CHINESE · Common Test for University Admissions (大学入学共通テスト)
CHINESE/11
Chinese Written Paper
Chinese · 2023 · Variant 1
Relative difficulty
Analysis source: National Center for University Entrance Examinations (DNC)
Analysis aligned to the official syllabus and assessment design.
3.0 / 5
200
80 min
Word order, aspect particles, complements and practical reading are high-yield because they decide time, result, direction and speaker intent.
Cohort performance
Session statistics from official examination reports
Total marks
200
Duration
80 min
Session difficulty
3.0 / 5
Calculator policy
Scientific calculators permitted only where specified in the DNC implementation guidelines; programming functions and CAS are prohibited. En
Key examiner messages
Top priorities from the principal examiner before you revise
中国語 assesses written Chinese comprehension, vocabulary, grammar and practical communication based on senior high school foreign-language objectives. The Common Test written paper emphasizes reading connected texts, interpreting communicative situations and applying language kn…
Chinese uses the DNC foreign-language written-paper format: 80 minutes and 200 points.
Aspect is not identical to tense. Time words and context often supply when; particles supply completion, change, experience or state.
Directional complements such as 来/去, 上/下, 进/出 can be literal or extended; use context.
The DNC Problem Evaluation Committee publishes per-subject reports after each January session, rating alignment with the Course of Study (学習指導要領), item difficulty balance, and whether items discriminate without exceeding syllabus scope.
Question difficulty map
How candidates performed on each question in this series
No data available in official reports
Assessment objectives
Skill and AO weighting from official examiner commentary
Skill weighting
Cognitive skills emphasised in official test design.
Reading comprehension
Weight: 42100%Grammar application
Weight: 3174%Vocabulary/character inference
Weight: 1843%Contextual judgment
Weight: 921%
Method marks watchlist
Where working, steps, or method marks were commonly lost
No data available in official reports
Recurring mistakes across years
Themes examiners flag in multiple recent sessions for this subject
Aspect: Treating every 了 as past tense. — Decide whether 了 marks completion, change of state or sentence-final new situation.
Word order: Placing time/place or adverbs by Japanese/English habits. — Use the Chinese pattern subject + time + place + manner + verb ph…
Complements: Ignoring result complements such as 完, 到, 好 or 见. — Translate what outcome the action reaches, not only the base verb.
把/被: Missing disposal or passive meaning and reversing agent/patient. — Identify the object affected and the result following the verb.
Characters: Assuming Japanese kanji meaning always matches Chinese usage. — Check compound context and common false friends.
Question choice intelligence
Mean scores and popularity for optional questions (HKDSE electives)
No data available in official reports
Level exemplars
What candidate scripts at each grade level looked like
No data available in official reports
Grade & admission context
How marks relate to grade thresholds and entry standards
Official body
National Center for University Entrance Examinations (DNC)
Grading system
Foreign-language papers (excluding English) are scored 0–200 raw; universities apply deviation values
Scale band
0–200 raw
Scale band
Deviation value
Scale band
University cut-off
Deep insights
What top candidates did
Techniques and approaches examiners rewarded in this series
Prioritize sentence order
Chinese grammar questions often test time-place-manner-verb-object order, modifier placement and serial verb logic. Rebuild the sentence around subject, time, place and predicate.
Understand aspect particles
了, 过 and 着 do different jobs: change/completion, experience and continuing state. Choose based on event structure, not Japanese translation alone.
Use complements carefully
Result, direction, degree and potential complements are central. Ask what result or direction the verb achieves.
Break compounds by characters
Use known characters to infer compound meaning, but confirm with context because similar characters can form specialized words.
Read dialogues by intent
Identify request, refusal, suggestion, reason and next action. Politeness and indirect refusal may be tested through context.
Mark comparison structures
比, 跟...一样, 没有 and 越...越 patterns change comparative meaning. Translate the relation before reading options.
