17 Proven Strategies for Passing the HSK Chinese Proficiency Exam

The HSK test can be difficult, but if you have the appropriate approach, you can successfully finish it. This blog will cover a few key topics in this guide to assist you succeed as much as possible when you study for the HSK exam.

Here are the top 17 suggestions for acing the Chinese proficiency test.

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Tips for HSK Exam Preparation

1. Have a consistent study schedule.

If you stick to a somewhat consistent learning plan, you’ll make good progress in learning Chinese. On the other hand, if you study sporadically, it will be that much less effective.

Figure out how much time you can commit to studying Chinese on a weekly basis, and find a consistent way to fit that into your daily schedule.

This does not have to be a cemented schedule. If you try one schedule and it feels like too much or too little, you can easily adjust. The key is that you build a habit and maintain consistency in your studying.

2. Listen to Chinese music and watch Chinese television.

Immersion is the best way to learn any language. In addition to reading Chinese texts, I’d also listen to Chinese music and watch Chinese films and TV shows. While subtitled Chinese content on streaming platforms comes in quite handy for simultaneously working on your reading and listening skills, it can be tough to follow when you don’t quite understand every word that’s uttered.

3. Concentrate on the most commonly used words in Chinese.

There’s not really an “official” number for this, but most languages tend to have a list of 1000 words you should know in that language in order to be proficient. I personally suspect that’s winging it (that puts you at about HSK Level 4), but it’s a good start nevertheless.

It’s very important to concentrate on learning these first 1000 words and to learn them well. Once you know those most common words, you will be able to pick up on most things and have an easier time learning more.

4. Try to have fun while learning Chinese.

Most people think that Chinese is a difficult language to learn. What most people don’t realize is that’s only true initially. Once you learn the basics of Chinese, everything gets significantly easier. The key is to make the learning process fun. This probably sounds more psychological than anything else, but it does make a difference.

If you’re looking at committing the time studying for the HSK test purely to prep for the test, you won’t enjoy it much.

By having fun with learning, you will actually improve your score as well. It can start off with something simple, such as finding the joys in a funny tone in Chinese, the strange-looking Chinese guy in the drama or the signature Shanghai dish that was surprisingly delicious.

Try to just find those simple pleasures and things that you enjoy in your journey and the language will come to you naturally.

5. Use a reading-oriented approach.

If you were to learn Chinese from scratch as a beginner, it is recommended to not focus as much on grammar and vocabulary. Sure, you may need to know the basics, but after the fundamentals, switch gradually to a reading-oriented approach.

Using Chinese novels, Chinese readers, Chinese newspapers and other reading materials to really support your study plan.

You might not understand every little thing, but by focusing on reading, you shift to a more immersive learning mindset. This will also improve your vocabulary knowledge more than just focusing on typical vocabulary lists.

6. Aim for general understanding instead of focusing on individual words.

When reading, remember the focus is to understand enough so you know the basics of what’s happening. As long as you know what is generally going on, you don’t need to translate everything word for word. Only look up a word if it’s necessary to understand the rest of the content.

If you prioritize learning words that way, you’ll be building up a very strong foundation to read more challenging texts.  

7. Don’t worry too much about grammar.

Grammar in Chinese is more like understanding the function of specific words, so you can use these as signals to help you understand the overall tone and flow of the text. After that, you can then try to understand the word order to know what “makes sense” and what doesn’t in Chinese.

The HSK Test was designed to test your Chinese proficiency in practical situations, not the complexities of grammar.

Don’t completely ignore grammar, but don’t make that the focus of your studies. I would say that learning “grammar words,” like conjunctions and articles, is important. With these keywords, you can set the foundation for understanding longer texts, and focus on understanding the content instead of getting lost in the grammar.

8. Practice your handwriting.

It goes without saying, but if you write characters so fast that it becomes illegible, you can be sure the examiner won’t be spending their time trying to unravel the mysterious script you write.  Make sure to include some handwriting practice in your study time.

9. Simulate exam conditions when taking mock tests.

When practicing for your exam, you need to focus on two things: answering the questions right and answering the questions fast. You can practice section-specific questions to really get the hang of how questions should be answered and make sure that you really grasp the content.

Once you have the actual understanding of Chinese down, you can move on from just answering questions to adding the time element. I suggest you simulate exam conditions with the specific timing of the real exam and complete your practice papers in those conditions.

For the reading section, especially for the higher levels, speed is all you’re really being tested on. The texts aren’t difficult to understand, but you have to work fast. So it’s important to practice speed reading and time yourself with mock exams.

Tips for Taking the HSK

10. Simply listen during the listening section.

It only seems natural to take notes during this section, right? Personally, I find that if you’re taking notes, you’re not actually listening or you’re not listening well enough to grasp what you’re hearing.

You actually tend to really understand audio better if you focus all of your attention on just listening.

11. Learn to skip questions…temporarily.

As we just covered, time is just important an element as correct answers. There will likely be parts of the exam that you won’t understand. If you take too much time trying to solve one question, you lose out on the possibility of getting many others right.

As a rule of thumb:

• The answers should come almost instantly for the listening section
• You shouldn’t need to spend more than 30 seconds per question for the reading portion
• No more than 20 seconds writing a sentence
• And no more than five minutes on the 100 words

If you find yourself spending more time than what I suggested above on a question, it’s better to skip it. You can always come back to a question that you’ve skipped, but there’s no getting back time you’ve lost to do other questions.

12. Fill in your answer sheet at the end.

Instead of filling in the answer card at the end of every question, I like to do them in bulk after an entire section of questions.  This reduces the risk of error as you will be filling things in all at once instead of looking back and forth between the exam and the answer sheet and getting distracted. Of course, this one is based more on personal preference, but I really believe this method reduces your chances of accidentally filling in the wrong bubble on the answer sheet.

13. Go with your gut.

The answers you put down first are usually going to be your final answer, and chances are that it’s the correct one. All too often, we take a test, fill in an answer and then later go back and change it only to find out that the one you put down first was actually right. So, if you’ve done your preparation, give yourself some credit and trust your gut.  

14. If there’s extra time, double-check your answers.

It may not be a lot, but you’ll likely end up with some time left during your test. Use that time to go back and double-check your answers.

You probably won’t actually change much, but this is where you can really check those questions that you struggled with and hopefully have a better idea of what the answer is.

15. Keep your answers simple!

Whenever there’s a section on composing an answer, don’t overcomplicate it!

Rather than writing everything that comes to mind, take the time to mentally plan what you want to write, then execute. This way, you don’t get caught rambling and you’ll have much more control and confidence.

16. Take advantage of your resources.

You are allowed to bring a watch to your exam. It is recommended that you make good use of it. Don’t let it distract you, but it can be useful to see how much time you have left in a section. Another great resource that you probably didn’t realize you have is your index finger. Use your finger to guide your reading so you stay on track and don’t skip or jumble characters.

17. Listen to the examiner.

At the end of each section of the exam, there will be cues to signal that you’re closing into the end of that section (five minutes before it ends). Try to be done by this signal so you can use that remaining time to transfer answers, double-check or go back to your skipped questions.

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