HSK Test in India: The Complete, Definitive Guide for 2023

If you are studying or interested in learning Chinese, you might have heard about the HSK, a Chinese language test you can take in India. But what is the HSK test exactly? How does it work? What can you use it for? And what do you need to know to take the HSK test in India?  

Have no fear if you are confused. In this guide, we’ll walk you through what the HSK is, its levels, formats, structure, and whether or not you’ll need to take it. We’ll cover every detail of the HSK test in India – test centers, dates, fees. At the end of this guide, you should know everything needed to register and prepare for the HSK test in India.

Let’s jump in!

Table of Contents

• General Information
• What Is the HSK?
• Who Should Take the HSK?
• Why Take the HSK?
• HSK Levels & Requirements
• HSK Test Structure & Passing Grade  
• HSK Formats
• HSK Test in India 
• 2022 HSK Test Dates in India 
• HSK Registration Deadline & Results Release
• HSK Test Centers in India
• HSK Test Fees
• HSK Score Validity
• How to Register for the HSK Test
• HSK Test Preparation
• Determine Your HSK Level
• HSK Practice Tests
• HSK Study Plan
• HSK Preparation Courses in India
• HSK Test Day
• Recap: Taking the HSK Test in India

What Is the HSK?

HSK stands for Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (汉语水平考试), which means “Chinese Proficiency Test” in Chinese. As the name suggests, HSK is a standardized test designed for non-native Chinese speakers (foreigners and Chinese ethnic minorities) as a way of certifying their knowledge in Mandarin Chinese. The organizer of HSK is Hanban (汉办), an affiliation of the Ministry of Education of China that’s also in charge of the Confucius Institutes in India and across the globe. HSK scores are primarily used by Chinese universities as part of the admissions process for international students. 

Typically, those who take the HSK want to attend university or graduate school in China. But anyone who wants to assess their proficiency in Chinese or need to demonstrate a mastery of Chinese for professional purposes can take the HSK. Test-takers that pass the HSK test will get an HSK certificate at their corresponding level.

The HSK focuses on how Chinese is used in an academic setting, which is why schools and universities in China use HSK scores for admissions purposes. The reading section in the HSK uses formal, academic language and high-level vocabulary rather than casual or conversational Chinese. 

Who Should Take the HSK? 

The HSK is intended mainly for students looking to attend a university or graduate school program in China. But people can also take the HSK for other purposes. You may take the HSK if you want to:

• attend a university program taught in Chinese in China
• apply for an HSK/Confucius Institute scholarship
• be licensed or certified in a particular field (teacher, translator, interpreter, tour guide…)
• demonstrate your mastery of Chinese for employment purposes
• apply for a work permit/visa to work and live in China
• benchmark your progress in Chinese learning

Any non-native Chinese speakers can take the HSK test. There is no age restriction. But, we recommend that students be at least 7th grade (or 14 years of age) before attempting to take a high-level HSK test (Level 5 or 6). These tests require you to read some difficult passages and be familiar with some sophisticated vocabulary and most students are not exposed to this type of language before the 7th grade. Younger Chinese learners are recommended to take the YCT (Youth Chinese Test) instead.

Not every college or university in China requires incoming international students to take an HSK. Some schools will waive the need for you to take an HSK test if:

• your program is based on English instead of Mandarin
• you take their college admission exam instead (Mandarin is tested along with other subjects)
• you earned a diploma or degree from another Chinese university

Why Take the HSK in India?

Many people in India take the HSK test to further their education in China. Before a Chinese university accepts you into an academic program, the admissions board needs to know that you can handle the course load of a Mandarin-based program: they use the HSK as a standardized metric for your Chinese skills.

To be able to follow a class instructed primarily in Chinese, a fair understanding of the language is needed. Therefore most universities in China require applicants to pass a high-level HSK test such as HSK5 or HSK6 for admission to degree programs.

Some schools may want a little more by providing a minimum cutoff score you must earn on the HSK to be accepted, since they have higher academic standards and require students to have a mastery or near-mastery of Chinese. (We’ll get to HSK levels and scoring in a minute).

You can also apply for scholarships using your HSK test results. The Ministry of Education of China awards scholarships to students who achieve excellent scores on their HSK exam to further their studies in Chinese universities or Confucius Institutes in India.

