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Chinese B – Mandarin (often called Mandarin B) is a language acquisition course (Group 2) in the IB Diploma Programme for students who already have some Mandarin Chinese and want to become confident, independent users of the language, in speaking, listening, reading and writing.
Mandarin is the most widely spoken first language in the world, and interest in learning it keeps growing. According to figures from China's Foreign Ministry reported in 2024, more than 30 million people are learning Chinese, and 82 countries have made it part of their national education systems. Mandarin opens doors to study and work in China, Taiwan, Singapore and Chinese-speaking communities worldwide.
This guide covers everything you need to know about the current Chinese B course, from choosing SL or HL to every part of the assessment. It also explains the updated Language B course, first assessed in 2029. The course facts come from the IB's Language B guide (first assessment 2020) and the IB's official subject briefs and updates, written in our own words.
Key Takeaways
- Chinese B is for students with some previous Mandarin. Complete beginners take Mandarin ab initio, and native speakers usually take Chinese A.
- It is offered at SL (150 hours) and HL (240 hours). HL students also study two literary works originally written in Chinese.
- The course is built around five themes: identities, experiences, human ingenuity, social organization and sharing the planet.
- Assessment: Paper 1 writing (25%), Paper 2 listening and reading (50%) and an individual oral (25%). In Chinese, Paper 1 length is measured in characters (字), not words.
- An updated Language B course starts with first assessment in 2029, but the IB has confirmed no changes to the assessment model.
Which IB Chinese Course Should You Take?
The IB offers Chinese in three different ways, and choosing the right one matters. Taking a course that is too easy or too hard for your current level is one of the most common mistakes students make with languages.
| Course | Who it is for | Levels |
|---|---|---|
| Mandarin ab initio | Students with no previous Chinese, or very little | SL only |
| Chinese B | Students with some previous experience of Chinese | SL and HL |
| Chinese A (Literature, or Language and Literature) | Native or near-native speakers. A literature course in Group 1, not a language-learning course | SL and HL |
As a rough guide, if you can already read and write a few hundred characters, know pinyin and can hold a simple conversation, Chinese B is likely to be right for you. If you're starting from zero, read our guide to IB Mandarin ab initio. Your school will make the final decision, often using your MYP results or a placement test.
What Is the Difference Between Chinese B SL and HL?
At both levels, you learn to describe situations, tell stories, make comparisons, explain problems and give and support your opinions in Chinese. The differences are in depth, complexity and literature.
| Chinese B SL | Chinese B HL | |
|---|---|---|
| Teaching hours | 150 | 240 |
| Literature | Not required | Two literary works originally written in Chinese are required |
| Language expectations | Understand straightforward arguments Write and speak on topics of interest | Analyse arguments and literary texts Use a wider and more complex range of language, including more characters, idioms (成语) and more formal registers |
| Paper 1 | 300–480 characters, 1 hour 15 minutes | 540–720 characters, 1 hour 30 minutes |
| Paper 2 listening | 45 minutes | 1 hour |
| Individual oral stimulus | A visual image | An extract from one of your literary works |
HL suits students who are already comfortable in Chinese, enjoy reading, and may want to study or work in a Chinese-speaking country. SL is a strong choice if Chinese is a supporting language for you and you want to build solid, practical fluency.
The Five Themes
Every Language B course, including Chinese, is organised around five prescribed themes. All five must be covered equally. The IB also suggests recommended topics for each theme, but these are not prescribed, so your teacher can choose topics that suit the class and Chinese-speaking cultures.
| Theme | What it explores | Recommended topics |
|---|---|---|
| Identities | The nature of the self and what it means to be human | Lifestyles Health and well-being Beliefs and values Subcultures Language and identity |
| Experiences | The events, experiences and journeys that shape our lives | Leisure activities Holidays and travel Life stories Rites of passage Customs and traditions Migration |
| Human ingenuity | How human creativity and innovation affect our world | Entertainment Artistic expressions Communication and media Technology Scientific innovation |
| Social organization | How groups of people organise themselves, or are organised | Social relationships Community Social engagement Education The working world Law and order |
| Sharing the planet | The challenges and opportunities facing individuals and communities in the modern world | The environment Human rights Peace and conflict Equality Globalization Ethics Urban and rural environment |
The best Chinese B students link every theme to specific features of Chinese-speaking societies. Think of family values and filial piety (孝), the Spring Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival, the pressure of the gaokao (高考) university entrance exam, high-speed rail and mobile payments, rapid urbanisation, or panda conservation. You can also draw on Taiwan, Singapore and Chinese communities around the world. Specific, well-chosen examples make your writing and your oral far more convincing.
Texts and Text Types
The course uses three broad categories of texts. You'll read and listen to them throughout the course, and you'll write some of them in Paper 1.
| Personal texts | Professional texts | Mass media texts |
|---|---|---|
Blog Diary Email Personal letter Social media posting | Blog Email Essay Formal letter Proposal Questionnaire Report Set of instructions Survey | Advertisement Article Blog Brochure Film Interview Leaflet News report Opinion column Podcast Poster Review Speech Travel guide Web page |
The course also develops your understanding of audience, context, purpose, meaning and variation. In Chinese, register shows through word choice: for example, using 您 instead of 你 for respect, and more formal written vocabulary (书面语) in professional texts.
