Use cases: travel, work, or HSK exam
Pick one path: travel, business, or HSK prep. Each case has its own proof and says what to skip. Speaking or restarting link to practice; they do not clone these guides.
Three jobs need three calendars. This hub decides which to open. It is not a phrase dump and not a level syllabus. Classic six-level counts (150 to 5,000 words) are on Wikipedia HSK. Signup: chinesetest.cn. Framework: CLEC.
Travel: numbers, taxi, hotel, and one dish. The T-21 calendar is Chinese for travel. Airport lines live in travel phrases. Do not open HSK 4 “just in case” the week you fly.
Work: four rooms (reception, table, WeChat, invoice). Honest floor at HSK 3. The path is Chinese for business. Eighty stickers are not a job. FSI’s 2,200 hours are professional working proficiency, not an 8-week challenge (FSI page).
Exam: confirm your center’s paper, one list, listening from week one, mock when the queue is green. That is HSK prep. Each level has its guide in HSK guides. This hub does not clone the HSK 1 8-week plan.
How to pick a path (one, not three)
If the date is a flight, the path is travel. If the date is a fair or a supplier, the path is business. If the date is a room with an official paper, the path is exam. Three dates in the same month stack: suitcase first, then table, the paper when you are back.
Starting from zero is not a fourth case in this family: it is learn Chinese. Talking to the tutor does not replace picking a level. Restarting a red queue is practice, not a new guide.
The cards below are the shortcut. The three long guides are the argument. Do not read all three on the same Saturday.
What this hub does not mix
It does not mix 买单 (restaurant bill) with 交货 (warehouse date). It does not mix 登机牌 with a mock. It does not mix 2021 bands with six-level HSK in the same queue.
Phrases give lines with pinyin. This hub gives the criterion for which block to rehearse. The blog is method and product. Each URL has a job. Cloning them is the mistake that already cost the index.
HSK 1–2 can be studied free in the app, with daily limits. The AI tutor is Premium and also capped. No path promises fluency or a pass.
What are you trying to do?
Pass an HSK paper
You have a date, or you will have one this year.
- Read the guide for the level your center still offers (usually 1–6).
- Study that list with SRS. Do not mix classic HSK with the 2021 HSK 7–9 bands in the same week.
- Add listening and a timed mock only after the queue is under control.
Travel in China
A trip in weeks or months — not an exam season.
- Numbers, taxis, hotels, and food first. Skip the full HSK 4 syllabus.
- Say the phrases out loud. Recognition on a screen is not ordering noodles.
- Add HSK 1 only if you stay more than a few weeks.
Work with Chinese speakers
Suppliers, fairs, deadlines — not a business-school course.
- Introductions, prices, dates, and order confirmations beat abstract HSK 5 essays.
- Use the tutor in role-play after you have a small set of work phrases.
- HSK still helps later. Do not wait for HSK 5 to say “Tuesday”.
Speak, not only tap cards
You can read a word and freeze when someone answers.
- Keep SRS for recall. Add 10 minutes of tutor or voice practice on the same words.
- Ask for correction, not a chatbot tour of China.
- Premium covers the model cost. Free/standard have daily tutor caps.
Start from zero
No characters, no tones — or a week of apps and a mess.
- Pinyin and the four tones in week one. Do not start with 2,000 characters.
- Then HSK 1 phrases, not a random deck.
- Fifteen to thirty minutes a day. HSK 1–2 can start free in the app.
Get back into study
You stopped. The queue is red. Opening the app feels like a debt.
- Clear reviews first. Do not add 200 new words “to catch up”.
- Twenty minutes, same hour, for two weeks. Then new cards.
- If the paper changed at your center, re-read the level guide before you mix lists.
Longer guides
Three written routes if you want the full argument, not only the checklist.
Chinese for business: four rooms, not 80 phrases
A Mandarin path for meetings, fairs, and suppliers. HSK 3–4 floor, 您, deadlines, and orders. Not an 80-line dump or the HSK 5 syllabus.
Read guide →Chinese for travel: 10 days on HSK 1–2
What to study for a 10-day trip to China: numbers, taxi, hotel, and one dish. HSK 1–2 survival. Not the restaurant menu and not HSK 4.
Read guide →HSK prep: one sequence, not three apps
How to prepare the six-level HSK: pick the paper, sign up on chinesetest.cn, listen, then time a mock. Do not mix 2021 bands.
Read guide →FAQ
Where do I start if I only want to travel in China?
A T-21 calendar and numbers out loud, not a mock. Open Chinese for travel and travel phrases. Add HSK 1 only if you stay more than a few weeks.
Is business Chinese the same as HSK 4?
No. HSK 4 measures general comprehension (~1,200 words in the six-level frame). Business needs 您, deadlines, and confirming an order. You can prepare both; not in the same session. Path: Chinese for business.
Which use case matches the official HSK?
Exam preparation. Order: confirm the paper → level list → listening → mock. Signup only on chinesetest.cn. The app is not a center.
Can I run all three paths at once?
Not the same week. The ear will not absorb 登机口, 附件, and exam listening together. Pick the nearest date. The other two URLs wait.
HSK 1–2 is free to start
Placement, flashcards, and a daily queue. The AI tutor is on Premium. Official HSK registration stays on chinesetest.cn — this site is not a test center.