For professionals, HSK can be used as proof of language competency for job applications to Chinese companies and multinationals. When filling up your resume/CV, you cannot simply claim to speak “good enough” Chinese according to your own estimations. Especially, if the knowledge of Chinese is not just a bonus point but a job requirement (for example, a job description might ask for Indian applicants with “HSK5 or better”). In this case, you want to prove it by demonstrating an HSK certificate that is widely recognized.

Besides, the HSK certificate never expires and will always be a good testament to your Chinese proficiency. Saying it at a job interview will work in your favor and impress your potential employers. Even employers that don’t require Mandarin proficiency can get a more complete picture of you, knowing your strengths.

Even if you’re currently undecided about your career plans, you might still want to think about taking the test, regardless. This will give you some flexibility for your future, whether or not you think you need an HSK certificate right now.

And if you wish to live in China, the HSK will be very handy at the time you apply for a work permit in China. China now implements a work permit scoring system through which every foreigner is graded according to their background, qualifications, and skills. You need to reach at least 60 points overall in that system to be granted the work permit/visa, and depending on the HSK level acquired, an HSK certificate can bring you 1-5 points.

HSK1=1 work permit point
HSK2=2 work permit points
HSK3=3 work permit points
HSK4=4 work permit Points
HSK5 or HSK6= 5 work permit points

(View the official work permit points table)

Outside of the academic and professional realm, the HSK might not seem that important on the surface, but it can still be very useful. It provides an objective assessment of your skills, defining which stage you’re at with your Chinese learning. Plus, tests are useful study techniques to help you improve quicker. When you take the HSK, you have to recall and apply what you have learned. This process greatly improves your chances of remembering information. The HSK test report also makes your future study sessions more productive by showing what you need to work on next.

HSK Levels & Requirements

The HSK tests how good you are at Chinese at 6 levels: HSK1, HSK2, HSK3, HSK4, HSK5, and HSK6. HSK1 is the easiest and HSK6 is the most difficult. At each level, you either pass or don’t pass.

You don’t have to undergo the HSK tests in level order, instead, you can choose any level at will. And you can take the same test as many times as may be necessary for obtaining the desired certificate.

That said, you may want to avoid wasting money and time on the wrong HSK test. So, what HSK level are you now? Which HSK level test should you take? Here’s the official guideline from Hanban:

• HSK1: You can understand and use simple words and phrases
• HSK2: You can communicate simply and directly on daily topics you are familiar with.
• HSK3: You can conduct basic communication in daily life, study and work. You can manage most communication when traveling in China.
• HSK4: You can discuss a relatively wide range of topics in Chinese and can communicate with native Chinese speakers fluently in common situations.
• HSK5: You can read Chinese newspapers and magazines, watch Chinese films and TVs, and can write and deliver a full speech.
• HSK6: You can easily understand what you read and hear, and express yourself smoothly in written and oral Chinese.

*For HSK1 and HSK2 tests, knowledge of Chinese characters is optional because pinyin is provided along with characters on test papers.

The following table gives an overview of HSK requirements on each level in numbers:

There’s no need to be overwhelmed! The HSK is known to be easier than other official language tests, such as the TOEFL exam for English learners or the DELE exam for Spanish ones.

We’ll explain a bit more about the HSK-CEFR correspondence and what your expectations should be when taking the test.

CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) is the international standard established by the Council of Europe to assess language learner’s ability to use 40+ Indo-European languages. Hanban claims that the HSK levels have a one to one correspondence to the CEFR levels: HSK’s level 1-6 to CEFR’s A1 (beginner)-C2 (proficient).

However, there have been lots of disputes over this claim. For instance, the Fachverband Chinesisch in Germany (an organization similar to the Confucius Institute) thinks that the HSK6 is only between B2-C1 levels in the CEFR.

We agree with this.

According to the Council of Europe that established the CEFR standard, a person at C2 level should be able to function in the language to the same ability as an educated native speaker. However, we interviewed many learners who had taken HSK5 or HSK6 as well as native Chinese students and teachers, and they unanimously concluded that the HSK-CEFR correspondence claimed by Hanban is an overestimate.

