Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi

The Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì ( Chinese 漢語水平考試 / 汉语水平考试 - "Examination of the Chinese level", in short: HSK ) is a central, standardized test for Chinese as a foreign language that measures the level of linguistic proficiency. It is carried out in the People's Republic of China and worldwide at licensed test centers. The HSK is suitable for everyone who wants to acquire a qualified language certificate and for students who have to prove sufficient language skills in order to be admitted to a specialist course in China.

Certificate Levels

The HSK Center of the Language and Culture University in Beijing announced the development of a new, revised examination format, which came into effect in 2010. The new format emphasizes "understandable language and communication skills". Above all, spoken and written segments are being added to all levels (not only in upper school), the assessment system is being reformed, and new question structures are being used.

The new evaluation system reduces the three test formats to elementary, intermediate and advanced levels. Each level has two grades: “passed” and “excellent”.

The German Association of Chinese described the revision of the examination as a massive lowering of the level and dismissed the newly introduced comparison of the six new HSK levels HSK 1 to 6 with the six levels of the Common European Framework of Reference GER levels A1 to C2 as unrealistic, "indisputable" and "counterproductive" back. This comparison is "counterproductive in the effort to develop an appropriate awareness in Europe for the depth and complexity of Chinese language culture". Rather, the association sees an approximate correspondence between the upper four HSK levels (HSK 3 to 6) and the lower four GER level levels (A1 to B2).

Level (等第)	Result (级别)	Certificate (证书)
Revised HSK structure
HSK Advanced (advanced level)	6th	Advanced with Honors
	5	Advanced
	-	none
HSK Intermediate	4th	Intermediate with Honors
	3	Intermediate
	-	none
HSK Elementary (elementary level)	2	Elementary with Honors
	1	Elementary
	-	none

In 2020, a reform was announced that would include three levels with 9 levels, Elementary (HSK 1 to 3), Intermediate (HSK 4 to 6) and Advanced (HSK 7 to 9).

background

The Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi was developed in Beijing in 1990 with government support from experts in “Chinese as a Foreign Language”. In 1994 the company expanded to Europe, and in 1995 to Germany.

The HSK certificate itself is valid indefinitely (e.g. as proof of language skills with an employer or a university outside of China). However, the attached examination results report is only valid for two years from the date of the examination as a certificate for access to a Chinese university.

The HSK corresponds to the German TestDaF and the English TOEFL . The aim of the test is to prove language proficiency for studies and work. The exam is intended for first-year students and young professionals who are not native speakers. The assessment of the examination performance takes place centrally in China.

content

step	Number of words	Listen	Read	Write
1	150	15 minutes	17 min	-
2	300	25 min	22 min	-
3	600	35 min	30 min	15 minutes
4th	1200	30 min	40 min	25 min
5	2500	30 min	45 min	40 min
6th	over 5000	35 min	50 min	45 min

Organizations

The HSK is created by the Chinese Ministry of Education and the state HSK Commission, the Hanban ( 中国国家对外汉语教学领导小组办公室 , short: 国家汉办 ; National Chinese Office for the Teaching of Chinese as a Foreign Language) and by numerous examination centers in China and in other countries - including Germany , Switzerland and Austria .

In Germany, the HSK exam can be taken in Frankfurt ( Confucius Institute Frankfurt), Berlin (Confucius Institute Berlin), Hamburg (Confucius Institute Hamburg), Heidelberg (Confucius Institute Heidelberg), Trier (Confucius Institute Trier), Hanover ( Chinese Center), in Düsseldorf (Confucius Institute Düsseldorf), in Duisburg (Confucius Institute Metropole Ruhr), in Erlangen (HSK Center, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg), in Leipzig (Confucius Institute Leipzig), in Freiburg (Confucius Institute Freiburg), in Erfurt (Confucius Institute Erfurt), Paderborn (Confucius Institute) and in Munich (Confucius Institute Munich). HSK 4 to 6 can be taken as a computer-based exam at the Confucius Institute in Munich.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b 汉语水平考试 2007 年起将增加口语写作 , December 26, 2006 www.eol.cn, "The 2007 HSK Revision Will Add Spoken and Writing Portions."

^ Declaration by the German Association of Chinese Associations on the new HSK Chinese examination. (PDF; 140 kB)) (No longer available online.) Chinese Association, June 1, 2010, archived from the original on December 2, 2013 ; accessed on January 4, 2019 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Cf. Andreas Guder: Chinese as a Foreign Language: Levels and Lessons ( Memento of the original from April 11, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. FU Berlin . (no longer available) Version dated April 11, 2012 on Web.archive.org

↑ HSK is about to be reformed. #HSK In 2020, the Chinese Proficiency Standards will usher in a new change: a hybrid paradigm of “Three Stages and Nine Levels” characterized by integration and all-in-one.

↑ Sprachenzentrum Hochschule Darmstadt: HSK ( Memento of the original from October 27, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . @1@ 2

↑ Registration and information on the HSK: [1] .

↑ HSK , konfuzius-muenchen.de

literature

Kǒngzǐ xuéyuàn zǒngbù 孔子学院总部 (ed.): Xīn Hànyǔ shuǐpíng kǎoshì dàgāng《新汉语水平考试大纲》. Beijing: Shāngwù yìnshūguǎn 商务印书馆, 2010; yījí 一级ISBN 9787100067751 , èrjí 二级ISBN 9787100067744 , sānjí 三级ISBN 9787100068819 , sìjí 四级ISBN 9787100068871 , wǔjí 五级ISBN 9787100069243 , liùjí 六级ISBN 9787100069274 .