The gaokao (university entrance exam) in Chinese 高考

gāokǎo

The gaokao (national university entrance exam) in Chinese is 高考 (gāo kǎo).

Also searched for as: gaokao, Chinese college entrance exam, National College Entrance Examination, China university entrance exam.

The exam that decides university places for millions every June. 15 words and phrases for The gaokao (university entrance exam) in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.

高考 (gāo kǎo) is China's national university entrance exam, sat by millions of students in early June. It dominates the final year of secondary school, 高三 (gāo sān), when students 刷题 (shuā tí), drilling practice questions day after day, and almost every Chinese adult has vivid memories of it. These words cover the exam itself, the anxious wait to 查分 (chá fēn), check results, and the hopes riding on a 录取通知书 (lù qǔ tōng zhī shū), university acceptance letter.

Usage tips

• On exam day some mothers wear a 旗袍 (qí páo), qipao, to wish their child 旗开得胜 (qí kāi dé shèng), instant success, a pun on the shared 旗 (qí).
• In 填志愿 (tián zhì yuàn), 志愿 means a choice or preference of university and major, not a volunteer, which is 志愿者 (zhì yuàn zhě).
• 状元 (zhuàng yuán) was originally the title of the top scorer in the imperial civil service exams, and today 高考状元 means the top scorer in a province.

Common mistakes

• Asking whether someone 通过了高考, passed the gaokao: it is scored rather than pass or fail, so ask 考了多少分？ (kǎo le duō shao fēn?) or say 考上了大学 (kǎo shàng le dà xué), got into university.
• Mixing up 复读 (fù dú), repeating the final year to resit, with 复习 (fù xí), to revise.

Mini dialogue

1. A你弟弟是不是快高考了？Nǐ dì di shì bù shì kuài gāo kǎo le?Isn't your brother about to sit the gaokao?
2. B对，他现在高三，每天刷题刷到半夜。Duì, tā xiàn zài gāo sān, měi tiān shuā tí shuā dào bàn yè.Yes, he's in his final year. He does practice questions until midnight every day.
3. A太辛苦了。考试那天你们去送考吗？Tài xīn kǔ le. Kǎo shì nà tiān nǐ men qù sòng kǎo ma?That's tough. Are you going with him on exam day?
4. B我妈说要穿旗袍去，祝他旗开得胜。Wǒ mā shuō yào chuān qí páo qù, zhù tā qí kāi dé shèng.My mum says she's going to wear a qipao to wish him instant success.
5. A哈哈，希望他考上理想的大学！Hā hā, xī wàng tā kǎo shàng lǐ xiǎng de dà xué!Ha! I hope he gets into the university he wants!
6. B谢谢，最难的可能是查分以后填志愿。Xiè xie, zuì nán de kě néng shì chá fēn yǐ hòu tián zhì yuàn.Thanks. The hardest part might be choosing universities after the results come out.

Example sentences

• 你高考考了多少分？What did you get in the gaokao?
• 每年高考都有一千多万考生。Every year there are over ten million gaokao candidates.
• 高三是我最累的一年。My final year of school was the most exhausting year of my life.
• 高三每天就是刷题。In the final year, all you do every day is practise questions.
• 千万别忘了带准考证！Whatever you do, don't forget your admission ticket!
• 考生要提前半小时进考场。Candidates have to enter the exam room half an hour early.
• 高考那天很多家长去送考。On gaokao day lots of parents go with their kids to the exam.
• 一般六月下旬就能查分了。You can usually check your results in late June.
• 今年的分数线出来了吗？Are this year's cut-off scores out yet?
• 填志愿比考试还难。Choosing your universities is harder than the exam itself.
• 他是我们省的高考状元。He was the top gaokao scorer in our province.
• 我收到大学的录取通知书了！I've got my university acceptance letter!
• 他没考好，决定复读一年。He didn't do well, so he decided to repeat the year.
• 你觉得高考是一考定终身吗？Do you think the gaokao decides your whole life?
• 大家都说高考是千军万马过独木桥。People say the gaokao is like an army crossing a single-plank bridge.

Practise speaking

Ready to use these words? The The gaokao (university entrance exam) speaking island has 8 everyday questions about The gaokao (university entrance exam) to prepare your own answers to.

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