HSK is getting revamped this year, adding more levels

Is your Chinese at Level 9?

Foreign students studying the Chinese language will soon be able to measure their linguistic skills all the way up to Level 9.

The HSK (Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi, 汉语水平考试), the standardized test of Chinese proficiency for non-native speakers, has announced that it will be making some changes to the exam’s format this year.

At the moment, there are six different levels of the HSK that test-takers can choose between based on their grasp of Chinese.

The new plan calls for a format dubbed “Three Stages and Nine Levels” in which the three stages (advanced, intermediate, and beginner) will include three levels each.

How exactly this will all work is unclear. For some reason, Hanban hasn’t provided any more details than the diagram seen above.

Whatever happens though, it seems likely that your old HSK study guides and vocab lists will soon become outdated.