HSK written test

[Leikuzi]

Hey I just signed up to Chinese forums, I psyched to find that peoples levels seem to be above mine. I'm wondering if anyone has taken the HSK intermediate. I'm looking to take it next year and my reading of Chinese is not bad, and my writing on the computer (looking for the right character) isn't bad either. Writing as you know is much harder getting every stroke right. What is the written format for the test like? How much written is there and how much do they take off for say 2 missed strokes in a 12 stroke word?

Again, this is for the HSK intermediate.

[Sarevok]

Welcome to CF!

Well, if the current format stays the same (there is an major overhaul planned for HSK, but nobody knows when it is going to take place - see some other HSK related topics here on CF), then there will be no more than 16 brackets in the 综合 section of the test (there are 40 questions in total in the 综合 section). You will be required to fill exactly one character into each bracket. No more character writing than that in the whole test (the rest is ABCD multiple-choice format), except maybe your Chinese name

This section of the test is composed of a few short articles, sometimes only 3-4 sentences in length. In some sentences, there is one or more characters missing and you are required to write it in the corresponding bracket in the answer sheet. Those missing characters are usually not extremely difficult in terms of their complexity (stroke count) or obscureness, in most cases they are actually some of the more frequent characters which you would often encounter in your regular text, but it still requires a solid foundation in vocabulary and its usage - to know which characters or words often appears together as a 搭配 and which, on the contrary, do not fit so well and would seem out of place if used together. If you know (or you think you know ) the correct character, which should go in there, it shouldn't be that much of a problem to write it...

Although, we all know that there are times when even the most common characters tend to slip and you suddenly have a complete blank. I am quite sure I will be able to write 齉 at all times (a completely useless character you are very unlikely to encounter... that is a specialty of mine - always remembering some of the most complex and useless characters there are, instead of those useful ones ), but when taking the test last year I had trouble remembering how to write 需 (as in 需要, a word encountered quite frequently). My biggest loss of face in this regard was a temporary inability to write 右 once

Even one stroke missed in a 12 stroke character would be classified as a mistake and you wouldn't get any points for that one. I would advise to write in 楷书 style, stroke by stroke - do not try any fancy calligraphy tricks there...

Edited January 4, 2010 at 08:00 PM by Sarevok

[Leikuzi]

wow, extremely helpful. thanks. I took a few sample tests on popup chinese (not a plug, seriously I just want to practice the hsk) and it was pretty helpful. I just need to differentiate the measure words and the three de's. I'm used to just talking and throwing in a 'de' any time I'm in doubt, but now I gotta know which one. uh oh! haha, just a matter of time.

[chrix]

Well the listening exercises on popup Chinese were way too hard and fast, at least compared to the actual audio on the test, but I guess it might be useful if the practice material is harder than the actual test. Of course, YMMV.

[Leikuzi]

Hey, I'm looking to take the HSK　as I said earlier, but does the HSK intermediate carry and weight in terms of finding jobs/resume builders or is it just in order to get into certain Universities chinese programs?

Can you listen to the recording a few times in the HSK? I needed to listen a few times for that section of the tests on popup. Just trying to get an idea on this test I didn't even know about until last year.

[chrix]

Nope, only once.

[Sarevok]

Also, the weight it carries in terms of finding jobs is... disputable at best. Even HSK Advanced doesn't carry much weight in this regard, because apart from Korea and some other Asian countries, most employers are just going to stare blankly at you, thinking 'what the heck is HSK?' Of course, this is just my own assumption, which might be wrong as it is based on the situation in my country only. But I heard people having similar experiences elswhere... the situation seems to be slowly changing for the better though (I heard such trend might be seen in Germany, is it so chrix?)

Personally, I take HSK only as a measurement of my own progress and as a motivation of sorts (planning to have a stab at 高等 this year... if it is finally available, that is). Call me a masochist

[chrix]

well I'm not sure about that Sarevok. The only thing I noticed was that some Sinology Departments now require a certain HSK level from their students in order for them to graduate.

Maybe Erbse knows more about whether German employers would actually care about your HSK level? I know the German foreign service uses their own Chinese test, but they don't rely on any outside test for any language they test for, it's all done internally (their requirement is proficiency in English and French, with French being able to be replaced by any other UN language, i.e. Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Arabic).

[renzhe]

I don't think that the HSK will be of much use, unless your work will involve actively using Chinese. In that case, any reasonable European or American company will know about the HSK, and a good HSK intermediate result certainly has a certain weight.

HSK might also be useful for getting a job in China. But since most foreigners either teach English or work for multi-nationals, it might not matter in many cases.

But it's really good as a gauge of your Chinese level.