HSK 4: the complete guide — words, exam, textbook and preparation

October 10, 2026 · 8 min read

HSK 4 is the fourth level of the international Chinese proficiency exam. It opens the intermediate stage: Chinese is no longer just for daily life, but for study and work too. Under the new HSK 3.0 syllabus it is 2,000 words; the old one had 1,200. Below: what the level includes, how the exam works, what to prepare with, and how level 4 differs from level 3.

HSK 4: how many words and characters

The HSK 4 vocabulary under the new syllabus is a thousand new words on top of the thousand from the first three levels. Put simply, in one level you learn as much as in the three before it combined. There are 1,096 characters to recognize, 441 of them new. The standard asks you to write fewer by hand than you recognize: roughly 150 per level.

Under the old syllabus, level 4 was 1,200 words. So look at what's behind the number in a title: "HSK 4 3.0" means the level under the new syllabus, and its word list is noticeably longer. More on the switch in the article on HSK 3.0.

What you can do in Chinese at HSK 4

Level 3 is about what's around you: home, the store, getting around. Level 4 steps outside. The topics in our course: feelings and relationships, studies and careers, technology, society, the arts and sport. You can explain why you chose your major, talk about a job interview, argue about what the internet does to people.

A few words of the level — tap to hear them:

• 心情xīnqíngmood
• 礼貌lǐmàopoliteness; polite
• 专业zhuānyèmajor, field of study; professional
• 面试miànshìjob interview; to interview
• 污染wūrǎnto pollute; pollution
• 互联网hùliánwǎngthe internet

What HSK 4 is for

Level 4 is often described as the basic language requirement for studying in China. That's where the demand comes from: it's most often taken by people heading to a Chinese university. But it isn't a pass or a guarantee. Which level and which version of the exam is accepted in your year is set by the university or employer itself — check the requirements on its website well ahead. And keep the timing in mind: HSK results are valid for two years.

HSK 3 vs HSK 4: the difference

In the new syllabus, the line between levels 3 and 4 is the line between stages: 1–3 is everyday communication, 4–6 is study, work and daily life. In numbers it looks like this:

The key row isn't the word count, it's the one about writing. At level 3 one correct sentence is enough; at level 4 you have to connect several thoughts into a text. If you haven't taken level 3 yet, start with the article on HSK 3.

The HSK 4 exam: what's on it

In the new format, going by the official sample papers, the exam has 70 questions and lasts about 85 minutes. There's no pinyin, and multiple-choice questions have four options.

The speaking test is on the same day: HSK 4 comes with the intermediate HSKK. It takes 21 minutes — repeat sentences, describe a picture and answer questions; your answers are recorded, and the pass mark is 60 out of 100.

The passing score for the new-format HSK 4 hasn't been officially announced. The old-format exam takes 1 hour 45 minutes, and passing means 180 out of 300. Test centres aren't switching to the new format all at once, so check which one your session uses. Your centre's schedule and fees are on chinesetest.cn; how registration and the certificate work is in the article on the HSK exam.

If you need the certificate by an application deadline, count backwards: results show up on the portal about a month after the exam, the paper certificate reaches the centre about a month after that, and registration closes well before the exam date — at some centres around two months before. Fees are set by each centre and vary by country.

The HSK 4 textbook

In the most widely used series, HSK Standard Course (HSK 标准教程, Beijing Language and Culture University Press), level 4 is split into two parts for the first time. So "the HSK 4 textbook" is a set of four books: two textbooks and two workbooks. If you buy secondhand, check that the parts and workbooks match.

The series was written for the old format — for 1,200 words. New editions are coming out for HSK 3.0, so check which version of the syllabus a book follows: it says so on the cover and on the copyright page. What else to check before you buy is in the article on HSK textbooks.

How long HSK 4 takes, and how to prepare

In our course, level 4 is 169 lessons, almost twice as many as level 3. At one lesson a day that's about five and a half months. That's the course's pace, not a promise: over a stretch this long there will be breaks, and weeks of nothing but review.

• The hardest part is the volume. You can't learn a thousand words in one push. By the middle of the level the early words start slipping, and without spaced review the new ones land on empty ground.
• A text of 80+ characters. Write short notes from the first weeks: about your day, your plans, something you read. For the exam, the habit of linking sentences matters more than rare words.
• HSK 4 grammar is about connectors. The level's word list has lots of conjunctions: 既然 jìrán — since, now that, 不仅 bùjǐn — not only. Sentences get longer, and words like these hold them together. What each level covers is in the article on Chinese grammar.
• Listen to long recordings. In the listening part one recording can have two questions: it's not enough to get the gist, you have to hold on to the details.

Where to test yourself

Start small: the HSK 4 vocabulary test — 20 questions, three or four minutes, free. It quickly shows which topics on the list have gone soft. Then take a full paper, timed.

During the beta, the other papers and a review of every question are free with a Nomto account. There's no speaking part in the mock test: practice describing pictures and answering questions out loud on your own. And if level 4 is already behind you, look at the next one — HSK 5.