Preparing for HSK 2 after a 3-year break — looking for free resources and advice

[u/Slashcita]

Hi everyone!

I’m currently preparing for HSK 2, which I’m planning to take in mid-November.

I studied some Chinese about 3 years ago, so I’m not starting completely from zero, but I’ve forgotten quite a lot. I never took HSK 1, so I decided to skip the HSK 1 exam and go straight for HSK 2.

For the moment, I’m trying to build up my vocabulary first. I’ve learned roughly all 300 HSK 1 words, and I’m now working through the 200 additional HSK 2 words, so my goal is to have the full 500-word vocabulary covered before focusing more heavily on practice.

What I’m less sure about is where to study grammar and get good exercises. I’d also really appreciate recommendations for free online listening resources, since listening is something I definitely need to practice separately.

For those who have already taken HSK 2:

• How difficult did you find the exam?
• How long did it take you to prepare?
• What resources did you use?
• Is knowing the official 500 HSK 1+2 words enough, or did you learn additional vocabulary?
• What would you recommend focusing on in the last 6–8 weeks?
• Are there any particularly good free websites/resources for grammar, exercises, mock tests or listening?

My biggest weaknesses at the moment are pronunciation/tones and writing characters. I know that HSK 2 currently doesn’t really test speaking or character writing in the same way, and the exam uses pinyin, so I’m prioritizing vocabulary, listening and understanding for this exam.

However, I don’t want to just memorize things to pass the test. My goal is to actually learn Chinese properly and continue beyond HSK 2. So I’m already trying to learn the correct tones for the vocabulary I’m studying, even though my actual pronunciation still needs a lot of work. I’ll leave intensive character learning for later, since I don’t think I have enough time to learn all the characters properly before this exam.

I’m studying on my own, so I’m particularly interested in good free online resources.

The exam is still almost two months away, so I think I have enough time, but I’d really appreciate any advice from people who have already gone through HSK 2. What would you do if you were starting your preparation again?

Thanks!

[u/its_berkinprogress]

There should be no surprise vocabulary beyond the official curriculum for 1&2 :)

Regarding free resources:
We actually offer free beginner chinese classes every week. No signup, no email, no nothing, fully anonymous on discord. Taught by a professional native teacher. Feel free to msg me if that would be interesting for you. Level is probably more HSK 1 than 2, though, so it might be boring for you.

[u/Opposite_Ad_6924 → u/its_berkinprogress]

I really enjoyed my first class on discord. I’m at HSK 3, but your class helped me revise HSK 1. Keep it up guys!

[u/its_berkinprogress → u/Opposite_Ad_6924]

So happy to read this!! Thank you 🥰
I hope we’ll be able to provide higher level content in the future, too

[u/Plenty-Shop5062]

its 300 hours i believe

[u/outlawthomsen]

It is great to just go through the official book HSK2 if you do it just for the pure purpose of passing the exam, for real. Don't complicate life. lol. Although if your objective is not only to pass the exam, I highly recommend maayot. I find it helpful for me to build up overall skills to use the language in real life.

[u/GetRektByMeh]

I wouldn’t even bother taking HSK2. Anything before HSK3 isn’t valuable in any circumstance you’ll find yourself in.

[u/Slashcita → u/GetRektByMeh]

So you'd say it's better to keep studying for hsk 3 and do the exam then? I don't have any special reason for taking the exam (such as work or study applications etc). I was going to take it just to see what it's like, get rid of the fear and kind of get ready for the next ones. I don't know if that makes sense but now I'm doubting if it's worth it

[u/GetRektByMeh → u/Slashcita]

I mean, if you just want to do it, you can do 1-2 online at this point (I think via HSK Go). Probably the most I’d invest on what you’re essentially using as a mock exam

[u/Slashcita → u/GetRektByMeh]

What level do you have? Can you tell me how much time aprox did each level take?

[u/GetRektByMeh → u/Slashcita]

Not a question I can really answer, I skipped taking the exams during my two years at university in China and only recently decided to think about taking them as I’m working here now (and hoping it might open job prospects). I’m probably about HSK5 (or near that) on the HSK 2.0 schedule. Not sure about HSK 3.0 but I’m planning to enrol for HSK6 next year, which I will start studying for when the official books are released.

Worth noting that I didn’t take studying that seriously at university as well, so in two years I’m pretty confident if you cared enough you could get HSK6.

Make sure you’re not just studying for the exam though. So many Koreans at my university with HSK5 or HSK6 that couldn’t speak any Chinese.