Study settings

HSK level

Your level sets the boundary of the material: sessions draw on words at your level and below. Changing it by hand is usually unnecessary, though — once every official word of your level is in your dictionary, the next level opens by itself and new words keep coming with no settings involved.

The next level opens automatically

As soon as every official word of your level is in your dictionary, the boundary moves up and the next level’s material becomes available. If that one is covered too, the boundary rises again.

So "I have run out of new words" is almost never solved by changing the level in settings. Far more often the cause is a review backlog: while it is large, sessions belong to it — new words arrive once it clears.

When changing the level really is worth it

You started at the wrong level — the material was too easy or too hard from the outset.
You are preparing for a specific exam and want the material confined to its scope.
You already speak the language and do not want to work through the lower levels in full.

What the level does not do

Changing the level does not wipe your dictionary or reset word stages. Everything you have learned stays learned — only what counts as available new material changes.

What to do if…

It looks like I have run out of new words

Check your review backlog first — that is usually the cause. You do not need to raise the level by hand for this: it rises on its own once the current level is covered.

The material is too easy

This is the case where raising the level by hand makes sense — do it in settings. Nothing you have already learned is lost.

The material is too hard

Lower the level in settings and reduce the new-word pace at the same time: difficulty usually comes from the volume of new material rather than its complexity.