Taking the HSK? Already taken it? Report in here!

[Talvi]

Hi folks !

 

I took HSK 3 in May, and got the following results :

Listening : 83

Reading :83

Writing : 88

Overall : 254

I did a bit poorer than when taking mock test, but I can't say I'm not happy, especially for the listening part, as it is my weak point.

I'm planning to take HSK 4 on March. How much time did you guys spent in prep between HSK 3 and HSK 4 ?

[edelweis]

@Talvi

I passed HSK3 in May 2010, one year after I started to learn Mandarin.

I passed HSK4 in June 2012.

I was mostly self-studying at the time, although I did take a weekly class for a while.

Are you enrolled in a course?

[Talvi]

@edelweis I am, but it's not a specific course for HSK, although I've learned several HSK 4 words and patterns since September.

I'm pretty good at writing, because I started Chinese when I was a child (but learning has been erratic since then). However, it's the listening part I'm the most afraid of, and the grammar points as well. 

[TCcookie]

I took the HSK 6, Internet-based, in Shenyang in 2014. Results 如下：

Listening - 91

Reading - 89

Writing - 84

Total - 264

 

Sadly, I moved right after and never got my certificate. I'm planning on taking it again locally (Arizona, USA) soon, but I'm a little nervous because apparently the only test center here does not offer the Internet-based test, so I'll have to do the paper version, and I do not hand write very well. Are any references allowed? I feel like a 《新华字典》 wouldn't give any sort of advantage because you'd have to already know what you were looking up and could just be a resource for remembering how to hand-write.

 

Anyone have any recent tips or experiences with the paper HSK 6? I feel like if I have to take it with no 字典, at least it's motivation to do some work on getting my handwriting back up to snuff a little before December rolls around.

[mungouk]

In December I took HSK 2 here in Singapore after studying 9 months from scratch, having lessons on Skype/Zoom with a great teacher I found on italki.com.  I didn't bother with taking HSK 1 although I did a few mock tests just to check it out.

 

听力: 92

阅读: 99

total 191

 

I did mock tests, a couple per week, in the 3 weeks before the test.  This helped me a lot — knowing the format and how the questions are phrased.

I also drilled vocabulary using a couple of tests on memrise.com, including this one that has most of the words from HSK 1 + 2, testing on audio only.  I found this really useful, and hearing the pronunciations over and over helped me with remembering tones as well.  I find memrise a bit patchy (some lists/translations aren't great), and don't like the app at all, so I just use the web interface.

 

My overall score on the day was higher than any of the mock test scores.  I was surprised to score so highly on the listening because that's the one area I really struggle with in my lessons. 

 

I had been using Skritter on my phone to learn characters/words, but put that on hold because I couldn't keep up the pace regarding how much vocab I needed to learn.  I'm considering going back and starting again with HSK1-3 lists; I'm assuming it will be easier and faster to review/learn writing the chars and recalling the tones once I can recognise the characters anyway.  

 

At my teacher's suggestion we were using Integrated Chinese Level 1 Part 1 as a textbook, which has some vocab up to HSK 3 in it.   Now we've moved onto using the HSK 3 Standard Course textbook and workbook.  Although the content is a bit more stiff than Integrated Chinese (which has a more narrative kind of structure), I like how the Standard Course chapters are quite short and introduce 10-20 new words at a time alongside the grammar points.  I think the answers to the workbook exercises are in the teacher's book, but I bought a PDF for USD 5 which includes them and the transcripts of the audio dialogues.

 

I have the audio of the Standard Course dialogues on my phone and having been listening to them on my commute, for the current chapter I'm working on with my teacher and the next one or two. It's annoying sometimes that the "new words" in each recording don't have English translations, although I suppose that's an opportunity for active recall.  I find the speed of the dialogues incredibly fast and will be looking for an Android audio player that lets you slow down the playback.

 

When I'm travelling I've been using the flashcards in Pleco on my phone to drill vocab from time to time; having flashcards for the HSK levels built-in is useful and the dictionary is good.  I also use the dictionary at mdbg.net when I come across some new characters I want to understand better... I love the decomposition feature (the icon with the scissors) that pulls a character apart into radicals and strokes. 

 

I came across a Udemy HSK 3 video course by "Chinese Zero to Hero" in a reddit discussion which also includes a voucher to take it for free.  It follows the same structure as the Standard Course book.  The dialogues/scenarios are a bit ropey but I quite like the rest... the videos are all very bite-sized and I like the way they review vocabulary and grammar points.  Running through the relevant section before I do each chapter with my teacher has really helped my learning—a bit like a "flipped classroom" approach.  I think these guys have also been working on courses for HSK 1 and 2 recently.

 

I don't have a ChinesePod account, but I also dip into the free ChinesePod videos on youtube from time to time; they're entertaining and well produced.  I'm not sure how they relate to HSK levels.  The one on the "three de's" (的 － 得 － 地) is good and I've watched that a few times now.

