HSK preparation: a level-by-level plan for studying on your own

October 9, 2026 · 8 min read

Preparing for the HSK has three parts: the level's vocabulary, the level's grammar, and the skill of answering questions in the exam format. The first two take up almost all your time, and you can cover them on your own, with a course or a textbook. The third needs official sample papers and a clock. Below: a plan by level — how many words, how many months, and what to learn first.

What HSK exam preparation is made of

• The level's words. Each level has its own list: from 300 words at level 1 to 5,400 by the end of level 6. That's the foundation — no exam question can be solved without the words.
• The level's grammar. The patterns that turn those words into sentences. You learn them from examples, not from a list of rules.
• Exam skills. Listening, reading and writing: catch a recording the first time, read a text in the time allowed, write an answer in characters.
• Characters. The new HSK 3.0 standard counts them separately: each level says how many characters you need to recognize when reading and how many you need to write by hand. The first two levels ask for little handwriting: they share one list of 100 characters.

• 考试kǎoshìexam
• 听力tīnglìlistening
• 阅读yuèdúreading
• 汉字HànzìChinese character
• 复习fùxíto review

First decide which syllabus you're preparing for. The new one was published in November 2025, exams under it start in December 2026, and from 2027 it replaces the old one. What exactly changed is in our article on HSK 3.0. Check current dates and rules on the exam's website and with your test centre.

HSK study plan by level: words, lessons, months

The table shows the size of each level under the HSK 3.0 standard and how many lessons it takes in the Nomto course. The last column is how long it takes at one lesson a day; a lesson is about ten minutes.

The 61 lessons of level 1 include an intro section on pinyin and tones. The times add up: from zero to HSK 2 is 100 lessons, about three and a half months; to HSK 4 it's 363 lessons, roughly a year. That's the time for new material. Reviewing old words and doing mock exams come on top, so leave yourself a margin before the exam date.

Preparing for HSK 1 and HSK 2: sound and the first 500 words

At the start your time goes not into words but into pronunciation. Until you can hear the tones apart, listening is guesswork. So the first week is pinyin and tones: every syllable with audio is in the pinyin chart.

• First priority — words by ear. Listen to every new word and repeat it out loud. A word you only know by sight is one you won't recognize in a recording.
• Read characters, not pinyin. Level 1 asks you to recognize 246 characters — get used to them from day one.
• Write a little at a time. The handwriting list at these levels is short; three to five characters a day is enough to get through it.
• Learn grammar as phrases. Word order, questions, negation — one model sentence where you swap the words.

Preparing for HSK 3 and HSK 4: volume and reading

Here the scale changes: level 3 adds 500 words, level 4 another thousand. The main risk is forgetting old words faster than you learn new ones. Without scheduled review, the words of the first levels slip away by exam time.

• First priority — review. Every day, bring back old words first, then take on new ones. Otherwise by the middle of the level you'll be relearning.
• Read connected texts. Single words aren't enough anymore: get used to a paragraph without pinyin and don't stop at every unfamiliar character.
• Tell similar things apart. These levels bring words with close meanings and characters that are easy to confuse. Write such pairs down separately.
• Start doing sample papers early. Not a week before the exam, but once you're halfway through the level: that's how you see what's lagging — listening, reading or writing.

Preparing for HSK 5 and HSK 6: the long haul

Levels 5 and 6 are 3,400 new words and 571 lessons, more than a year and a half at one lesson a day. You don't take on that much in a sprint. The time goes into vocabulary and into getting used to long texts and recordings.

• First priority — rhythm. A short session every day is more reliable than a long one once a week: over this distance, skipped days cost the most.
• Words only in context. Learn each word with a sentence it appears in: at this level a translation alone won't tell similar words apart.
• Add real material. Articles, podcasts, videos in Chinese — alongside the course, not instead of it.
• Write by hand regularly. If your level has a writing section, your hand has to remember the characters without a keyboard's help.

HSK preparation books and HSK 3.0: how to choose

The best-known series is the HSK Standard Course. Whichever edition you pick, first check which standard it follows: textbooks and word lists for the old syllabus cover roughly half of the new level 1. A good prep book has:

• The level's full word list — so you can see what you've covered and what's left.
• Audio for every text and word. A textbook without sound won't prepare you for listening.
• Exam-style tasks — the same question types you'll meet in the real exam.
• The syllabus version — old or HSK 3.0.

A textbook works best with a teacher or a class. If you prepare on your own, you'll also need what a book can't give: answer checking and a review schedule. More on how to choose textbooks in our article on HSK textbooks, and on studying with a teacher — in the article on online Chinese courses.

What Nomto covers in your preparation, and what it doesn't

Nomto is a self-study Chinese course built on the HSK 3.0 levels: six levels, 934 lessons, 5,400 words. It works in the browser on your phone and computer, and Mei, your tutor, explains everything in English.

• The levels' words and grammar, in order. From HSK 1 to HSK 6, no gaps and no wondering what to learn next.
• Sound. Every word and phrase has audio; lessons include a "say it out loud" task with a check.
• Review. The words you've learned come back on a schedule by themselves.
• Characters. Writing worksheets with a stroke-order check.
• Free self-checks. Word lists with audio, from HSK 1 to HSK 6, and mini-tests on them, starting with the HSK 1 test.

What the course doesn't give you: a live teacher — nobody will mark a written answer — or a certificate; only the exam itself gives you that. For practice in the real format there's our HSK mock test with timed listening and reading, and the official sample papers on the exam's website.

Set your timeline by your goal. A week is enough to review words and grammar before an exam. Two months covers HSK 1 at one lesson a day; three and a half months takes you through HSK 1 and HSK 2.

The last two weeks before the exam

• No new words. All your time goes into reviewing what you've covered: the level's list and your own mistakes.
• Do two or three official sample papers against the clock. In full, with no breaks and no dictionary, as in the real exam.
• Go through every mistake. Didn't know the word, didn't catch it, ran out of time — three different causes, each with its own fix.
• Listen every day. Listening fades fastest without practice.
• Go through the handwriting list. By hand, on paper.
• Check the practical details. Date, venue and rules — on the exam's website and with your test centre.