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What is TOCFL?

TL;DR

  • TOCFL is the standard Chinese Proficiency Test used in Taiwan
  • It’s an accreditation used by Taiwanese Universities and companies
  • There are two novice levels then 6 main levels, organised into 4 bands

TOCL - The Basics

TOCFL stands for Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language a.k.a Huáyǔwén Nénglì Cèyàn (華語文能力測驗) and is Taiwan’s official standarized language test for non-native speakers. The test levels are… not especially intuitive. 

Levels are split into four bands with two levels each:

– Band Novice (level 1, 2)
– Band A (level 1, 2)
– Band B (level 3, 4)
– Band C (level 5, 6)

One thing that’s confusing about the TOCFL level system is that they use both “Bands” and “Levels”.The easiest way to understand this is to treat them separately. 

  • Novice: The novice band is for absolute beginners and can be treated separately to the main TOCFL levels
  • Bands: A, B C correspond to the CEFR standard language levels e.g. A1, A2, B1, B2 etc…
  • Levels: 1-6  are simply the six levels of exam that you would need to take. From beginner to expert.
Novice band
Band TOCFL Level Proficiency Vocabulary CEFR Equivalent (approx)
Novice 1 Noobie 160 words -
Novice 2 Beginner 300 words -
Main bands
Band TOCFL Level Proficiency Vocabulary CEFR Equivalent (approx)
A 1 Elementary 600 words A1
A 2 Improver 1100 words A2
B 3 Intermediate 2300 words B1
B 4 Advanced 4600 words B2
C 5 Pro 7300 words C1
C 6 Expert 8000+ words C2
Why would I study TOCFL?

The TOCFL system is used wherever an official language accreditation is needed for example, when you apply for a university or a job in Taiwan. 

As an independent learner, even if you don’t plan to work or study in Taiwan, it can also be useful to track your progress. 

Text books will target particular TOCFL levels and there are resources available online for TOCFL vocabulary lists and TOCFL grammar points. 

TOCFL Word Lists

Here are the word lists for each of the TOCFL levels. These lists have been verified against the official word lists. They can be exported for Anki, Pleco, Quizlet, Excel and CSV or studied in the WeHanzi app for free. 

Note: the official TOCFL word list from the TOCFL website has a number of mistakes. We have tried to correct these in our lists but if you see any mistakes, let us know and we will fix them. Email info@wehanzi.com.