Assessment Overview
Standard Level (SL)
| Component | What it involves | Time | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1: writing (30 marks) | One writing task of 300–480 characters from a choice of three, each on a different theme. You choose the text type from the options given | 1h 15m | 25% |
| Paper 2: listening (25 marks) | Comprehension questions on three audio passages | 45m | 25% |
| Paper 2: reading (40 marks) | Comprehension questions on three written texts | 1h | 25% |
| Individual oral (30 marks) | A presentation on a visual stimulus, a follow-up discussion and a general conversation | 12–15 min, plus 15 min preparation | 25% |
Higher Level (HL)
| Component | What it involves | Time | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1: writing (30 marks) | One writing task of 540–720 characters from a choice of three, each on a different theme. The tasks demand more complex language and higher-order thinking | 1h 30m | 25% |
| Paper 2: listening (25 marks) | Comprehension questions on three audio passages | 1h | 25% |
| Paper 2: reading (40 marks) | Comprehension questions on three written texts | 1h | 25% |
| Individual oral (30 marks) | A presentation on an extract from one of your two literary works, a follow-up discussion and a general conversation | 12–15 min, plus 20 min preparation | 25% |
Dictionaries and reference materials are not allowed in Paper 1 or Paper 2.
A note on length: the IB guide gives Paper 1 lengths in words (250–400 at SL and 450–600 at HL) for languages that use them. For Chinese, length is counted in characters. The figures above, which are widely used by schools and teachers, follow the same 1.2 characters-per-word ratio the IB uses for Extended Essays written in Chinese (4,800 characters instead of 4,000 words). Always check the exact range printed on your exam paper.
Simplified or traditional? IB Chinese exams are available in both simplified and traditional characters. Check with your school which version you will sit, and write consistently in one script.
Paper 1: Writing
In Paper 1, you choose one of three tasks. Each task sets out a scenario with an audience, a context and a purpose, and offers a choice of text types. For example, you might be asked to write to a local council, for a school newspaper or for a blog. Your job is to choose the most appropriate text type and write it convincingly in Chinese.
Paper 1 is marked against three criteria:
| Criterion | What examiners look at | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| A: Language | How varied and appropriate your vocabulary is, how varied your grammar is, and how accurate your Chinese is | 12 |
| B: Message | How relevant your ideas are to the task, how well you develop them, and how clearly they are organised | 12 |
| C: Conceptual understanding | Whether you chose a suitable text type, used the right register and tone, and followed the conventions of that text type | 6 |
| Total | 30 |
One rule catches many students out. The IB notes that a response that ignores the context, purpose and audience can score zero for criteria B and C, even if the Chinese itself is excellent. Answer the task you were set, not the one you prepared for.
Chinese Text Type Conventions
The IB guide doesn't list conventions for each language, but examiners expect you to know them. Here are a few that matter in Chinese:
| Text type | Conventions to show |
|---|---|
| Formal letter (书信) | The recipient at the top left followed by a colon (尊敬的王老师：) 您好！ on the next line The body A closing such as 此致 敬礼 Your name and the date (2026年10月6日) at the bottom right |
| Formal email (电子邮件) | A subject line (主题) 尊敬的…： as the greeting A clear request A polite closing such as 谢谢您的帮助 or 祝好 |
| Informal letter or message | 亲爱的… as the greeting 你 A friendly closing such as 祝你天天开心 or 想你的 + your name |
| Article (文章) | A headline, clear paragraphs, a neutral tone and a byline |
| Blog or diary (博客・日记) | A title and date (a diary often starts with the date and the weather), a personal tone, and a question or comment to readers in a blog |
| Speech (演讲稿) | A greeting (各位老师、同学们，大家好！), self-introduction where appropriate, direct address to the audience, and a closing (谢谢大家！) |
A common mistake in Chinese Paper 1 is ignoring the format: in a letter, the greeting, 此致 敬礼, signature and date all have fixed positions, and examiners expect to see them. Another is mixing registers, for example switching between 您 and 你 in the same letter.
Paper 2: Listening and Reading
Paper 2 tests your understanding of six authentic texts: three audio passages and three written texts, drawn from all five themes. It doesn't test factual knowledge of the topics, only your understanding of the Chinese. All questions are in Chinese, and all answers must be in Chinese.
Question types typically include multiple choice, true or false with justification, matching, gap-fills and short answers.
The audio can range from formal announcements and interviews to casual conversations, and speakers may come from mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore or elsewhere, so you will hear different accents and some differences in vocabulary. Reading texts are written in characters only, without pinyin, so a strong character vocabulary is essential.
How to prepare: - Listen to Mandarin podcasts, news and TV dramas every week, including both formal and casual speech. - Read graded readers and short news articles in characters only, and avoid relying on pinyin. - When you practise past papers, look at why an answer is right. Many marks are lost by copying too much or too little from the text.
