HSK 6: What Level 6 Covers
HSK 6 is level 6 of the nine HSK 3.0 levels. It builds on HSK 5 with 1,800 new words, for 5,400 words in total, 1,940 characters to read and 459 grammar points.
- New words
- 1,800
- Words in total
- 5,400
- Characters to read
- 1,940
- Grammar points
- 459
Step-by-step lessons
HSK 6 Unit 1: Rhetorical questions · 5 lessons
Five lessons on rhetorical questions, the main tool of persuasion in Chinese: 难道…吗 for disagreement, 何必 for there's no need, 何况 for let alone, 莫非 for could it be, and a short debate that uses them all.
HSK 6 Unit 2: Not this but that · 5 lessons
Five lessons on correcting ideas: not this but that with 不是…而是, the real situation with 其实 and 实际上, firm denial with 并不 and 绝不, rephrasing with 换句话说 and 也就是说, and a reading on common myths about learning Chinese.
HSK 6 Unit 3: Even though · 5 lessons
Five lessons on concessions and choices: carrying on despite something with 尽管…还是, even if with 即便 and 哪怕, unexpected contrasts with 却 and 倒, preferences with 宁可…也不, and a personal essay about leaving a well-paid job.
HSK 6 Unit 4: Causes and consequences · 5 lessons
Five lessons on cause and effect in formal Chinese: the real reason with 之所以…原因在于, serious consequences with 以至于 and 以致, prevention with 以免, parallel events with 与此同时, and a report on how shared bikes changed a city.
HSK 6 Unit 5: Degrees and limits · 5 lessons
Five lessons on degree and comparison: extremely with 极其 and 十分, gentle criticism with 未免, minimums with 至少 and 起码, comparisons with 相对 and 相比之下, and a reading that weighs city life against country life.
HSK 6 Unit 6: Conditions and questions · 5 lessons
Five lessons on conditions and probing questions: imagined situations with 假如 and 倘若, rules for everyone with 凡是 and 只要是, the deciding fact with 毕竟 and 到底, pressing questions with 究竟, and a reading on whether robots should care for the elderly.
HSK 6 Unit 7: News and reported speech · 5 lessons
Five lessons on news and reporting: hearsay and sources with 据说 and 据…报道, careful claims with 恐怕, 未必 and 不见得, adding with 不仅…还, formal reporting verbs 表示, 指出 and 称, and a reading on how a rumour spread and was corrected.
HSK 6 Unit 8: Building an argument · 5 lessons
Five lessons on building an argument: ordering points with 首先, 其次 and 最后, conceding with 固然 and 诚然, grounding a proposal with 鉴于 and 基于, summing up with 总而言之 and 综上所述, and a full argumentative essay on online classes.
HSK 6 Unit 9: Classic tales retold · 5 lessons
Five lessons on classic tales behind famous chengyu: the old man who lost his horse, the painted dragons, music for a cow, the man who marked his boat, and the old man who moved mountains, with the classical words 之, 其, 而 and 以 that still appear in modern Chinese.
HSK 6 Unit 10: Review and next steps · 9 lessons
The last unit of the course brings HSK 6 together: a formal application letter, a discussion of a novel, a radio debate, your own life story told with 是…的, four lessons with the words you need for the HSK 6 stories, and a final speech about learning Chinese and what comes next.
These lessons follow the HSK 3.0 progression. Up to HSK 6, together with Chinese Foundations, they teach 1,707 words; the official syllabus counts 5,400. Mythic Mandarin is an HSK-aligned learning path and does not reproduce the complete official word list.
Learn HSK 6 step by step
Preview version — Chinese review in progress.
Intermediate stage (levels 4–6)
HSK 6 completes the intermediate stage. You practise reading opinion pieces, stories and explanations, follow an argument through rhetorical questions and careful contrasts, and meet chengyu and written-style words in context.
Goal: By the end of this Mythic Mandarin HSK 6-aligned track you will have practised reading and discussing general-interest texts, arguing with nuance through rhetorical questions and contrasts, and planning a structured speech or short essay.
What you will learn
- Rhetorical questions with 难道……吗
- Going further with 何况 and preventing with 以免
- Correcting a claim with 不是……而是……
- Concession with 尽管……还是……
- Chengyu in real sentences
- Formal words such as 该 and 十分 in written texts
Audio preview uses your device’s Chinese voice. It is not a recording.
Vocabulary: abstract ideas
Mythic Mandarin starter words for this level, not the official HSK 6 word list.
Characters: words with a story inside
Many HSK 6 words keep a picture or a story inside them. The characters below are a Mythic Mandarin practice selection, not an official HSK list.
Review Words that remember a story
矛盾 is spear (矛) plus shield (盾). An old story tells of a seller who praised a spear that could pierce anything and a shield that nothing could pierce: the two claims cannot both be true, and the word came to mean a contradiction.
矛盾
máodùn
contradiction
Optional practice. Watch the strokes, then trace the character; each finished trace counts as one repetition, up to 20. Progress is saved on this device only, and nothing here is needed to continue.
Grammar: arguing with nuance
HSK 6 grammar is about persuasion and precision: challenging, correcting, conceding and preventing.
New 难道……吗: surely not?
难道 turns a question into a challenge: the speaker expects the opposite answer and is often surprised or annoyed.
难道你不知道吗？
Nándào nǐ bù zhīdào ma?
Don't tell me you didn't know!
