HSK 5 · 270/300
The Resource Directory
45 resources annotated with exactly how I used each one. No gatekeeping — these are the same free and paid materials I used to pass HSK5 as a full-time CS student.
“I found these free, so you should too.”
Showing 45 resources
- 01
25天攻克新HSK5级写作
The most useful dedicated writing resource I used for HSK5. Sentence building exercises, a good range of idioms, and ready-made essay structures for different topic types — I built my own list of idioms from this book that I still use. If you're serious about the writing section of the test, this is the most direct preparation I found.
★★★★★语法 Grammar - 02
AI Chatbots (ChatGPT / Claude)
Sentence correction, native-context example sentences, essay feedback, quiz generation — I used AI across every skill category, not just one. The key is treating it as a responsive tutor rather than a search engine: ask it to quiz you, correct you, or explain why a sentence sounds unnatural.
★★★★★词汇 Vocab语法 Grammar - 03
Anki
Spaced repetition is already built in, and if you're on iPhone and can't use Pleco for free, this is the alternative I'd recommend without hesitation. The premade HSK decks — both old and new versions — mean you can get started without building from scratch if you don't want to. I still think making your own cards is worth the time, but Anki makes either approach viable.
★★★★★词汇 Vocab - 04
Chorusing
Repeating sentences from clips — either ones you make yourself or from other learners — builds the muscle memory for getting sentences out naturally rather than word by word. I'd underestimated how different sentence-level practice feels compared to word-level practice until I started doing this consistently. The tool is flexible enough to use for shadowing too.
★★★★★口语 Speaking - 05
抖音 (Douyin / TikTok)
The algorithm personalises quickly, and if you stay disciplined about only consuming content made by native speakers you'll pick up at least a few phrases daily without it feeling like study. The trap is drifting into English-language content — once that happens the algorithm feeds you more of it and the value drops to zero. Treat it as a tool, not entertainment, and it's genuinely one of the best passive listening resources available.
★★★★★听力 Listening - 06
Du Chinese
Same inline lookup and audio features as Free Chinese Reading Practice, and the content library is well-graded. The ability to slow the audio down and follow along makes it a realistic bridge between controlled study and native-speed material. Worth paying for if you're at the upper HSK levels and need graded content that doesn't feel patronising.
★★★★★阅读 Reading - 07
Fiction / Non-Fiction Books
This is where in-context and subject-specific vocabulary actually gets absorbed rather than memorised. I found idioms here that I later used in my HSK5 essays because I'd seen them in a real sentence first, not a flashcard. More on specific apps in the reading section, but the point is: reading real content is irreplaceable at the upper levels.
★★★★★词汇 Vocab阅读 Reading - 08
Free Chinese Reading Practice
One of the apps that lets you hold on a character to get the pinyin and meaning inline, which removes the friction of looking things up externally. The audio narration option with adjustable speed is useful for using the same content for both reading and listening practice. I found it especially good for getting reading speed up without losing comprehension.
★★★★★阅读 Reading - 09
HSK Workbooks (Reading Sections)
The reading content is the strongest part of the workbooks in my view. Once you're at a level where comprehension isn't the bottleneck, start timing yourself — that's when you actually improve words-per-minute. Note down every unknown word even if you're skimming; you can build flashcards from them later.
★★★★★阅读 Reading - 10
NetEase Music (网易云音乐)
Chinese music as passive listening has a low barrier to entry and a surprisingly high return for vocabulary and tonal feel. 网易云 has both Chinese and international content, and some podcasts too, so it works as a single audio app. The emotional connection to songs also helps certain phrases stay in memory longer than they would on a flashcard.
★★★★★听力 Listening - 11
Pronunciation Work Using Pinyin Chart
Using the interactive Pinyin Table, you can practice your pronunciation, if you have somebody to study with you can even make it a little game by asking them to randomly click on a tone, and you have to guess, which it was. The limitations of how this tool can be used is only up to your imagination.
★★★★★口语 Speaking - 12
Pleco
I made my own flashcard decks rather than relying on premade ones, and the extra effort of building them gave me more exposure to each word before I'd even tested myself. The on-screen drawing feature for character dictation practice is something I kept coming back to when I didn't have a pen nearby. Genuinely the app I used the most across the whole study period.