 

Maybe it's because I'm getting old, but I've found I absolutely do need to have a class 2-3 times a week to make progress, and even to retain what I've been learning.   My teacher gave me this quote: 

 

学如逆水行舟，不进则退。

Learning is like rowing upstream; not to advance is to drop back. 

 

Well that turned into a bit of a brain-dump!  Hope some of these reflections and links are useful to someone.

 

Cheers!

 

[Balthazar]

Took the HSK 4 yesterday, internet-based, in Suzhou (where I'm currently on vacation). We were fifteen examinees altogether, beside me all the others seemed to be Japanese and Korean students. I think the test went pretty well. 

 

In the listening section I was able to read the selectable answers in advance for pretty much all the questions, and to my pleasant surprise the provided headphones (and sound volume, when set to the maximum) were actually pretty good.

 

I finished the reading section with almost ten minutes to spare, which gave me a much needed opportunity to visit the toilet (which was an adventure in itself, but that's a story for another time) before the writing section began. I figured that this was a better usage of my time than going over some of the reading questions again (as the writing section has been the hardest for me in the mock exams I've taken, I didn't want any physiological needs interfering with my thinking process).

 

Speaking of the physiological, the exam room was fairly cold and it would definitely be a stretch to call the provided stools comfortable. But nothing too bad for a 90 minute exam.

 

The writing section went well too, I think, although I guess I'll only know for sure in a good month's time. One of the five picture/word-pairs had been included in a mock exam I took. Three of the others I felt comfortable with. In the fifth, I couldn't remember the pinyin for the word 仔细, although I remembered the meaning. This was a new experience for me, and as I wasn't able to enter the pinyin I couldn't complete my sentence. Luckily I had almost ten minutes left at this point, and soon remembered  that "细" also appears in 详细, for which I remembered the pinyin. From there a process of trial and error led me to find out (or rather, rediscover) that 仔 is zi, and after that it was smooth sailing. Although I should say that all the sentences I produced were very safe ones, nothing to long and ambitious, and I don't know to what extent that will be reflected in the grading.

 

So all in all I'm very happy with how it went, and I'll be very surprised (and of course disappointed) if I didn't get at least the passing grade of 180 (or quite a bit above, although my superstitious subconscious fears I'm jinxing the result by making any predictions about it here :p)

 

In any case, it's been an educational experience, especially the advance preparations which have revealed how far behind I am on writing completed to reading. Reading speed turned out to be extremely useful in all sections of the test, especially in the listening part which I think would have been much harder (listening is a skill I have more or less neglected) had I not been able to read most of the answer alternatives in advance of the questions.

 

I'll report back when I get my score.

[Balthazar]

Checked to see now, the score has been published. I have to say I'm satisfied

 

[laomao]

I also did HSK 4 last month, and I really thought I'd failed as I hadn't prepared anywhere near enough and totally panicked about not knowing all the vocab. I was very surprised to get my results yesterday:

Listening: 87

Reading: 80

Writing: 77 

Total: 244

 

When I did HSK3 I felt super prepared and got 273 (September 2017), and it really threw me taking this test when I didn't feel ready for it - my teacher told me (after I'd signed up) that five months between levels wasn't long, and to be honest I didn't work very consistently in those five months, what with a lot of life events (and a fair amount of laziness).

 

I was pretty surprised to do better in the listening than reading, as my reading has always been better than my listening, although I suppose at the moment I do more listening than reading (unfortunately quite a lot of that listening is shanghainese). I know what I did wrong on the writing as I looked up some of the characters after the exam and saw what I'd done (used a noun as a verb, etc). 

 

Overall very happy, although also quite shocked. I'm going to wait a while before even thinking about HSK5 and focus more on using chinese - reading books and talking to people, mainly.

[mungouk]

Excellent results @Balthazar!

Can I ask a couple of questions as I'm planning to head over to China in July and sit HSK 3 there.

 

How was the computer set up for pinyin input?  Was it a QWERTY keyboard or something else?  (I use a Mac with pinyin input method and I'm expecting the test centre would have PCs with some input system that's unfamiliar)  I've read in another thread about confusion due to punctuation and stuff... do we know if test centres are all set up the same?

 

Also how did you go about registering for the test from overseas?  Did you just create an account on chinesetest.cn and do it all from there?  (I would do a dummy run to check out how to pay but it looks like entering your details and the test centre actually registers you?)

Cheers

 

 

[Miaofang]

Hello! I’m studying Sinology and i’m planning to pas HSK 5 this semester. I’m not vere hopeful but i’m trying. Last semester i passed third level. I decide i didn’t need to pass fourth level and i will only register for fifth level. Wish me luck. 

[ZC]

Hi y’all, update on me trying to learn Chinese fast because if I’m bad at planning things. I technically passed HSK3,

 

Listening: 73g

Reading: 65

Writing:90

Total:228

 

but like Id really rather do better before I feel like I meet the criteria: “Capable of completing most of the communicative tasks (I) experience during (my) Chinese tour”.

I’m objectively pretty happy to be here since staring in January! But I feel like the test definitely over-represents my ability to actually communicate with people. Either way I’m going to use this as a chance to pat me on the back. 