Command word playbook
How to match each command word to the expected response style
No data available in official reports
Time traps
Sections where candidates spent disproportionate time relative to marks
No data available in official reports
Syllabus traceability
Topics linked to questions and mark weighting in this session
Reading comprehension and practical texts
Official topic weighting
Grammar: word order, aspect, complements and sentence patterns
Official topic weighting
Vocabulary, characters and compound meaning
Official topic weighting
Communication context and culture
Official topic weighting
MCQ trap analytics
Commonly chosen wrong options from examiner commentary
No data available in official reports
Topic heatmap across years
Mark concentration by topic and exam year for this subject
Mark intensity
Reading comprehension and practical texts
Grammar: word order, aspect, complements and sentence patterns
Vocabulary, characters and compound meaning
Communication context and culture
Difficulty trend
How session difficulty has shifted across recent years
Paper comparison
Marks and duration breakdown across papers in this session
Chinese Written Paper: Reading passages, dialogues, notices, grammar/vocabulary in context and communication tasks
Marks you can still earn
Where valid approaches outside the mark scheme may still gain credit
No data available in official reports
Practise what examiners flagged
Target weak topics from this report inside the Revui app
Reading comprehension and practical texts
Official topic weighting
Practise in RevuiGrammar: word order, aspect, complements and sentence patterns
Official topic weighting
Practise in RevuiVocabulary, characters and compound meaning
Official topic weighting
Practise in RevuiCommunication context and culture
Official topic weighting
Practise in RevuiSelf-diagnostic checklist
Key actions before you sit this paper — copy and tick off as you revise
- 1Message
中国語 assesses written Chinese comprehension, vocabulary, grammar and practical communication based on senior high school foreign-language objectives. The Common Test written paper emphasizes reading connected texts, interpreting communicative situations and applying language kn…
- 2Message
Chinese uses the DNC foreign-language written-paper format: 80 minutes and 200 points.
- 3Message
Aspect is not identical to tense. Time words and context often supply when; particles supply completion, change, experience or state.
- 4Message
Directional complements such as 来/去, 上/下, 进/出 can be literal or extended; use context.
- 5Message
The DNC Problem Evaluation Committee publishes per-subject reports after each January session, rating alignment with the Course of Study (学習指導要領), item difficulty balance, and whether items discriminate without exceeding syllabus scope.
- 6Pitfall
Aspect: Treating every 了 as past tense. — Decide whether 了 marks completion, change of state or sentence-final new situation.
- 7Pitfall
Word order: Placing time/place or adverbs by Japanese/English habits. — Use the Chinese pattern subject + time + place + manner + verb ph…
- 8Pitfall
Complements: Ignoring result complements such as 完, 到, 好 or 见. — Translate what outcome the action reaches, not only the base verb.
- 9Pitfall
把/被: Missing disposal or passive meaning and reversing agent/patient. — Identify the object affected and the result following the verb.
- 10Pitfall
Characters: Assuming Japanese kanji meaning always matches Chinese usage. — Check compound context and common false friends.
- 11Strength
Prioritize sentence order: Chinese grammar questions often test time-place-manner-verb-object order, modifier placement and ser
- 12Strength
Understand aspect particles: 了, 过 and 着 do different jobs: change/completion, experience and continuing state. Choose based on ev
- 13Strength
Use complements carefully: Result, direction, degree and potential complements are central. Ask what result or direction the ve
Teacher briefing pack
One-page session summary for tutors and classroom review
2023 2023
Chinese
中国語 assesses written Chinese comprehension, vocabulary, grammar and practical communication based on senior high school foreign-language objectives. The Common Test written paper emphasizes reading connected texts, interpreting communicative situations and applying language knowl
中国語 assesses written Chinese comprehension, vocabulary, grammar and practical communication based on senior high school foreign-language objectives. The Common Test written paper emphasizes reading connected texts, interpreting communicative situations and applying language kn…
Chinese uses the DNC foreign-language written-paper format: 80 minutes and 200 points.
Aspect is not identical to tense. Time words and context often supply when; particles supply completion, change, experience or state.
Aspect: Treating every 了 as past tense. — Decide whether 了 marks completion, change of state or sentence-final new situation.
