HSK 5: the complete guide — words, exam, textbook and preparation
HSK 5 is the fifth level of the international Chinese proficiency exam, the second to last of the familiar six. Under the new HSK 3.0 syllabus you need 3,600 words by the end of it: 2,000 you bring from level 4, and 1,600 are new. Under the old syllabus HSK 5 had 2,500 words. Below: what this level is, how the exam works, which textbook people prepare with and where to test yourself.
How many words and characters are in HSK 5
"How many words is HSK 5?" has two answers, and both are right: it depends on the version of the syllabus. The switch is happening now — test centres move to the new-format exam at different times, and until then they run the old one.
| What we count | HSK 5 3.0 | Old HSK 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Words in total | 3,600 | 2,500 |
| Of them, new | 1,600 | 1,300 |
| Characters to recognize | 1,527 (431 new) | not listed here |
Notice the ratio: the level adds 1,600 words but only 431 new characters. Most HSK 5 words are built from characters you've already seen. The standard asks you to write fewer by hand than you recognize: about 150 per level. How the other levels changed is in the article on HSK 3.0, and the full HSK 5 word list by topic is on the HSK 5 words page.
What you can do at HSK 5
The new syllabus puts levels 4 to 6 in the "study, work and daily life" stage. HSK 5 Chinese is no longer about yourself and your weekend plans — it's the language of the news, business email and popular science. The topics of the level in the course: business and the economy, science and technology, society and the news, Chinese traditions and history. Here is how words from there sound:
- 资金zījīnfunds, capital
- 创新chuàngxīninnovation; to innovate
- 观点guāndiǎnpoint of view
- 采访cǎifǎngto interview (as a reporter)
- 传统chuántǒngtradition; traditional
- 悠久yōujiǔlong-standing, age-old
Notice there are no everyday words here at all. Level 5 also brings in literary vocabulary — words you hardly ever hear in conversation but meet in writing all the time. That same is said of a history or a culture, never of the line at the grocery store.
What the certificate doesn't promise: on its own it guarantees neither admission nor a job. The level you need is set by the university or employer — check with them.
The HSK 5 exam: what's on it
In the new format, the HSK 5 written paper is 72 questions and about 110 minutes. The old exam took 2 hours 5 minutes. The parts below follow the official sample papers on chinesetest.cn.
| Part | Questions | Time | What's inside |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listening | 35 | about 25 min | long dialogues and monologues, 2–3 questions each |
| Reading | 35 | 35 min | texts with gaps, putting paragraphs in order, four long texts |
| Writing | 2 | 40 min | a story from four pictures and an essay |
The listening recordings are long: a dialogue or a monologue, then two or three questions right after it. Reading has three kinds of tasks. In the first you fill gaps in a text, choosing a word or phrase out of four. In the second you put paragraphs in order — what matters here is seeing the connectors and the logic of the text, not single words. In the third you read four long texts and answer questions on them.
Writing is only two tasks, but you get 40 minutes for them. The first is a story based on four pictures, at least 100 characters. The second is an essay of 200 characters or more. There are no answer options here: you write the whole text yourself.
Since 2025, the speaking test is required with HSK 5: the advanced HSKK, on the same day. It lasts 24 minutes — retelling what you heard, reading aloud and answering questions; your answers are recorded. The HSKK pass mark is 60 out of 100.
Fees are set by each test centre and vary by country, so check them with yours. Your result appears on chinesetest.cn about a month after the exam and is valid for two years. How to register and where the exam is held is in the article on the HSK exam.
The HSK 5 textbook: what people prepare with
The most widely used series for the old format is HSK Standard Course (HSK 标准教程) from Beijing Language and Culture University Press. It has a textbook and a workbook for each level, and level 5 is split into two parts — so the HSK 5 textbook is really two books.
What matters most when you choose is the syllabus version. An edition for the old format is built for 2,500 words, while the new exam expects 3,600 — a gap of more than a thousand words. New editions are coming out for HSK 3.0, so look at the cover and the copyright page: they say which version of the syllabus the book follows. More in the article on HSK textbooks.
How long HSK 5 takes, and how to prepare
In our course, level 5 is 269 lessons. At one lesson a day that's roughly nine months. That's the course's pace, not a promise: everyone moves at their own speed. Count from a finished level 4 — without its 2,000 words, level 5 won't hold.
What's hardest at this level:
- Keeping your vocabulary. 1,600 new words — more than at any level before; level 4 had a thousand. Without regular review, old words wash out faster than new ones come in.
- Reading at speed. 35 questions in 35 minutes, four long texts among them. Reading syllable by syllable won't work anymore: you have to take in a whole paragraph's meaning at once.
- Writing on your own. An essay of 200+ characters is the first exam task of that size. Practice it ahead of time: short texts on the level's topics, with feedback.
Then there's grammar: level 5 has many literary connectors and set structures that hold a long sentence together. Without them you can't put paragraphs in order or write a coherent text. What each level covers is in the article on Chinese grammar.
A general preparation plan is in the article on preparing for the HSK. The level 5 lessons, following the new syllabus, are in the course: during the beta it's free with a Nomto account, and Mei explains the grammar in English.
HSK 5 practice tests: where to test yourself
Start with a quick vocabulary check. The HSK 5 vocabulary test is 20 questions in three or four minutes: by ear, by character and by meaning. It's free and shows how firmly the level's words have stuck.
Then take the HSK 5 mock test in the new exam format. The first paper is free with no sign-up; during the beta, the second paper and the review of your mistakes are free with a Nomto account. AI checks the writing in the mock test: it gives a score and goes through your mistakes. Treat that as a guide, not an examiner's mark. There is no speaking part in the mock test.
Once level 5 stops feeling scary, see what's next: HSK 6 — another 1,800 words and longer texts.
HSK 5 mock test
A paper in the new exam format: timed listening, reading, writing and a score for each part. The first paper is free.
Take the test
