Hi all,

I've been studying Chinese for a little over a year. I'm wondering: when is a good time to take HSK? should I do it once every year? I expect it will take me 5 years to reach HSK 6 (though my gf thinks I can do it in 3 cause I have "her" haha). Or should I wait 5 years, and then take HSK? Any successful peoples' advice out there?

good luck skrittering!

I will take 5 in a couple of months, but I am debating whether to do 4 now just to get a feel of how the test is and get used to it.

Last year I debated between the 4 and 5 because I was somewhere in between level-wise. In the end, I decided to take the 4 in Feb to get a feel for the test since I had never taken one before. I then took the level 5 in Aug (which I thought was significantly more difficult). I am glad I did it this way, as it helped build my confidence and prepared me for what to expect. However, if you are far from an HSK testing center or have trouble getting off work to take the test, there are some pretty good practice tests out there. They can really help you gage your level and know what to expect.

As far as how long it will take to get to level 6, that's really hard to say. It depends how much and often you study over long periods of time. Having a Chinese partner won't necessarily help you that much as there is a big difference between colloquial/conversational Chinese and the more formal Chinese you will find on HSK levels 5 and 6 (particularly in the reading sections). Personally, I would recommend taking lower level HSKs to break down your goals. If you say you want to take HSK 3 by the end of is year, for example, you'll have a concrete goal in the somewhat immediate future. You will also get some experience in prepping for and taking an HSK. You really don't need to take every level and I definitely wouldn't set precise intervals as the lower levels you can get through much quicker than the higher level exams.

I would also recommend you do some of the HSK tests at the different levels to gauge your current level.
That's what I did. The HSK 4 felt easy and while HSK 5 had some stretches I could manage well there were other bits that left me struggling. Because in Switzerland they only offer the exam around October, I still have plenty of time to practice for HSK 5.

To get to HSK 6 will surely take some time. But I think it's fair to point out that there is a difference between passing the HSK 6 exam and really having the level as described officially "Designed for learners who can easily understand any (!) information communicated in Chinese and are capable of smoothly expressing themselves in written or oral form.". Internationally C2 is usually compared to being close to native speakers. Cambridge Proficiency, for example, is appearently an exam that a standard US American who hasn't been to university can't pass. But because exams are imperfect ways to measure complex constructs, one can "trick" exams with certain tactics. So if you focus on exactly this format, you should be able to pass it without having near native Chinese...which is why there are, from what I hear, a fair amount of Koreans who have HSK 5 and 6, but whose oral skills are somewhere around HSK 3-4.

百发没中 makes a good point - no point putting a lot of effort into learning to "trick" the HSK if don't need the paperwork.

I wouldn't recommend to do the smaller ones just for the sake of "having a look"; if you want to have a look you can just do them at home.
The smaller ones, up to Lvl 4 or 5 don't really mean anything, so I consider it just a waste of money.

Of course it can help you get some discipline for studying, as you will be forced to prepare each of the parts seriously.

In my Chinese course we prepared I think for both HSK2 and 3, but I never took them. I directly went for 4 on my own (after approx 3 years of studying in the evening hours, beside my regular job), I passed the HSK4 with a better score than expected.

Now I am preparing for 5 and later for 6, and I will take both exams, (meaning I will not wait and directly jump to 6 ) because of the increased difficulty and time required for studying between each of them.
I expect to finish at least the HSK5 hanzi by April and then use the rest of the year to improve reading, because so far I still got the feeling I have to decypher each character individually, I wouldn't call it fluent reading. Also still need to improve writing a lot, because I already had difficulties with the rather stupid writing part in HSK4, not to talk about writing entire summaries in HSK5...
Then next year in case I get the HSK 5 done, going for the HSK6, probably with the same setup and the rest of the year studying and preparing for it etc.
So that would mean that by 2016, or after 5-6 years of studies, I'd reach HSK 6.

Klooste, passing HSK is not related to "study for a year" but to the HOURS you spend on studying.

When I started, I studied very few hours every week, and that meant that it took me three years to feel confident to pass HSK3 (with a good result). Since then, I have been studying about 5 hours every week, and after a year and a half will attempt HSK4 in two weeks.

I find funny when people says "you MUST pass an HSK level every year" or "you MUST study more than X hours every day". It is up to you and your needs to determine if you want (or if you "must") spend so much time in learning chinese. For me it is a hobby and a good preparation for the future, so I am not in a hurry at all, and I do not need to demonstrate anything to anyone