The Test Activity

Ready to check your knowledge? The Test Activity is a powerful way to assess your understanding of the vocabulary in a list. It presents you with a series of randomized challenges to see how well you've retained what you've studied.

Unlike our other activities, a test requires you to submit an answer before moving on, but don't worry—it's still a low-pressure tool designed to help you identify areas for improvement.

How to Start a Test

You can launch a Test from any page that contains a supported word list. Look for the "Test" button in the action bar at the top of the list.

You can find this button on pages like:

• The HSK Board
• Your personal "My Words" page
• The vocabulary tab within a Lesson
• Any individual Word List page

The Testing Interface

The test screen is designed to be clean and focused, presenting one question at a time. The type of question will vary to test your knowledge from different angles.

Question Type: Character Selection

In this mode, you'll be given a Pinyin or a definition and asked to select the correct Chinese characters from a set of options.

Question Type: Pinyin Input

In this mode, you'll be shown the Chinese characters and asked to type the correct Pinyin.

(Our Pinyin input tool has some powerful features. For a detailed guide on how it works, please see our Using the Pinyin Input Tool article.)

Question Type: Image Selection

For vocabulary that is easily represented by a picture, you might be asked to select the correct image. You'll be given the Chinese word and asked to choose the matching image from a set of options.

Answering Questions

After you submit your answer, the interface will immediately tell you if you were correct or incorrect, and will highlight the right answer so you can learn from any mistakes.

Navigating the Test

Use the buttons in the bottom bar to move through the test.

• Check: Submits your answer for the current question.
• Next: Appears after you've answered. Click it to move to the next question.
• Skip: Don't know the answer? No problem. You can click "Skip" at any time to move to the next question without penalty.

Completing Your Test

Once you've finished all the questions, you'll see the same summary screen as our other activities. It will show you how many questions you answered correctly.

From here, you can choose to End Test or Review again to take another pass at the material.