For starters, knowing 2,500 words is not enough for you to read Chinese newspapers and magazines, and 5,000 words is a low estimate of the vocabulary needed to be considered at an “educated native speaker” level. In fact, the level of Chinese used in Chinese universities is higher than HSK6. (read our report here)

The reason why Hanban made the HSK tests sound more awesome than they really are is simple: to encourage more people to learn Chinese and take the tests! For this, Hanban intentionally made the HSK tests a lot easier than before (the old HSK before 2010 consisted of 11 levels, and the current HSK6 only corresponds to level 8-9 in the old HSK system, where you needed a vocabulary of 10,000+ words to reach level 11).

So, here is our amended and more objective version of HSK-CEFR Correspondence:

HSK1=A1- (newbie)
HSK2=A1+ (basic)
HSK3=A2 (elementary)
HSK4=B1 (low-intermediate)
HSK5=B2- (intermediate)
HSK6=C1- (upper-intermediate)

Don’t be dismayed! Look at it this way: you can get a high-level Chinese proficiency certificate much easier than before! And that’s not bad at all: HSK6 is sufficient for most social, academic, and professional contexts, and if you keep on learning from that point, progressing further to total proficiency in Chinese won’t be too hard.

A single advanced HSK test for levels 7-9 is scheduled to be added to the current HSK system in 2021 or later. Meanwhile, no change will be made to the existing HSK tests for levels 1-6. Read updates on the New HSK here)

HSK Test Structure & Passing Grade  

An HSK test is 35-130 minutes in duration depending on the level.

HSK1 and HSK2 are designed for basic Chinese learners and therefore quite short. The tests consist of only two sections: listening and reading. Each section is broken down into a number of questions (all multiple choices). Questions are presented in both pinyin and characters. There is no writing section.

Each section is scored out of 100. The scores of the two sections are then added together for a final, total score of 200 points, and you need to score at least 120 to pass the tests.

From HSK3 onwards, all the questions are presented only in Chinese characters. The tests consist of three sections: listening, reading (all multiple choices) and writing. The total score is 300 (100 each for listening, reading and writing sections), and you need to score at least 180 to pass the tests.

Here’s a chart that summarizes the test structure, time and scoring of each HSK test level:

* You’ll be given an extra 5 minutes to fill in your personal information.

After you take the test, the test papers are then mailed back (or submitted, if you take it on computer) to Hanban headquarters in Beijing. The test centers that administer the tests do not grade the test papers.

At each level, you either pass or don’t pass. To obtain the corresponding HSK certificate, you just need to reach the passing grade – that’s all that matters.

However, if you intend to use your scores to apply to colleges or universities in China, be sure to always look up the HSK requirements for your specific schools and keep the cutoff score in your head as you study for the HSK. As mentioned, some schools may want a bit more than a passing grade.

HSK Formats in India

There are two different formats of the HSK in India – the internet-based HSK (also known as computer-based HSK) and the paper-based HSK. For both formats, you need to go to a physical HSK test center (though the name “internet-based” may suggest it, there is no way you can take the test on your own computer at home).

That said, the majority of the HSK test centers in India only offer the test in the paper-based format. Only the test centers at Space Computer & Training Academy in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh and Seacom Skill University in Birbhum, West Bengal offer both internet-based HSK and paper-based HSK at the moment.

The two HSK formats are exactly the same in difficulty level, test content and scoring criteria. The only difference is that if you take the internet-based HSK, questions will be presented on a computer screen and you will be required to submit answers through the use of a keyboard and a mouse. 

If you happen to live in Gwalior or Birbhum, then we recommend you to take the internet-based HSK if you are signing up for Level 3-6, as you don’t have to physically write every character in the writing section, which can be hard for some learners. But for those who don’t have the option, there is nothing to worry about. The paper paper-based version also has advantages such as note-taking and section-skipping (read the full comparison of the two formats).

In case you are wondering, universities and employers in China don’t have any preference in which format that applicants take the HSK, and you can crush the test with flying colors in either format.

2022 HSK Test Dates in India

The HSK tests are offered 11 times a year in India, which means you have plenty of dates to choose from, so pick the best date for you and your schedule.

Here are the official HSK test dates for 2022.