HSK 7-9 exam format
How long the HSK 7-9 exam takes, what each section contains, and what every task type asks you to do. The structure and timing below are the same ones used to assemble the practice papers on this site.
HSK 3.0 · 175 minutes of timed sections · 91 questions · Listening, Reading, Writing and Translation (written) · scored out of 300, reported as a band
These figures are the HSK 3.0 format, set by the official standard GF0025-2021. Earlier HSK 2.0 papers were structured and timed differently, so figures published for those will not match.
What to expect, section by section
Every HSK 7-9 paper here is assembled to the official HSK 3.0 blueprint: the same sections in the same order, the same task types, the same clock. Open a section below to see every task inside it, so nothing on exam day comes as a surprise.
The full written paper is 91 questions across 4 sections, about 175 minutes, scored out of 300. HSK 7-9 has no pass line: your result comes back as an estimated band (HSK 7, 8 or 9) instead of pass or fail.
Audio drives this whole section: in exam mode each clip plays exactly once, and it never pauses, rewinds or shows a transcript. Practice mode lifts the cap so you can replay freely. The questions are printed, so you read as you listen.
One statement per item, next to the audio or passage it refers to. You decide whether the statement matches what was actually said.
Choose true (对) or false (错).
Marked automatically against the answer key when your paper is scored, at no cost.
Tip: Treat over-claims as false. A statement that goes further than the source, even in the right direction, is not a match.
A question with four options, A to D. The material can be a dialogue, a talk, or a written passage, and several questions often share one longer stimulus.
Click the letter. Questions that share a passage or clip are still scored one by one.
Marked automatically against the answer key when your paper is scored, at no cost.
Tip: Read the question stem before the passage, then go hunting. The strongest wrong options sound true but are never actually supported by the text.
A question with four options, A to D. The material can be a dialogue, a talk, or a written passage, and several questions often share one longer stimulus.
Click the letter. Questions that share a passage or clip are still scored one by one.
Marked automatically against the answer key when your paper is scored, at no cost.
Tip: Read the question stem before the passage, then go hunting. The strongest wrong options sound true but are never actually supported by the text.
No audio here: printed passages, sentences and options against the section clock. The clock is the real opponent, so pacing matters more in Reading than anywhere else on the paper.
A question with four options, A to D. The material can be a dialogue, a talk, or a written passage, and several questions often share one longer stimulus.
Click the letter. Questions that share a passage or clip are still scored one by one.
Marked automatically against the answer key when your paper is scored, at no cost.
Tip: Read the question stem before the passage, then go hunting. The strongest wrong options sound true but are never actually supported by the text.
Paragraph segments presented out of order. Arranged correctly, they read as one coherent text.
Each numbered position takes one segment: answer with its letter.
Marked automatically against the answer key when your paper is scored, at no cost.
Tip: Find the opening segment first. It is the one that names the topic and depends on nothing before it.
A passage followed by questions you answer in your own words, with a strict ten-character limit per answer.
Type a short Chinese answer. The counter under the box tracks the limit.
Marked by the AI examiner when you ask for grading: a band, the specific errors, and a corrected version. These are the points a plan unlocks.
Tip: Answer with the bare fact, not a full sentence. The limit rewards precision, and nothing is earned by framing words.
Everything in this section is produced rather than chosen: characters, sentences or compositions, typed in Chinese. If your device has no Chinese input method, the app's built-in pinyin keyboard is available inside the exam.
A composition task: a topic, a quote, or a set of pictures to write from, with the minimum length in characters printed beside the task.
Type your composition. The character counter tracks the minimum as you write.
Marked by the AI examiner when you ask for grading: a band, the specific errors, and a corrected version. These are the points a plan unlocks.
Tip: Structure earns marks: an opening, a middle, an ending. Reach the minimum length, then stop padding.
A composition task: a topic, a quote, or a set of pictures to write from, with the minimum length in characters printed beside the task.
Type your composition. The character counter tracks the minimum as you write.
Marked by the AI examiner when you ask for grading: a band, the specific errors, and a corrected version. These are the points a plan unlocks.
Tip: Structure earns marks: an opening, a middle, an ending. Reach the minimum length, then stop padding.
A written translation section: you render the source passage into Chinese within the section clock. It is marked on faithfulness and natural Chinese, not on flourish.
A source passage in another language, to be rendered into written Chinese.
Type your translation.
Marked by the AI examiner when you ask for grading: a band, the specific errors, and a corrected version. These are the points a plan unlocks.
Tip: Translate the meaning, not the word order. Finish reading the sentence before you start writing it.
The speaking paper (口语, spoken Chinese) is its own sitting, separate from the written exam, and is part of the With Speaking plan.
The speaking paper is its own sitting, separate from the written exam. Every turn is spoken aloud into your microphone, recorded once and timed per turn like the real oral test. There is no typed fallback: speaking means speaking.
A short practical document, such as a notice or a message, plus a task telling you which information to relay.
Read it, then speak the required information aloud, as if to a real listener.
Marked by the AI examiner when you ask for grading: a band, the specific errors, and a corrected version. These are the points a plan unlocks. Spoken answers also carry a pronunciation score from the speech engine, folded into the mark at a fixed weight.
Tip: The task names exactly what to relay. Everything else costs response time and earns nothing.
An audio passage, followed by a printed question about it.
Answer aloud within the response time.
Marked by the AI examiner when you ask for grading: a band, the specific errors, and a corrected version. These are the points a plan unlocks. Spoken answers also carry a pronunciation score from the speech engine, folded into the mark at a fixed weight.
Tip: Hold on to the numbers and names as you hear them. Questions here usually hang on one such detail.
A topic or statement. You give your opinion on it and support it.
Speak within the response time: your position first, then your reasons.
Marked by the AI examiner when you ask for grading: a band, the specific errors, and a corrected version. These are the points a plan unlocks. Spoken answers also carry a pronunciation score from the speech engine, folded into the mark at a fixed weight.
Tip: One clear position with two reasons beats a balanced essay. This is a speaking test, not a debate.
A passage in another language, to be interpreted aloud into spoken Chinese.
Speak your Chinese version within the response time.
Marked by the AI examiner when you ask for grading: a band, the specific errors, and a corrected version. These are the points a plan unlocks. Spoken answers also carry a pronunciation score from the speech engine, folded into the mark at a fixed weight.
Tip: Stay one clause behind the meaning. Interpreting ideas as units survives pressure; word-by-word does not.
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A full HSK 7-9 mock, assembled to the structure above and timed like the real thing. Your first one is free.
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