Tip
Questions 1–15: hear one short sentence (about 6–12 characters, HSK 1–2 words) and repeat it exactly. Each sentence is played once; after the beep you have about 12 seconds to speak. The 15 items are worth about 30 of 100 points, scored on completeness, tones and pronunciation.
- While listening, split the sentence into 2–3 meaning groups: 我们公司 / 在北宁 / 离河内不远. Three chunks are easier to hold than ten loose syllables; when speaking, run each chunk together and pause only lightly between them.
- Start right after the beep, while the sentence is still “ringing” in your head. Don't translate into Vietnamese first — repeat the sound, including the intonation (a 吗 question lifts slightly, a statement falls).
- Third-tone sandhi: when two third tones meet, the first sounds almost like a second tone (你好 ní hǎo, 我想买 wó xiáng mǎi, 请给我 qíng géi wǒ); a third tone before any other tone only dips low (手机 shǒujī, 北京 Běijīng); only a third tone at the end of a chunk is said in full.
- 一 and 不 change tone: 不 before a fourth tone becomes bú (不是 bú shì, 不太 bú tài) and stays bù before tones 1–3 (不远 bù yuǎn); 一 before a fourth tone becomes yí (一次 yí cì) and yì before tones 1–3 (一杯 yì bēi, 一点儿 yìdiǎnr).
- Use the neutral tone in the right places: 的、了、吗、吧、子 (杯子) and the second syllable of 东西、朋友、喜欢、认识 are short and light, with no tone — the sentence then sounds native.
- If you lose a word, still finish the sentence with the right intonation: one missing character costs far less than stopping halfway or staying silent.