# HSK 5 Course Book: 12 Lessons for the New HSK 5

You start a new job, win over a client, see a TCM doctor and plan a business trip to Chengdu. For learners who have finished HSK 4 and read characters comfortably.

Source: https://www.saymei.app/resources/downloads/hsk-5-course-book

## At a glance

- Level: HSK 5 (new HSK)
- Format: Course book · PDF · 130 pages · US Letter (prints on A4)
- Price: Free · free with a saymei account · updated Oct 27, 2026

## Download

Free with a SayMei account, on the workbook's page: https://www.saymei.app/resources/downloads/hsk-5-course-book. SayMei emails a copy too.

## A line from the workbook

现在，我能用汉语表达自己的观点了！ (Xiànzài, wǒ néng yòng Hànyǔ biǎodá zìjǐ de guāndiǎn le!) — Now I can express my own views in Chinese!

## By the end you can

- Introduce yourself at a new job. Talk about your role and background, say how long something has been true with 自从……以来, and say how people see someone with 把……看作. 自从来到这家公司以来，我每天都很忙。 (Zìcóng láidào zhè jiā gōngsī yǐlái, wǒ měi tiān dōu hěn máng.): Ever since I came to this company, I've been busy every day.
- Run a project and win over a client. Report on meetings and results with 一旦……就 and 从而, then talk products and sales, holding firm with 哪怕……也 and giving the deciding reason with 毕竟. 哪怕价格高一点，客户也愿意买。 (Nǎpà jiàgé gāo yìdiǎn, kèhù yě yuànyì mǎi.): Even if the price is a bit higher, the client is willing to buy.
- Talk about money, banks and budgets. Use the words for banks, prices and everyday money, plan for the worst with 万一, and say something is hard to do with 难以. 多带一些现金吧，万一手机没电了呢？ (Duō dài yìxiē xiànjīn ba, wànyī shǒujī méi diàn le ne?): Take some extra cash. What if your phone runs out of battery?
- Discuss city life and the environment. Report a problem at home, say what would have happened with 要不是……就……, note a surprising result with 反而, and explain what a fact means with 意味着. 气温上升意味着冰会越来越少。 (Qìwēn shàngshēng yìwèizhe bīng huì yuèláiyuè shǎo.): Rising temperatures mean there will be less and less ice.
- Talk about health, relationships and feelings. See a doctor, give advice with 尽量 and 尽快, say something is simply too much with 简直, and tell 居然 from 果然. 我头疼得简直受不了。 (Wǒ tóuténg de jiǎnzhí shòu bu liǎo.): My head hurts so much I simply can't stand it.
- Explain traditions and follow the news. Say what a festival centres on with 以……为……, read the written passive 为……所……, pass on news with 据 and 据说, and soften a judgement with 似乎. 这个节日以家庭为中心。 (Zhège jiérì yǐ jiātíng wéi zhōngxīn.): This festival centres on the family.
- Plan a work trip and give a short talk. Book a business trip, say what's about to happen with 即将, describe a busy routine with 不是……就是……, name the key point with 在于 and sum up with 总之. 成功的关键在于坚持。 (Chénggōng de guānjiàn zàiyú jiānchí.): The key to success lies in keeping at it.
- Check yourself and learn all 1,600 HSK 5 words. Three reviews with a roleplay, exam-style questions and a can-do list, a page of formal connectors sorted by the job they do, a list of all 1,600 new HSK 5 words by lesson, and an answer key.

