Two short parts, about 27 questions in characters. Part 2 zooms in on the HSK levels around your first answers, and the result is an estimated HSK level from 1 to 6.
Engame's free Chinese placement test estimates your HSK level from 1 to 6 in about 27 questions, with no time limit. Part 1 asks 12 questions, two at each HSK level. Part 2 asks 15 more on the three levels around that first estimate, including a short reading in characters. The result is an estimated HSK level, a range such as HSK 3–4 when you sit between levels, and your share of correct answers per level. That level becomes the default for the HSK practice tests, the word list and the sentence practice. For an estimated exam score, take the matching HSK mock test afterwards.
| Level | What it means | Words on Engame | Practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| HSK 1 | 150 words: greetings, numbers, dates, very simple sentences. | 300 | Practise at HSK 1 → |
| HSK 2 | 300 words: simple routine exchanges on familiar topics. | 199 | Practise at HSK 2 → |
| HSK 3 | 600 words: everyday life, study and travel without pinyin. | 494 | Practise at HSK 3 → |
| HSK 4 | 1,200 words: a wide range of topics, fairly fluent conversation. | 994 | Practise at HSK 4 → |
| HSK 5 | 2,500 words: newspapers, films, longer speeches. | 1,589 | Practise at HSK 5 → |
| HSK 6 | 5,000+ words: easy comprehension, fluent written and spoken expression. | 1,786 | Practise at HSK 6 → |
Sources: chinesetest.cn: HSK levels
| Section | Questions | Minutes | Task types on Engame |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1: every level | 12 | — | read a word, pick its meaning; grammar gap-fill; read a meaning, pick the word |
| Part 2: around your level | 15 | — | read a word, pick its meaning; grammar gap-fill; read a meaning, pick the word; read a text, answer questions |
| Total | 27 | ~15 |
The placement test reports a level, not a percentage, together with how many questions you got right at each level.
| On the result screen | What it means |
|---|---|
| Estimated level | The highest level you know well. It becomes your default level for practice tests, vocabulary and phrases. |
| A range of two levels | Your answers sit between two levels: start studying at the lower one. |
| Correct answers by level | A clear drop between two levels marks your working level; the levels below it show what to review. |
Each HSK 2.0 level roughly doubles the vocabulary of the one before, from 150 words at HSK 1 to 5,000 at HSK 6. That makes self-assessment hard: learners who are comfortable at HSK 3 often underestimate how much of HSK 4 they already know, and the reverse.
Part 1 checks two questions at every level, easiest first. Part 2 then concentrates on the level below, the level itself and the level above, where right and wrong answers separate the levels best, and adds a short reading so the result is not only about isolated words.
The table below shows the official vocabulary size of each level next to the number of words Engame teaches there, with a link to practise at that level directly.
Real questions from the bank Engame builds this test from. Pick an answer, then open it to check.
A. 没 An experience with 过 can only be negated with 没: I have never eaten Peking duck.
上个星期我和丈夫去南京旅游了。我们是坐火车去的，在火车上坐了三个小时。前两天都是晴天，我们每天出去走路，吃了很多好吃的东西。第三天下大雨，我们就在酒店里休息，看了一天电视。虽然有一天下雨，但是我们玩得很快乐。
Shàng ge xīngqī wǒ hé zhàngfu qù Nánjīng lǚyóu le. Wǒmen shì zuò huǒchē qù de, zài huǒchē shang zuò le sān ge xiǎoshí. Qián liǎng tiān dōu shì qíngtiān, wǒmen měi tiān chūqu zǒulù, chī le hěn duō hǎochī de dōngxi. Dì-sān tiān xià dà yǔ, wǒmen jiù zài jiǔdiàn li xiūxi, kàn le yì tiān diànshì. Suīrán yǒu yì tiān xià yǔ, dànshì wǒmen wán de hěn kuàilè.
