Online Chinese test preparation courses for HSK, HSKK and TOCFL

Chinese has two recognised test systems. Chinese Testing International (CTI) runs the official tests of mainland China. SC-TOP, a committee set up in 2005 under Taiwan's Ministry of Education, runs the TOCFL, the Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language.

The HSK is the written main exam, and the HSKK is its separate speaking test. Depending on the centre, you take the HSK on paper or on computer, and in several countries CTI also offers an internet-based test at home, called the Home Edition. The YCT and its speaking test are independent of each other. The BCT assesses Chinese in work environments, business activities and other professional settings, according to CTI.

The right exam follows from the place where you want to study or work and from the institution that asks for proof. For Chinese the place matters more than for most languages, because mainland China and Taiwan run separate test systems with separate scales.

• Degree or scholarship in mainland China: You need the HSK, sometimes together with the HSKK. Universities often ask for at least HSK 4 for degrees taught in Chinese.
• Master's or doctorate with research in Chinese: HSK 7-9 is the combined exam for the three advanced levels.
• Degree or scholarship in Taiwan: You take the TOCFL, which also counts for the Taiwan Scholarship.
• Job in mainland China: The HSK adds up to 5 points in the work permit points system, according to a Shanghai government guide, and the BCT proves business Chinese.
• School children: They take the YCT, the exam for primary and secondary school students.
• Employer in Europe that asks for a CEFR level: The TOCFL fits, because SC-TOP links its levels to the CEFR. Otherwise ask which HSK level the employer accepts in writing.

The HSK, China's official proficiency test, moves from six to nine levels. According to Chinese Testing International (CTI), HSK 3.0 launches worldwide on 13 December 2026, after a pilot for levels 1 to 6 from 31 January 2026. The new version tests five skills, namely listening, speaking, reading, writing and, at the advanced levels, translation. In the pilot, candidates for levels 3 to 6 had to register for the matching speaking test at the same time.

Both registration deadlines end at midnight Beijing time. Ask your test centre which version it offers on your date, because the switch applies date by date. A result from the current HSK keeps its two-year validity after the switch.

The CEFR, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, describes language ability in six levels from A1 to C2. European employers and universities often state their requirements on this scale.

For the HSK, there is no agreed link. The official documents of HSK 2.0 linked the six levels to A1 to C2. In 2010 the Fachverband Chinesisch, the association of Chinese teachers in German-speaking countries, rejected that link and published much lower equivalents. By its estimate HSK 4 matched about A2, while the HSK documents stated B2. CTI's current HSK pages give no CEFR mapping.

For Taiwan's TOCFL, the test committee SC-TOP links levels 1 to 6 to A1 to C2 and publishes vocabulary sizes and course hours for each level. Level 3, linked to B1, assumes about 2,500 words, level 4, linked to B2, about 5,000 words.

Chinese exams test skills that European language exams do not, such as recognising characters and typing them.

1. Read without Pinyin. Pinyin is the romanisation of Mandarin, and reading parts test characters. Practise texts without Pinyin weeks before the exam.
2. Type through Pinyin input. In computer-based tests you usually type Pinyin and choose the right character from a list of suggestions.
3. Listen at exam speed. Chinese Testing International (CTI), the HSK organiser, has adjusted listening speed for HSK 3.0, so practise with recordings at natural speed.
4. Speak into a microphone. The HSKK runs as an audio recording, so practise answers with a time limit and without a live partner.
5. Sit full mock tests. CTI offers mock tests through its Do A Mock feature.

Plan backwards from the date on which you need the result.

The pilot of HSK 3.0 on 31 January 2026 published its results on 14 March. The TOCFL is offered in Taiwan and abroad, including as a computer-based test. An HSK result counts as proof for two years from the test date, so do not take the exam too early. Leave room for one retake as well, because a missed level means a new registration, a new fee and several more weeks of waiting.