## What's inside

- Lesson 1: Dialogue: First Day at the Office · Words: People and Jobs · More Words: Your Role and Background · Grammar: Ever Since: 自从……以来 · Grammar: Regarding A as B: 把……看作 · Read: Lin Hao's First Week · Practice: Practice: A New Job
- Lesson 2: Dialogue: The Project Meeting · Words: Projects and Teams · More Words: Meetings and Results · Grammar: Once It Happens: 一旦……就 · Grammar: And So: 从而 and 因而 · Read: Stage One · Practice: Practice: Teamwork
- Lesson 3: Dialogue: Meeting the Client · Words: Products and Sales · More Words: Marketing and Business · Grammar: Even If: 哪怕……也 · Grammar: After All: 毕竟 · Read: The Big Contract · Practice: Practice: Selling
- Lesson 4: Dialogue: The Phone Call · Words: Banks and Business Money · More Words: Prices and Everyday Money · Grammar: Just in Case: 万一 · Grammar: Hard To: 难以 + Verb · Read: Xiaoyu's Budget · Practice: Practice: Money Matters
- Review A: Roleplay: Work and Money · Practice: Review A: Test Yourself · Can-Do: What I Can Do Now
- Lesson 5: Dialogue: Trouble Outside the Flat · Words: Home and Neighbourhood · More Words: On the Road · Grammar: If It Weren't for: 要不是……就…… · Grammar: The Opposite Happened: 反而 · Read: A Meeting in the Square · Practice: Practice: City Life
- Lesson 6: Dialogue: Environment Week · Words: Protecting the Environment · More Words: Weather and the Land · Grammar: Just as They Said: 正如……所说 · Grammar: What It Means: 意味着 · Read: Saving the Lake · Practice: Practice: Our Environment
- Lesson 7: Dialogue: Flu After Late Nights · Words: At the Hospital · More Words: Sleep, Food and Mood · Grammar: Do Your Best: 尽量 and 尽快 · Grammar: Simply Too Much: 简直 · Read: A Visit to the TCM Doctor · Practice: Practice: Staying Well
- Lesson 8: Dialogue: A Forgotten Anniversary · Words: Getting Along · More Words: Family and Character · Grammar: Surprise or as Expected: 居然 vs 果然 · Grammar: As If: 仿佛 and 好像……似的 · Read: The Surprise Dinner · Practice: Practice: People and Feelings
- Review B: Roleplay: People and Places · Practice: Mixed Practice for Lessons 5–8 · Can-Do: What I Can Do Now
- Lesson 9: Dialogue: New Year's Eve at Auntie Zhao's · Words: Tradition and the Arts · More Words: Museums, Myths and New Year · Grammar: Taking X as Y: 以……为…… · Grammar: Known to Many: 为……所…… · Read: The Year of the Dragon Show · Practice: Practice: Culture and Custom
- Lesson 10: Dialogue: Xiaoyu in the News · Words: News and the Internet · More Words: Online, Films and Sport · Grammar: Reported News: 据 and 据说 · Grammar: It Seems: 似乎 · Read: The Final Everyone Watched · Practice: Practice: In the News
- Lesson 11: Dialogue: The Train to Chengdu · Words: Planning a Business Trip · More Words: Trains, Streets and Food · Grammar: About to Happen: 即将 · Grammar: Either This or That: 不是……就是…… · Read: Three Days in Chengdu · Practice: Practice: On the Road
- Lesson 12: Dialogue: Getting Ready to Present · Words: Research and Invention · More Words: Systems, Experts and the Future · Grammar: Where the Key Lies: 在于 · Grammar: To Sum Up: 总之 · Read: Two Talks in One Day · Practice: Practice: Science Today
- Review C: Roleplay: Looking Back on the Year · Practice: Review C: Test Yourself · Can-Do: Ready for HSK 5
- Connectors: Formal Connectors at a Glance
- Word list: All 1,600 New HSK 5 Words by Lesson

## How to use this book

Twelve lessons of seven pages, about 45 minutes each, with a three-page review after every four lessons. Three lessons a week takes you through the book in about five weeks.

- Every lesson: Seven pages in order. A dialogue, two word pages, two grammar pages, a reading and a practice page. Read the dialogue aloud before you start the words.
- After each lesson: Write, then check. Do the practice page, including its speaking task, then mark it with the answer key at the back.
- Lessons 1–4: Work and money. A first day at the office, a project meeting, a client and a phone call about money. Then Review A.
- Lessons 5–8: People and places. Trouble outside the flat, environment week, flu after late nights and a forgotten anniversary. Then Review B.
- Lessons 9–12: Culture, news and the future. New Year's Eve at Auntie Zhao's, Xiaoyu in the news, a train to Chengdu and getting ready to present. Then Review C.
- Before the exam: Words and connectors. Work through the 1,600-word list and the formal connectors page, and go back to any lesson you couldn't tick on a can-do list.

## Who it's for

Upper-intermediate learners who have finished HSK 4 and are working toward HSK 5 on the new HSK 3.0 syllabus (2025), on their own, in a class or with a tutor.

Before you start: Know the HSK 4 words and read characters comfortably. Dialogues, readings and exercises are in characters without pinyin; pinyin is on the word pages, the grammar cards and the examples.

## What's in each lesson?

Seven pages: a dialogue, two word pages, two grammar pages, a reading and a practice page with a speaking task. The 12 lessons go from a first day at the office and a big contract to environment week, New Year's Eve at Auntie Zhao's and getting ready to present. A three-page review after every four lessons has a roleplay, exam-style questions and a can-do list.

## Is there pinyin?

Only where you need it. Dialogues, readings and exercises are in characters, as in the exam, while the word pages, grammar cards and examples have pinyin and English.

## What should I know before I start?

The HSK 4 words, and you should read characters comfortably. If you're still building up to that, the HSK 4 Course Book covers the level before in 12 lessons.

## How long does it take?

About 45 minutes a lesson. Three lessons a week takes you through the book in about five weeks. Before the exam, go through the word list and the page of formal connectors, sorted by the job they do.

## Is there audio?

No. Read each dialogue aloud before you start the words. For listening in the exam format, the HSK 5 mock tests come with free audio.

## Is there a workbook to go with it?

Yes. The HSK 5 Workbook has word, grammar, reading and writing exercises for each of the same 12 lessons, with its own answer key.

## Do I need a SayMei account?

Yes, to download the PDF, and the account is free: sign up with Google, Apple or your email address. With it we email you a copy of the workbook, keep every workbook you download on your account on all your devices, save your place in the free online practice, and you can practise speaking with Mei Lin, SayMei's AI tutor.

## How do I print it?

The PDF is US Letter size. On A4 paper, choose "Fit to page" (or "Scale to fit") in the print dialog so nothing is cut off. Print the whole workbook or only the pages you need; colour looks best, and black and white works too.

Version 2026-10, updated Oct 27, 2026.