New Chinese Proficiency Test (New HSK)

Confucius Institute - Sofia annually conducts the HSK and HSKK exams in April and at the end of November. For exact dates, follow our Facebook page or contact us!

New rules for the online exams

New rules for the online exams stipulate that students, who are taking the HSK - levels 3, 4, 5 and 6, must also take the corresponding HSKK level as follows:

HSK 3+HSKK Entry Level;

HSK 4+HSKK Intermediate level;

HSK 5 and HSK 6 + HSKK Advanced level.

The HSKK examinations can be taken independently.

You can register through the exam system, available at www.chinesetest.cn. For additional inquiries, please write to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Online exam fees:                                             Testing center exam fees:

HSK 1: 23,00 lv.                                                                       HSK 1: 23,00 lv.

HSK 2: 23,00 lv.                                                                       HSK 2: 23,00 lv.

HSKK 1: 23,00 lv.                                                                    HSK 3: 47,00 lv.

HSKK 2: 29,00 lv.                                                                    HSK 4: 47,00 lv.

HSKK 3: 34,00 lv.                                                                    HSK 5: 65, 00 lv.

HSK 3  + HSKK 1 (beginners level): 54,00 lv.                        HSK 6: 65, 00 lv.

HSK 4  + HSKK 2 (intermediate level): 58,00 lv.                   HSKK 1 (beginners level): 23,00 lv.   

HSK 5  + HSKK 3 (advanced level): 76,00 lv.                        HSKK 2 (intermediate level): 29,00 lv.

HSK 6 + HSKK 3 (advanced level): 76,00 lv.                         HSKK 3 (advanced level): 34,00 lv.

 

General Information about the HSK exam

Since 2010, the Testing Center at the Confucius Institute – Sofia has introduced the new format of the Chinese Proficiency Test (Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi – HSK). The new HSK was created on the basis of the accumulated experience in the field of teaching Chinese as a foreign language in China and abroad, and in accordance with the modern linguistic theories for testing and evaluating the level of proficiency in the foreign language. In order to give a more complete and comprehensive evaluation of the level of knowledge of the Chinese language, the new HSK test is conducted in two separate forms – written and oral, which are conducted and evaluated independently.
The written exam is suitable for the following categories of students:

 Written test HSK

  Duration of Chinese studies Weekly classes Volume vocabulary (words)
Level 6 over 3 years 2-4 classes 5000
Level 5 2 to 3 years 2-4 classes 2500
Level 4 about 2 years 2-4 classes 1200
Level 3 1 to 2 years 2-4 classes 600
Level 2 12 months 2-4 classes 300
Level 1 Up to 6 months 2-4 classes 150

The oral exam HSKK is conducted in three levels – Beginner (初级), Intermediate (中级) and Advanced (高级), and is transmitted for verification in the form of an audio recording.
The oral examination HSKK is suitable for the following categories of students:

 Oral text HSKK

  Duration of Chinese studies Weekly classes Volume vocabulary (words)
Advanced Level （高级） over 2 years 2-4 classes 3000
Intermediate Level （中级） 1 to 2 years 2-4 classes 900
Beginner Level（初级） 6 to 12 months 2-4 classes 200

The results of the HSK exam are given to the participants within about a month after taking the exam and the certificates of the relevant levels are issued by Hanban (The Directorate General of the Confucius Institute) (国家汉办 / 孔子 学院总部).

HSK Certificate

The HSK certificates are issued to those who meet the required scores and are valid for two years from the date of the exam.

Registration for the HSK Test

The registration process for participation in the HSK exam can be completed online at the following Internet address: http://www.chinesetest.cn, or alternatively, at the Testing Center of the Confucius Institute – Sofia.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

  1. A minimum of five participants for each level is required in order to conduct the examination.
  2. Only the registration forms, submitted before the registration deadline shall be considered (please refer to the Deadlines and Dates section below for additional information).

  • Online registration through the Chinese Test Service Network:
  1. Open the address http://www.chinesetest.cn.
    2. Select the Test Center at the Confucius Institute – Sofia and the corresponding date of examination.
    3. Fill in your personal account information in the fields. Attach electronic photo.
    4. Pay the test fee through a bank transfer to the account, which will be indicated in the invitation for exam participation sent to you by the Test Center at the Confucius Institute – Sofia. (IMPORTANT NOTE: once paid, the fees cannot be returned under any circumstances!)
  2. Send an email with the attached payment order for you bank transfer to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., after that the Test Center at the Confucius Institute – Sofia shall complete your registration in the system.
    6. After the registration is completed, you can request a message confirming your registration status from http://www.chinesetest.cn. The message can be sent to you by e-mail, in case you had provided a valid e-mail address. If within 10 days before the day of the test you still have not received a confirmation of your registration, then go to http://www.chinesetest.cn and check your registration status, or send an inquiry to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
    7. Once your registration has been confirmed, go to the above website and carefully review (or check for errors) your HSK Addmission Ticket (准考证). In case of errors you should immediately notify This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by sending an e-mail. You will receive the printed copy of your HSK Addmission Ticket from the Test Center of the Confucius Institute – Sofia 30 minutes before the exam.