★★★★★词汇 Vocab - 13
Real Conversations / Language Exchange
Nothing replicates the pressure and unpredictability of a real conversation, and the online exchange communities can actually be more consistent than meeting people in person. If you're not in mainland China and don't have native-speaking friends, this is the most direct substitute. Consistency matters more than any single session — find a partner you can talk to regularly.
★★★★★听力 Listening口语 Speaking - 14
Say Nihao – Chinese Learning (YouTube)
The best channel I found for going through the HSK books systematically — they cover grammar points with real examples and the explanations actually land. I used this alongside the coursebooks rather than instead of them, but if a grammar point wasn't clicking from the book alone, this was the first place I'd check. Consistent output, reliable quality.
★★★★★语法 Grammar - 15
Shadowing (via Chorusing)
Shadowing works differently from chorusing — you're tracking and mimicking in real time rather than repeating after a pause — and the two complement each other. I used SyS Mandarin on YouTube as one source for this. The goal isn't to sound identical to the speaker; it's to train your mouth to keep up with your brain.
★★★★★口语 Speaking - 16
SyS Mandarin (YouTube)
A reliable source for shadowing material, and the content is well-paced for intermediate-to-advanced learners. I kept coming back to it specifically for speaking practice rather than passive listening.
★★★★★口语 Speaking听力 Listening - 17
微信读书 (WeChat Reading)
Access to a huge library of Chinese-language books with good reading UX on mobile. At HSK4–5 level this is where you start reading things you'd actually choose to read, not just study materials. Easily findable on any app store.
★★★★★阅读 Reading - 18
Audiobooks
Great for building listening endurance, especially for longer stretches where you're tracking a narrative rather than isolated sentences. The main downside is that unknown vocabulary flies by and you have to make an active effort to pause and note things down — easy to get lazy with. More detail in the reading section.
★★★★☆听力 Listening阅读 Reading - 19
发展汉语 (Developing Chinese)
I didn't use it heavily myself, but almost every university language programme in China uses it, so there's clearly something there. The people I know who did use it still supplemented with HSK books, so I'd treat it as a parallel resource rather than a replacement. Worth picking up if you want a more academic framing of the grammar.
★★★★☆词汇 Vocab语法 Grammar - 20
HSK Books / 发展汉语 (Grammar Focus)
The grammar coverage is comprehensive but the density of points without enough practice contexts means some things don't consolidate the way they should. You can read a grammar point, understand it, and still forget it a week later if you haven't found a way to actually use it. Pair with a YouTube explanation and your own sentence building to make it stick.
★★★★☆语法 Grammar - 21
HSK (1-6) Coursebooks (Level 4/5)
Most new words come with translations, and the idioms embedded in the texts are genuinely useful for understanding how natives actually talk. I'd rate it higher if the vocab presentation were more varied, but as a structured foundation it's solid. The indirect exposure — words you pick up from context rather than a glossary — sticks better than anything drilled in isolation.
★★★★☆词汇 Vocab - 22
HSK Workbook Listening Exercises
Perfect for calibrating to the test format and the pace they expect at each level. The limitation is that it's a very controlled, clean audio environment, so it won't prepare you for real native-speed conversation on its own. I used it alongside other listening sources rather than as the main thing.
★★★★☆听力 Listening - 23
HSK (1-6) Workbooks (Level 4/5)
The reading sections are dense with new vocabulary, and the fact that translations aren't always given forces you to work harder — which, annoyingly, makes the words stick. I'd write down unknown words and anchor each one to the sentence I found it in, which made review much faster later. Don't just scroll through the texts; that's how you waste the best part of the resource.
★★★★☆词汇 Vocab阅读 Reading - 24
Podcasts (General)
Any podcast on any topic works — the subject matter is almost secondary to the fact that you're getting extended exposure to natural spoken Chinese. Passive listening while commuting or doing something else is a low-effort way to train your ear to parse characters mentally. I didn't track specific shows I'd recommend, but the format itself is underrated.
★★★★☆听力 Listening - 25
腾讯新闻 (Tencent News)
News reading is good for keeping vocabulary current and encountering formal written Chinese. The topics vary enough that you'll consistently hit new domain-specific words. More passive than structured study, but useful for reading speed and breadth.