[Balthazar]

13 hours ago, mungouk said:

Excellent results @Balthazar!

Can I ask a couple of questions as I'm planning to head over to China in July and sit HSK 3 there.

 

How was the computer set up for pinyin input?  Was it a QWERTY keyboard or something else?  (I use a Mac with pinyin input method and I'm expecting the test centre would have PCs with some input system that's unfamiliar)  I've read in another thread about confusion due to punctuation and stuff... do we know if test centres are all set up the same?

 

Also how did you go about registering for the test from overseas?  Did you just create an account on chinesetest.cn and do it all from there?  (I would do a dummy run to check out how to pay but it looks like entering your details and the test centre actually registers you?)

 

Thanks!

 

I see you found the answer to the first question in another thread, but I'll repeat it here: Sogou pinyin input was used at the test centre where I took the test.

 

I registered on chinesetest.cn, yes. It was very straightforward a fairly smooth process, except I had to make a number of attempts over several days before my card (Mastercard) was accepted.

 

Good luck with your test preparations!

[achang1980]

I took the HSK 5 in 2015, and got a 211.  Would like to continue and study for the HSK 6, so if anyone has any tips, please share and comment

[baihua]

Quote

How was the computer set up for pinyin input?  Was it a QWERTY keyboard or something else?  (I use a Mac with pinyin input method and I'm expecting the test centre would have PCs with some input system that's unfamiliar)  I've read in another thread about confusion due to punctuation and stuff... do we know if test centres are all set up the same?

@mungouk The more pertinent issue is whether the input is sougou or something as equally user friendly. I remember a few years back having an interface which required you search for each word individually, even when you typed a specific word or string of words. It was painfully slow.

 

I had heard you can ask for specific input choices in advance.

 

[Lu]

Hi @achang1980, welcome to the forums! Have you looked around in our Learning Chinese section? There is all kinds of advice there on improving your Chinese, and if what you need isn't there yet, feel free to ask.

[sailfortheorient]

I took the HSK 5 in February, 2017. I got:

 

听力：100

阅读：89

书写：86

总分：275/300

 

I was pretty happy with the result. I didn't study much and got somewhere between 90th and 99th percentile according to the score sheet. I plan to take the HSK6 at some point. Already got the vocab down, but I don't need the test for anything and therefore don't feel any urgency.

 

My girlfriend is a fast-talking southerner from Hunan, hence the perfect listening score >:D

[stapler]

I did HSK5 a month or two ago in Sydney. Everyone else there was Chinese and Korean. The people administering the test spoke to everyone in Mandarin but English to me, which I found amusing but entirely predictable - it doesn't bother me at all, just funny.

 

I did not study for the exam (and have never spent any time specific training HSK vocabulary or anything similar) but did 5 practice tests I found online from circa 2012 (?) In all these tests I was getting around 80 on the listening and reading sections consistently. I felt like I had little difficultly with any section and most of my mistakes were the result of laziness or carelessness. So I was fairly confident I would be able to replicate the results in the actual test. Unfortunately, during the test I could tell the real thing was dramatically more difficult than the old practice tests released by Hanban. I did not simply have a "bad day" doing the test. Rather, I believe Hanban has reformed the test recently, increasing its difficulty compared to previous years.

 

I did the test for professional reasons and I don't know if my score will be good enough. If not I will retake it again in the future after practising some more. I feel like HSK6 will be a be too far if I do not go study Chinese full time and/or in China, so I'll stick to trying to get a solid 5 and nothing more.

 

Listening 62

Reading 63

Writing 76

[艾墨本]

I took the HSK 6 last month and the scores just came in today: Total: 212

Listening: 77

Reading: 69

Writing: 66

 

My scores surprised me because I thought the test, relative to the 真题's I had done, was very difficult. I also thought the writing section was the easiest. However, upon finishing, I realized I forgot to put a title on my writing. I was just so nervous. I can't imagine what else I forgot on the writing section, then.

 

Overall, not very happy with my performance on this test and will likely 刷分 at a later point. I'd like to get it over 250. For now I am slowly working through the HSK 6 standard course book for the vocabulary and pairing that with a book to help improve on the writing section. I really like the way it teaches how to 缩写 and find it a practical skill.

 

Edit: For those wondering, it took six years of Chinese study to get me here. 1 year of class twice per week, two years of class 5-8 times per week, two years of living in China (but teaching English and studying on the side) and another year studying as a graduate student in China using Chinese. However, I would say that my real level is higher than what the test shows.

[stapler]

well done 艾墨本. I've seen you've been studying very hard for the last 2 years and it looks like all that work is paying off handsomely!

[lakesandrivers]

Hello all,

 

I have been following HSK exam dates in Australia for a long time, but never taken the plunge. It must now become a goal, however.

Do you folks register through chinestest.cn or through the Uni? Is it proper to assume that there will be an office of some kind for registering and taking in HSK in Shenyang? From the website I see that there are six test centres in Shenyang.

 

Lawrence