Word order: Placing time/place or adverbs by Japanese/English habits. — Use the Chinese pattern subject + time + place + manner + verb ph…
- Total marks
- 200
- Duration
- 80 min
- Session difficulty
- 3.0 / 5
- Calculator policy
- Scientific calculators permitted only where specified in the DNC implementation guidelines; programming functions and CAS are prohibited. En
Session analysis
中国語 assesses written Chinese comprehension, vocabulary, grammar and practical communication based on senior high school foreign-language objectives. The Common Test written paper emphasizes reading connected texts, interpreting communicative situations and applying language knowledge in context. National Center for University Entrance Examinations (DNC) emphasises word order, aspect particles, complements and practical reading are high-yield because they decide time, result, direction and speaker intent.. Priority revision: Reading comprehension and practical texts, Grammar: word order, aspect, complements and sentence patterns, Vocabulary, characters and compound meaning, Communication context and culture. Chinese grammar questions often test time-place-manner-verb-object order, modifier placement and serial verb logic. Rebuild the sentence around subject, time, place and predicate.
Updated 2026-07-03
Paper breakdown
Chinese Written Paper: Reading passages, dialogues, notices, grammar/vocabulary in context and communication tasks
Top chapters
Exam structure insights
Marks by syllabus topic
Revision priority from official test-design weighting.
Mark accessibility
Estimated difficulty spread based on official design.
Word order, aspect particles, complements and practical reading are high-yield b
Paper structure
Official paper breakdown for this subject.
Chinese Written Paper
200·10·100%
Official syllabus scope
中国語 assesses written Chinese comprehension, vocabulary, grammar and practical communication based on senior high school foreign-language objectives. The Common Test written paper emphasizes reading connected texts, interpreting communicative situations and applying language knowledge in context.
Difficulty verdict
Rated 3/5 for January sessions. Word order, aspect particles, complements and practical reading are high-yield because they decide time, result, direction and speaker intent.
What examiners measure
1. Understand Chinese passages, dialogues, notices and practical texts. 2. Apply grammar including word order, aspect, complements, comparison and 把/被 structures. 3. Infer vocabulary from characters, compounds and context. 4. Interpret speaker intent, sequence, condition and cultural context. 5. Answer efficiently across an 80-minute, 200-point written-language paper.
Where the marks are
Highest-weight syllabus areas: Reading comprehension and practical texts; Grammar: word order, aspect, complements and sentence patterns; Vocabulary, characters and compound meaning; Communication context and culture.
Examiner notes & key calculations
- Chinese uses the DNC foreign-language written-paper format: 80 minutes and 200 points.
- Aspect is not identical to tense. Time words and context often supply when; particles supply completion, change, experience or state.
- Directional complements such as 来/去, 上/下, 进/出 can be literal or extended; use context.
- Comparison structures require careful polarity: A 比 B..., A 没有 B..., and A 跟 B 一样... are distinct.
- Practical text items often test conditions and next action rather than full translation of every sentence.
- For reading passages, identify discourse markers such as 因为, 所以, 但是, 虽然, 如果 and 只要.
- When an option changes one character or particle, reread the whole sentence because the grammatical relation may reverse.
- Paper 1: Chinese Written Paper · 200 marks · 80 min · Reading passages, dialogues, notices, grammar/vocabulary in context and communication tasks.
Exam tips
Paper format
- Duration
- 80 min
- Total marks
- 200
- Weighting
- 100%
- Question types
- Reading passages, dialogues, notices, grammar/vocabulary in context and communication tasks
- Chinese grammar questions often test time-place-manner-verb-object order, modifier placement and serial verb logic. Rebuild the sentence around subject, time, place and predicate.
- 了, 过 and 着 do different jobs: change/completion, experience and continuing state. Choose based on event structure, not Japanese translation alone.
- Result, direction, degree and potential complements are central. Ask what result or direction the verb achieves.
Common mistakes
Aspect
Treating every 了 as past tense.
How to avoid: Decide whether 了 marks completion, change of state or sentence-final new situation.
Word order
Placing time/place or adverbs by Japanese/English habits.
How to avoid: Use the Chinese pattern subject + time + place + manner + verb phrase.
Complements
Ignoring result complements such as 完, 到, 好 or 见.
How to avoid: Translate what outcome the action reaches, not only the base verb.
Analysis is paraphrased for study purposes. Always verify against the official examiner report and mark scheme.