  • Registration at the Testing Center of the Confucius Institute – Sofia:

DOCUMENTS required for registration at the Test Center of the Confucius Institute - Sofia:

  1. Application form.
    All necessary information should be written carefully and legibly. Specifying a phone number and e-mail address is required!
  2. PICTURE
    Electronic format, size 40mm x 30mm, valid no less than 6 months, black and white or colored, on a white background, clearly showing the face in the forefront, including the top of the shoulders, without a hat; JPG / JPEG format - up to 100 KB.
  3. PAYMENT ORDER: The payment order must contain the names of the examiner (IMPORTANT: Paid fees are not returned under any circumstances!)

Please send all necessary documents to the following address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

HSK Addmission Ticket
The document looks like this:

 HSK admission ticket

Fifteen days before the day of the exam, you will receive a message confirming your registration. If you have not yet received your registration confirmation within 10 days prior to the date of your test, go to the website and check your registration status or send a request to: hsk.test.sofia@gmail.com.

The HSK Addmission Ticket is received personally by each participant immediately before the exam and during the verification of the participants, which starts 30 minutes before the appointed time for the HSK test of the relevant level. The HSK Addmission Ticket is the basis on which the participant may be admitted to the examination hall, it contains a 18-digit code, by which the participant is identified in the system. After the exam is taken, the Addmission Ticket serves for checking and receiving the HSK Certificate and Examination Score Record.

Preparation for the exam

As the old HSK test, the purpose of the new format of the exam is to determine the participants’ overall knowledge of Chinese. Therefore it is not based on any particular textbook or course, the participants can use all kinds of studying materials in the process of preparation for the HSK test. Candidates are welcome to use the materials available at the library of the Confucius Institute in Sofia, and it is also recommended that they take the online simulation tests (partial or complete), available at: http://www.chinesetest.cn/gosimexam.do and www.hskworkshop.com.

Fees

Participants pay the fees by bank transfer after receiving the Invitation letter for participation. The bank account number, accompanied by instructions will be contained in the Invitation.

On the day of the exam

The participants should come to the library of the Confucius Institute in Sofia 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of the relevant test in order to obtain their personal HSK Addmission Tickets. When entering the examination room, the participants should provide their HSK Addmission Tickets (准考证) and a relevant identification document such as passport, ID or a student card. After taking their seats in the examination room, the participants should put their HSK Addmission Tickets in the upper right corner of the table in order to allow the quaestors to check their identity and data at any time during the exam. Since the use of pens during the HSK exam is forbidden, the participants should bring with them pencils 2B to fill in the answer sheets and pencil erasers for corrections. If a participant has not entered correctly his/her personal information in the answer sheets or has not marked his/her answers in the right way with a pencil 2B, his/her examination will be invalid.

 

Certificates and Scores

Upon successful completion of the HSK test, the participants will receive two documents: HSK Certificate and Examination Score Record. If the performance of the test was poor, no certificate shall be issued. The Certificates and Score Records of the participants in the exam will be sent to the Test Center at the Confucius Institute – Sofia from the headquarters in Beijing within 30 days after the examination. The test results are also published at http://www.chinesetest.cn, and can be checked by entering the individual number of the HSK Addmission Ticket and the name of the participant.

Deadlines, dates and place of the examinations

Written test HSK

Date of the examination Deadline for registration and payment of the fee Deadline for announcement of results
09.04.2023 10.03.2023
 

Oral exam HSKK

Date of the examination Deadline for registration and payment of the fee Deadline for announcement of results
09.04.2023 10.03.2023
 

The written exams HSK will be held in the HSK Testing Centre of the Confucius Institute in Sofia, Centre for Eastern Languages and Cultures, 30 auditorium, “Todor Alexandrov” Boul. No. 79, with the following schedule:

Level Starting time Duration
HSK一级   40 min
HSK二级   55 min
HSK三级   90 min
HSK四级   105 min
HSK五级   125 min
HSK六级   140 min

The oral exam HSKK for the three levels will be held at the same address with the following schedule:

Level Duration Starting time
Beginner level （初级） 17 min.  
Intermediate level （中级） 21 min.  
Advanced level （高级） 24 min.