★★★★☆阅读 Reading - 26
新华字典 (Xinhua Dictionary)
Only relevant once you're deep enough into the language to think and define in Chinese — which won't be most people reading this. I mention it because at higher levels a monolingual dictionary forces a different kind of engagement with the language, but don't rush to it.
★★★☆☆词汇 Vocab - 27
Acquire Mandarin (YouTube)
Comprehensible input channel. Useful for immersion-style listening without subtitles or heavy scaffolding.
Unrated听力 Listening - 28
Chinese at Dawn (YouTube)
Slower-paced content designed for learners — useful for early-morning or low-effort listening sessions.
Unrated听力 Listening - 29
Chinese Tales with Xiao Lin (YouTube)
Story-format content — good for listening practice with narrative context, which helps with retention of new vocabulary.
Unrated听力 Listening阅读 Reading - 30
ChinesePod (YouTube)
Long-running, well-structured channel with content across levels. Useful for getting a sense of how conversational Chinese sounds across different registers.
Unrated听力 Listening口语 Speaking - 31
Comprehensible Mandarin (YouTube)
Comprehensible input content pitched at learners — the immersion approach without throwing you in the deep end. Good for building reading-speed intuition and listening to natural speech at a manageable pace.
Unrated听力 Listening阅读 Reading - 32
Cozy Mandarin (YouTube)
Relaxed-format content, useful for comfortable passive listening without the pressure of test-prep materials.
Unrated听力 Listening - 33
Dashu Mandarin 大叔中文 (YouTube)
Practical, colloquial Chinese explanations. Good for filling gaps between formal study materials and how the language is actually used.
Unrated听力 Listening语法 Grammar - 34
FluentU Chinese (YouTube)
Real-world video content with learning tools layered on top. The YouTube channel gives you a taste of the approach.
Unrated听力 Listening词汇 Vocab - 35
狗熊有话说 (YouTube)
Native-speaker content at natural speed — good for advanced listening practice and getting used to authentic conversational register.
Unrated听力 Listening - 36
Jun – Stickynote Chinese (YouTube)
Memory and vocabulary-focused content. Worth checking if you're looking for alternative ways to retain characters and grammar patterns.
Unrated词汇 Vocab语法 Grammar - 37
Learn Chinese Through Podcast (YouTube)
Podcast-format learning content on YouTube. Good for passive listening habits and picking up conversational patterns.
Unrated听力 Listening - 38
Mandarin Blueprint (YouTube)
A memory-technique-focused channel — useful if you're trying to build a mental framework for retaining characters rather than just drilling them. I didn't use it as a primary resource but it's worth knowing about, especially early on when the character system is still unfamiliar.
Unrated词汇 Vocab口语 Speaking - 39
Mandarin Click (YouTube)
Structured explanations of grammar and vocabulary points. Good supplementary resource alongside the HSK books.
Unrated语法 Grammar词汇 Vocab - 40
Mandarin Corner (YouTube)
Conversation-based content with native speakers — useful for listening to extended natural speech and picking up conversational patterns.
Unrated听力 Listening口语 Speaking - 41
My Chinese Short Stories (YouTube)
Short story format at a learner-accessible pace. Good for reading comprehension practice that doesn't require a full book commitment.
Unrated听力 Listening阅读 Reading - 42
NotebookLM
I use it to do audio overviews of materials I send it — useful when you want to process written study material in listening form. Not a Chinese-specific tool but worth including in any toolkit that treats AI as a genuine study partner.
Unrated听力 Listening - 43
ShuoshuoChinese 说说中文 (YouTube)
Native-hosted content with a conversational tone. Good for getting used to natural pacing and informal speech patterns.
Unrated口语 Speaking听力 Listening - 44
Will Hart 何威 (YouTube)
Useful for getting a native English speaker's perspective on learning Chinese — good for troubleshooting specific points that textbooks gloss over.
Unrated口语 Speaking语法 Grammar - 45
Zhangkai Chinese (YouTube)
Clear, well-paced explanations suited to intermediate learners working through the upper HSK levels.
Unrated听力 Listening语法 Grammar