Free HSK 3 Practice Tests Online (100% Authentic Questions and Answers)

FAQs about HSK Level 3 Prep and Practice

If you are not familiar with the HSK 3 test pattern, then we suggest that you browse through this section before taking the practice test to understand how the test is structured and scored, among other things.

Who Should Take the HSK 3 Practice Test(s)?

The HSK 3 practice tests are developed to help people better prepare for the official HSK 3 test, but anyone who wants to measure their improvements on the Chinese learning journey is free to take the practice tests for self-assessment.

To pass the test, you need to be able to read and understand simple Chinese from daily life. To be more precise, you should know about 600 characters, 600 vocabulary words, and 80 grammar patterns. 

Comprised of all previously administered questions, you should be sure that these HSK 3 practice tests are similar to the real exam. So, get the most out of these materials to plan the rest of your studying!

What Is the Overall HSK 3 Test Pattern?

There are technically two different forms of the HSK: internet-based HSK (HSK iBT) and paper-based HSK (HSK PBT). The HSK 3 iBT is an 85-minute, computerized test, whereas the HSK 3 PBT is a 90-minute traditional paper-and-pencil test. The test is comprised of 3 distinct sections: Listening, Reading, and Writing. The test time of the paper-based version is slightly longer to allow you to transfer your answers from the test paper to the answer sheet in the Listening section.  

Though each version of the HSK 3 test is administered in a different format, both tests have the same questions and timing for each of the three sections. You’ll always have 35 minutes on Listening, 30 minutes on Reading, and 15 minutes on Writing.

The following table highlights the overall HSK 3 test pattern, including the order of the sections, how long each section is, and how many questions each section contains:

Section	HSK 3 iBT	HSK 3 PBT	Number of Questions
Added Time	/	5 min (fill in personal info)	/
Listening	35 mins	35 min	40
Added Time	5 mins (break)	5 mins (fill out answer sheet)	/
Reading	30 mins	30 mins	30
Writing	15 mins	15 mins	10 (tasks)
Total	85 mins	90 mins	80

Note: you’ll have a 5-minute break in the middle of the HSK 3 iBT, between the Listening and Reading sections. This break is mandatory, meaning you must take it. You may take other breaks during the test, but you will not be able to pause the timer for these.

In order to get the most realistic HSK 3 test experience, it’s important that you time yourself the same way when you take the practice tests.

What’s on the HSK 3 Test Exactly?

A standard HSK 3 test will have 80 questions in total. Let’s take a closer look at the type of questions and content that are presented in each section to have a better understanding of the exam structure.

1. Listening Section

The first section you’ll have on the HSK 3 test is Listening. With 35 minutes allotted time, it’s the longest section on the HSK 3. Listening tests your Chinese-listening skills. In total, you’ll listen to 40 short dialogues or monologues, each lasting 10 to 30 seconds, and comes with 1 question. You will hear each audio clip twice. The material covers common daily topics.

There are 3 question types on the HSK 3 Listening: choose matching picture, true or false, and multiple choice. Below is a brief introduction to each of these.

• Choose Matching Picture
  
  You’ll listen to 10 short dialogues, each consisting of 2 sentences. You will be presented several pictures on the screen/test paper, and need to select the picture that best matches the content of each dialogue.

• True or False
  
  You’ll listen to 10 monologues. At the end of each monologue, a statement will be read (it’ll also appear on the screen/test paper), and you need to determine whether that statement is true or false based on your understanding of the monologue.  

• Multiple Choice
  
  You’ll listen to 10 short dialogues (2 sentences each), and 10 longer dialogues (4-5 sentences each). At the end of each dialogue, a third person will raise a question (the question won’t appear on the screen/test paper), and you need to select the best answer from the three answer options presented on the screen/test paper.

2. Reading Section

HSK 3 Reading tests your Chinese reading comprehension abilities. This section lasts 30 minutes and contains 30 questions in total. There are 3 question types: pair up sentences, fill in the blanks, and multiple choice. We explain each of them below.

• Pair up Sentences
  
  You’ll encounter 10 dialogues, each consisting of 2 sentences in jumbled order. You need to find the correlation among the sentences, pair them up, and reconstruct the dialogues.

• Fill in the Blanks
  
  There are 10 test items. Each item consists of one or two sentences with one word missing. You’ll be given a list of word options and need to select the best word to fill in the blank.

• Multiple Choice
  
  You’ll read 10 very short passages, each accompanied by 1 question that asks you a specific question about the content. You need to select the best answer out of the three answer options provided.

3. Writing Section 

The last section of the HSK 3 is Writing. It’s the shortest section on the HSK 3 taking only 15 minutes to complete. Writing tests your ability to use correct grammar, and write characters. This section consists of two parts: arrange word order and fill in the blanks. Altogether there are 10 tasks. We explain what they mean below.

• Arrange Word Order
  
  There are 5 tasks. In each task, there are a few words in jumbled order, and you are required to put the words in the correct order to construct a complete sentence.

• Fill in the Blanks
  
  The second part also contains 5 tasks. Each task comes with one sentence with a character missing. You’ll need to write the appropriate character based on the Pinyin provided to fill in the blank.

How Is the HSK 3 Score Calculated?

Each section of the HSK 3 test is scored out of 100 points and then combined for a score out of 300. In other words, the maximum score you can get on the HSK 3 is 300.

You’ll receive your section scores and overall scores in your score report on the HSK website about 2 weeks after you take the official test (or one month if you take the paper-based test). Depending on the overall score, you either pass or fail the test. To pass the HSK 3, you need to reach the overall passing score: 180.

How Much Does It Cost to Take the Official HSK 3 Test?

The HSK 3 test fees will depend on the location of your testing center. That said, you can generally expect to pay around 50 USD every time you take the test. (The price for taking the HSK 3 in China is 350 CNY) Make sure you are ready for the official HSK 3 by taking our free sample practice tests!