We have just posted word files for the first level of the HSK (Chinese Proficiency Test) vocabulary. The word files can be found here on our Chinese FlashCards wordfile archive.

The HSK committee has set forth four levels: Beginning, Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced Chinese. The total number of words on the HSK committee list is around 8840. We have just posted the audio wordfiles for the beginner level and we will be releasing wordfiles for the other 3 levels shortly.

What is the HSK?

To paraphrase Wikipeadia:

The Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì (simplified Chinese: 汉语水平考试; traditional Chinese: 漢語水平考試), abbreviated as HSK, is the world’s best-known test of Chinese language proficiency for non-native speakers. It is also known as the Chinese Proficiency Test.

The HSK was developed by Beijing Language and Culture University under the supervision of the Chinese Ministry of Education. It is considered China’s national standard test of Chinese language, as per HSK official materials. One of the primary and most common uses of the test is for international students who wish to enroll in a Chinese university as a full time student to demonstrate the required Chinese proficiency. Generally, a score of six (out of 11) is necessary to enroll in a Chinese university. In addition test takers with outstanding results have the chance to win a scholarship for a short-term language study in China.