HSK 3.0 Band Mapping: Which Band Equals Your Old Level
Update, October 2026: The HSK 3.0 exam syllabus (published November 2025) lists these cumulative word counts: 300 for Band 1, 500 for Band 2, 1,000 for Band 3, 2,000 for Band 4, 3,600 for Band 5, 5,400 for Band 6 and 11,000 for Bands 7 to 9. The figures in this post come from the 2021 standard, so treat the map below as a rough guide. HSK 3.0 launches officially with the December 13, 2026 sitting; see HSK 3.0 starts December 13, 2026.
If you passed HSK 4 a couple of years ago and just looked at the new system, you probably felt confused. The old test had six levels. The new standard, the 国际中文教育中文水平等级标准 (guójì zhōngwén jiàoyù zhōngwén shuǐpíng děngjí biāozhǔn), administered by CLEC, has : Elementary (Bands 1–3), Intermediate (Bands 4–6), and Advanced (Bands 7–9).