2,100 words of the new HSK 1 to 5 list, which leaves about 1,450 to learn.

The bigger list buys you more real Chinese. Matched against SUBTLEX-CH, a word count of Chinese film subtitles, the new HSK 1 to 5 words cover about 83% of the words people say on screen. The old list covered about 74%.

So we suggest starting with the words you haven't met. Our HSK 5 word list has all of them with pinyin, English and audio, and marks what changed from HSK 2.0. HSK 3.0 explained covers the changes at every level.

Pass marks for the new HSK 5 aren't out

On the old HSK 5, you pass with 180 of 300 points, CTI's old guide to the level says. Listening, reading and writing count equally, and only the total decides. CTI's own level page lists the 300 points but no pass mark.

For the new paper, nobody can tell you the pass mark yet. On 27 October we found no new score scale in CTI's notices, its pilot rules or the sample papers, and no rule for how speaking counts.

That matters if a university or employer quotes a score. "HSK 5, 180" belongs to the old scale. If you sit the new paper, ask what they will accept.

Until CTI publishes the scale, we suggest marking your practice tests against a margin. Treat 60% as a floor, and keep practising until you clear it comfortably on every section.

How to pass HSK 5 in 20 weeks

Twenty weeks from a solid new HSK 4 is a workable plan if you study most days. It means about 13 new words a day for 18 weeks, with the last two kept for review.

There's no official study time for the new list. CTI's old HSK 5 syllabus expected more than two years of classes for 2,500 words. So plan by words per week, and stretch the plan if your test is further off.

Here's the plan, about six weeks at a time:

The weekly focus is our own plan, not CLEC's.

If you passed the old HSK 5, the plan is about the same length, because you still have about 1,450 words to learn. From the old HSK 4, you have about 2,400 words to learn, so expect closer to seven months.

And 13 December is close. From a solid HSK 4, it would mean over 30 new words a day. For most learners, a sitting next year is the better bet.

Each day, aim for an hour or more. Five habits make it count:

• Learn words in phrases. The gap-fill questions test which word fits a sentence, so learn each word with the words it goes with.
• Retell a passage every day. Play a 30-second clip once, then retell it for a minute and a half. The test gives you one listen and no preparation.
• Time your long reads. A stopwatch on a 370-character article tells you more than any score.
• Write both essays every week. One picture story and one topic essay, by hand and against the clock.
• Speak for the full two and a half minutes. Time your answers, because long turns run dry without a plan.

Practice tests in the new HSK 5 format

Full papers in the new format are still rare, as far as we could find. We suggest the official sample first, and save at least one paper for the final fortnight.

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

Sources: CLEC's sample pack, CTI's trial, HSK Mock's HSK 5 page and our guide to free HSK practice tests.

SayMei's practice test follows the published structure of the new HSK 5: 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.

It includes a speaking paper with the same five tasks and timings. You can play every listening track free on its listening page, without an account. Get the HSK 5 practice test.

Old papers still help with reading speed. One caveat: when we checked CTI's old HSK 5 sample, about 87% of its words were on the new list, so expect some that fell away.

Free resources for each part of the paper

These follow the new HSK 5 list:

• Words. Our HSK 5 word list has every word with pinyin, English and audio, and a CSV for Anki. The HSK 5 vocabulary workbook drills about 150 of them in the phrases they go with.
• Reading. The HSK 5 and 6 workbooks, free with a SayMei account, include a reading book on finding the main idea, following an argument and catching detail traps.
• Writing. The HSK 5 characters page has the 150 characters this level adds to the handwriting list, with stroke order. The HSK 5 writing workbook has every word to trace, and the paraphrasing workbook in the same set practises summaries and opinion pieces.
• Listening. Our listening practice has dialogues graded by HSK level, with audio, pinyin and English you can hide.
• Textbooks. If you'd rather work from a book, our HSK book guide checks which ones follow the new list.

Coming up from HSK 4? Our HSK 4 study guide covers the level below, and the level test takes about five minutes.

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 5, the speaking paper is where it helps most: retelling, describing and holding a view for two and a half minutes.

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 in late October.

It isn't an exam simulator. SayMei has one HSK 5 practice test, it isn't official, and no one can turn its score into a pass or fail yet.

It also won't mark your handwriting or grade your essays against CLEC's rules, because those rules aren't published. At HSK 5 the essays carry real weight, so if you need detailed feedback on them, a human teacher is the better buy.

What to do next

• Check what your programme or employer asks for. Read their own page, and ask how they treat the new scale.
• Pick a realistic date. Count the words you still need, and book a sitting that leaves room for review.
• Take the official sample untimed. It shows the format and which section needs the most work.
• Start the daily retell now. One short passage a day, retold in your own words for the full time.
• Save a full practice test for the end. Take both papers in one sitting, with a timer.

Start today with the words you haven't met on our HSK 5 word list. When HSK 5 is behind you, our HSK 6 study guide covers the next level the same way.