New 何况: let alone
何况 adds a case that follows even more strongly from what was just said.
连他都不会，何况我呢？
Lián tā dōu bú huì, hékuàng wǒ ne?
Even he can't do it, let alone me.
New 以免: so as not to
以免 introduces the thing you want to prevent. It belongs to written and careful speech.
出门前检查一下，以免忘带东西。
Chūmén qián jiǎnchá yíxià, yǐmiǎn wàng dài dōngxi.
Check before you leave so you don't forget anything.
New 不是……而是……: not this, but that
The pattern corrects an assumption: the first part is rejected, the second is the real point.
问题不是钱，而是时间。
Wèntí bú shì qián, ér shì shíjiān.
The problem isn't money, it's time.
New 尽管……还是……: even though
尽管 states a real difficulty; 还是 or 仍然 says the result happened anyway.
尽管很困难，他还是坚持下来了。
Jǐnguǎn hěn kùnnan, tā háishi jiānchí xiàlai le.
Even though it was hard, he kept going.
Practise Chengyu inside sentences
A chengyu usually works as one word: a verb, an adjective or a description.
他做事总是半途而废。
Tā zuò shì zǒngshì bàntú'érfèi.
He always gives up halfway.
我们不能守株待兔，要主动找机会。
Wǒmen bù néng shǒuzhūdàitù, yào zhǔdòng zhǎo jīhuì.
We can't just wait for luck; we have to look for opportunities.
Practise Formal words in descriptions
该 (this, the said), 十分 (very) and 与 (and) make a description sound written and precise.
该地区的气候十分温和。
Gāi dìqū de qìhòu shífēn wēnhé.
The climate of this region is very mild.
Review Potential complements with 起
买得起 and 买不起 say whether you can afford something.
这么贵的房子，我们买不起。
Zhème guì de fángzi, wǒmen mǎi bu qǐ.
We can't afford such an expensive flat.
Review 是……的 in narration
是……的 highlights the circumstances of a past event in stories and reports.
这座桥是一百年前修建的。
Zhè zuò qiáo shì yìbǎi nián qián xiūjiàn de.
This bridge was built a hundred years ago.
Practice
Answer each question, then read the explanation. Your answers stay on this device only.
Meaning
难道你忘了吗？ What does the speaker mean?
Show the answer
Answer: A, Surely you haven't forgotten?.
难道……吗 is a rhetorical question: the speaker is surprised and expects that you should not have forgotten.
Fill the gap
Fill the gap: 大人都觉得难，＿孩子呢？ (Even adults find it hard, let alone children.)
Show the answer
Answer: A, 何况.
何况 adds a case that follows even more strongly: let alone children.
Grammar
Which sentence uses 以免 correctly?
Show the answer
Answer: A, 请早点出发，以免迟到。.
以免 introduces the thing to avoid, after the action: leave early so as not to be late.
Word order
Build: "It's not that I don't want to go; I don't have time."
- 而是没有时间
- 不是不想去
- 我
Show the answer
我不是不想去而是没有时间 Wǒ bú shì bù xiǎng qù, ér shì méiyǒu shíjiān.
It's not that I don't want to go; I don't have time.
不是 rejects the assumed reason; 而是 gives the real one.
Fill the gap
Fill the gap: 尽管下着雨，他＿去跑步了。 (Even though it was raining, he still went running.)
Show the answer
Answer: A, 还是.
尽管 is answered by 还是: the result happened anyway.
Meaning
他学什么都半途而废。 What is he like?
Show the answer
Answer: A, He gives up halfway on everything he studies..
半途而废: to stop halfway down the road, to give up before finishing.
Grammar
"This watch is too expensive; I can't afford it." 这块表太贵了，我买＿起。
Show the answer
Answer: A, 不.
买不起 means you cannot afford it.
Reading
Read: 很多人认为工作越多越好，其实不然。如果不注意休息，效率反而会下降。 What is the writer's point?
Show the answer
Answer: A, Working without rest can lower efficiency..
其实不然 (actually, that is not so) rejects the common view; without rest, efficiency 反而 (contrary to expectation) drops.
Review: can you do this?
Check yourself before moving on to the advanced band.
- I can recognise and use rhetorical questions with 难道.
- I can argue with 何况, 不是……而是…… and 尽管……还是…….
- I can say what I want to prevent with 以免.
- I can use a chengyu correctly in a sentence.
- I can read a short opinion piece and state its main point.
After HSK 6 comes the advanced HSK 7–9 band: one official band that Mythic Mandarin splits into Level 7, 8 and 9 story tracks. Continue to HSK 7–9
How many words are in HSK 6?
HSK 6 has 5,400 words in total: the 3,600 words up to HSK 5 plus 1,800 new words.
That is 49% of the 11,000 words in the complete HSK 3.0 list, which runs from HSK 1 to the advanced HSK 7–9 band.
What comes after HSK 6
After HSK 6 comes the advanced HSK 7–9 band, with 11,000 words in its official list. Levels 7, 8 and 9 form one band in HSK 3.0.
Writing Chinese characters at HSK 6
Optional character writing practice: watch the stroke order, then write the character yourself. This is a Mythic Mandarin practice method, not an official HSK requirement.
Look up the stroke order of any character in the Chinese Stroke Order Dictionary
Look up any word, its pinyin and meanings in the Chinese dictionary
Speaking at HSK 6
From level 3, speaking is part of the exam: for levels 3 to 6 the speaking test is registered together with the written test of the same level.