Last week my husband and I went on a trip to Nanjing. We went by train and sat on the train for three hours. The first two days were sunny, so we went out walking every day and ate lots of delicious food. On the third day it rained heavily, so we rested in the hotel and watched TV all day. Although it rained one day, we had a really happy time.
A. 坐火车 "我们是坐火车去的" – by train.
A. 门被关上了。 The agent can be dropped: 门被关上了。
停水通知
各位居民：
因小区供水管道需要检查和修理，本小区将于6月18日（星期六）上午8:00到下午5:00停止供水。请大家提前做好准备，存好一天需要用的水。停水期间，请关好家里的水龙头，以免来水时因忘记关水而造成浪费。如果修理工作提前完成，我们会马上恢复供水。给大家带来的不便，请多原谅。如有问题，请拨打物业电话：8826 5130。
阳光小区物业管理处
6月15日
Water Supply Interruption Notice
Dear residents,
Because the water pipes in our community need to be inspected and repaired, the water supply will be cut off on June 18 (Saturday) from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Please get ready in advance and store enough water for one day. During the interruption, please turn off the taps in your home so that water is not wasted when the supply comes back because someone forgot to turn them off. If the repairs are finished early, we will restore the water supply immediately. We apologize for the inconvenience. If you have any questions, please call the property management office: 8826 5130.
Sunshine Community Property Management Office
June 15
A. 要检查和修理供水管道 "因小区供水管道需要检查和修理" – the pipes need inspection and repair.
B. 未必 Because it may not work, they test it first: 未必. 不必, 何必 and 务必 express no doubt.
记者：您大学毕业后放弃了城市的工作，回到家乡做农产品直播，当时家里人支持吗？
小林：说实话，一开始几乎所有人都反对。在村里人看来，好不容易考出去的大学生又回来种地，是件挺没面子的事。
记者：那您为什么还是坚持回来了？
小林：我们村的猕猴桃品质特别好，但因为交通不便，过去只能低价卖给上门收购的商贩，农民辛苦一年也挣不了多少钱。我想通过网络把好东西直接卖出去。
记者：效果怎么样？
小林：第一年并不顺利，直播间经常只有几十个人，还遇到过水果在运输中被压坏、被顾客投诉的情况。后来我们改进了包装，又和快递公司谈好了合作，第二年销量翻了五倍。现在，村里已经有二十多个年轻人跟着我一起做了。
Reporter: After graduating, you gave up a job in the city and went back to your hometown to sell farm products through livestreams. Did your family support you at the time?
Xiao Lin: To be honest, at first almost everyone was against it. To the villagers, a university graduate who had worked so hard to get out coming back to farm was rather embarrassing.
Reporter: So why did you still insist on coming back?
Xiao Lin: The kiwifruit from our village is excellent, but because transport was poor, in the past farmers could only sell it cheaply to traders who came to buy it, and after a year of hard work they earned very little. I wanted to sell these good products directly online.
Reporter: How has it worked out?
Xiao Lin: The first year didn't go smoothly. Often there were only a few dozen people in the livestream, and sometimes fruit got crushed during delivery and customers complained. Later we improved the packaging and agreed a partnership with a delivery company, and in the second year sales went up five times. Now more than twenty young people in the village are doing it with me.
D. 几乎都反对 He says "一开始几乎所有人都反对".
D. to go down; to continue 下去 (xiàqù) means “to go down; to continue”.
Take the placement test: about 27 questions in two parts. It estimates your HSK level from 1 to 6 and shows how many questions you got right at each level.
Yes. Part 2 is built from your Part 1 answers and focuses on the three HSK levels around your estimate.
The six HSK 2.0 levels, which match Engame's word lists and the HSK 1–6 mock tests.
No. Words and sentences are written in characters, and a word whose meaning you are asked for also shows its pinyin.
Yes. Free, no account, and you can retake it whenever you like; each attempt draws new questions.
27 questions · 15 minutes · Free · no sign-up · new questions every time
Start the Chinese placement test →