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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 · 180 minutes of timed sections · 91 questions · Listening, Reading, Writing and Translation (written) · scored out of 300, reported as a band

Compared with HSK 6, the prescribed vocabulary rises by 5,000 words to 11,000, the CEFR band moves from C1 to C2, a translation (written) section is added. On the paper itself, true or false, sentence ordering and short answer appear for the first time, sentence gap-fill drops out.

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.

1 free mock

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 180 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.

听力 · Listening40 items · ~30 min · 90 pts · audio ×1

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.

Part 1: True or false (判断对错)Items 1-10 · 10 questions

A spoken passage, usually one voice, followed by a run of printed statements. You decide whether each one matches what was actually said, and several statements share each passage.

Choose true (对) or false (错) for each statement.

Marked automatically against the answer key when your paper is scored, at no cost.

Tip: Treat an over-claim as false. A statement that goes further than the passage, even in the right direction, is not a match.

Part 2: Multiple choiceItems 11-22 · 12 questions

An extended interview or discussion between two speakers, several hundred characters long. Each one carries about six questions, and some ask you to type a short missing phrase instead of picking a letter.

Click a letter for the multiple-choice questions, and type the missing phrase where one is asked for.

Marked automatically against the answer key when your paper is scored, at no cost.

Tip: The interviewer's questions signal each new topic. Use them to keep your place in a passage this long.

Part 3: Multiple choiceItems 23-40 · 18 questions

Further long passages, mostly discussions between speakers, each carrying about six questions. As in the previous part, some questions want a typed phrase rather than a letter.

Click a letter, or type the missing phrase where the question asks for one.

Marked automatically against the answer key when your paper is scored, at no cost.

Tip: The typed questions take the words used in the audio. Write what was said rather than a paraphrase of it.

阅读 · Reading47 items · ~60 min · 110 pts

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.

Part 1: Multiple choiceItems 41-68 · 28 questions

Printed texts running to several hundred characters, each carrying around seven questions. Every question in this part belongs to a shared text.

Click the letter. Each question is scored on its own.

Marked automatically against the answer key when your paper is scored, at no cost.

Tip: Answer as you read rather than reading each text through first. At this length a second pass is time you do not have.

Part 2: Sentence ordering (排序)Items 69-73 · 5 questions

A set of paragraph segments labelled A to G, printed out of order, which together form one continuous text. There are more segments here than at HSK 5.

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: Fix the opening and closing segments first. The middle is where the connectors do the work, and it is easier once both ends are pinned.

Part 3: Short answer (阅读简答)Items 74-87 · 14 questions

A long printed text followed by questions you answer in your own words, with a strict limit of ten characters per answer. There are no options to choose from.

Type a short Chinese answer. The counter under the box tracks the limit.

Tip: Answer with the bare fact and nothing else. Framing words such as 我认为, meaning I think, eat the character limit and earn nothing.

写作 · Writing2 items · ~55 min · 60 pts

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.

Part 1: Short composition (写作)Items 88 · 1 question

A chart, or a set of survey figures, and two jobs: describe what the numbers do, then explain why. The minimum length is printed with the task.

Type your response. The counter under the box tracks the minimum as you write.

Tip: Do the description before the analysis and keep them apart. Answers that mix the two usually leave one of the two jobs half done.

Part 2: Short composition (写作)Items 89 · 1 question

A quotation or a claim to respond to, with no title supplied: you write your own. The minimum length is printed with the task.

Type your essay. The counter tracks the minimum as you write.

Tip: Your title is part of the answer. One that states your reading of the quotation tells the reader your position before the first paragraph does.

翻译（笔译） · Translation (written)2 items · ~35 min · 40 pts

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.

Part 1: Translation (翻译)Items 90-91 · 2 questions

A passage in another language, to be rendered into written Chinese within the section clock.

Type your translation.

Tip: Translate the meaning rather than the word order. Finish reading each sentence before you start writing it.

口语与口译 · Speaking & Interpreting (spoken)7 items · ~13 min · 100 pts

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.

Part 1: Read and speak (应用读说)Items 94 · 1 question · ~180s per turn

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 your paper is graded: a band, the specific errors, and a corrected version. These are the points a plan unlocks, and your first free paper gets them once with a confirmed email. 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.

Part 2: Listen and answer (听材料回答问题)Items 95-97 · 3 questions · ~120s per turn

An audio passage, followed by a printed question about it.

Answer aloud within the response time.

Tip: Hold on to the numbers and names as you hear them. Questions here usually hang on one such detail.

Part 3: Express an opinion (观点表达)Items 98 · 1 question · ~180s per turn

A topic or statement. You give your opinion on it and support it.

Speak within the response time: your position first, then your reasons.

Tip: One clear position with two reasons beats a balanced essay. This is a speaking test, not a debate.

Part 4: Interpret (口译)Items 92-93 · 2 questions · ~120s per turn

A passage in another language, to be interpreted aloud into spoken Chinese.

Speak your Chinese version within the response time.

Tip: Stay one clause behind the meaning. Interpreting ideas as units survives pressure; word-by-word does not.

HSK 7-9 questions, answered

How long is the HSK 7-9 exam?

The HSK 7-9 written paper runs 180 minutes of timed sections under the HSK 3.0 format. The standard publishes no separate written-only total for this band, so no overall figure is claimed here.

What is on the HSK 7-9 exam?

The HSK 7-9 written paper has 4 sections: Listening, Reading, Writing and Translation (written). Between them they ask 91 questions worth 300 points in total. Every section is timed separately and the listening audio plays once.

What score do you need for HSK 7, 8 or 9?

HSK 7-9 does not have a pass mark. The paper is scored out of 300 and reports an estimated band of 7, 8 or 9 instead, so the question is which band you land in rather than whether you passed.

How many words do you need for HSK 7-9?

HSK 7-9 prescribes 11,000 words. That is the vocabulary the HSK 3.0 standard sets for this level, and the paper is written within it.

How much do you have to write for HSK 7-9?

The official standard expects practical writing, expositions, argumentations and specialized papers of considerable length. It asks for practical forms of writing, expositions, argumentations and specialized papers, judged on clear viewpoints, largely clear structure, coherent language, correct format and appropriate expression, using a variety of rhetorical devices correctly. That is GF0025-2021, the standard the exam is built against.

Is HSK 7-9 hard?

HSK 7-9 sits at C2 on the CEFR scale. It asks for discourse-level Chinese across 91 questions in 180 minutes, and reports a band rather than a pass.

See real HSK 7-9 questions

Free HSK 7-9 practice questions with the answer to each one, section by section. No account needed.

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