The Individual Oral
The individual oral is the internal assessment for Chinese B. It takes place in your final year, is conducted entirely in Mandarin, and is marked by your teacher and moderated by the IB. It is audio recorded, and it cannot be rehearsed, although you can and should practise the format.
SL: The Visual Stimulus
You're shown two images, each linked to a different theme and labelled in Chinese. You haven't seen them before. You choose one and have 15 minutes to prepare, making up to 10 bullet-point notes. The images may be a photo, a poster, an illustration or an advertisement.
| Part | What happens | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1: Presentation | You describe the image, link it to its theme and to Chinese-speaking culture(s), and give your opinions | 3–4 min |
| 2: Follow-up discussion | Your teacher asks questions about the theme and your presentation | 4–5 min |
| 3: General discussion | A conversation on at least one additional theme from the course | 5–6 min |
HL: The Literary Extract
You're shown two short extracts (the IB guide sets about 300 words for word-based languages), one from each of the literary works you studied. You choose one and have 20 minutes to prepare. In your presentation, you summarise the extract, briefly place it in the work as a whole, and give your opinions on its characters, events, ideas and themes. Most of your presentation must focus on the extract itself, not the whole book. The follow-up discussion explores the extract, and the general conversation uses one or more of the course themes as a starting point.
How the Oral Is Marked
| Criterion | What it looks at | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| A: Language | Vocabulary, grammar, accuracy, pronunciation and tones | 12 |
| B1: Message (stimulus or extract) | How well your presentation engages with the image or extract and, at SL, links it to Chinese-speaking culture(s) | 6 |
| B2: Message (conversation) | How relevant, developed and thorough your answers are | 6 |
| C: Interactive skills | How well you understand, keep the conversation going and contribute ideas of your own | 6 |
| Total | 30 |
Rules to Know
- Your notes are for reference only. Reading them aloud as a speech is not allowed.
- No phones, dictionaries or class notes in the preparation room.
- Pre-learned presentations on generic topics that don't focus on the actual image or extract will not score high marks.
- Examiners stop listening after 15 minutes.
HL Literature: The Two Literary Works
HL students must study two complete literary works originally written in Chinese. These can be prose fiction, non-fiction, poetry or drama. The IB is clear that works in translation and simplified "easy reader" versions don't count. It also says works should be linguistically accessible for language learners, so teachers tend to choose modern works rather than classical texts.
The aim is not literary criticism, which belongs in Chinese A. Instead, the works are a stimulus for discussion: you should understand their themes, plot and characters well enough to talk about them confidently in your oral.
Your teacher chooses the works. Examples of the kind of works schools might use include 《活着》 (Yu Hua), essays by Sanmao (三毛), 《背影》 and other prose by Zhu Ziqing (朱自清), and short stories by Lu Xun (鲁迅). These are only examples; the IB doesn't prescribe any texts.
Tip: for each work, build a one-page Chinese summary of the plot, main characters, key themes and three or four memorable passages, with the characters you need to discuss them. Practise talking about short extracts aloud, because that's exactly what the oral asks you to do.
Writing Your Extended Essay in Chinese
You can write your Extended Essay in Chinese B. Under the IB's guide for essays first assessed in 2027, a Language B essay can focus on one of three areas, or a combination of them:
| Area | What it involves | Example idea |
|---|---|---|
| Literary analysis | An aspect of a literary work or works originally written in Chinese | How hardship shapes the main character in a named Chinese novel |
| Language use | The development, structure or use of Chinese itself, linked to its cultural context or a specific text | How internet slang appears in a named Chinese social media campaign |
| Culture | A sociocultural issue specific to the Chinese-speaking world, studied through its effect on the language or through a concrete cultural artefact | What a named Spring Festival Gala sketch reveals about attitudes to family |
Key rules: - All texts must be originally written or spoken in Chinese. Translations aren't acceptable sources. - You can't write a Chinese B essay if you study Chinese A. - Cultural topics must be specific to Chinese-speaking culture. Broad issues that apply to many cultures, or global trends like emoji, aren't specific enough. - Most of your sources should be in Chinese, and your essay must use an academic register. - Length: the IB sets the limit for an Extended Essay written in Chinese at 4,800 characters instead of 4,000 words.
Note that interdisciplinary Extended Essays can currently only be written in English, French or Spanish, so a Chinese B essay will be subject-focused.
What Changes in 2029?
The IB has published an updated Language B course. It will be launched in February 2027 for first teaching in August 2027, with first assessment in May 2029. Students taking exams in 2027 and 2028 follow the current course described above.
The good news: according to the IB, there are no changes to the assessment model. Paper 1, Paper 2 and the individual oral all stay the same. What changes is mainly how the course is described and taught:
| Current course (first assessed 2020) | Updated course (first assessment 2029) | |
|---|---|---|
| Themes | Five prescribed themes | The same five themes |
| Paper 1 and Paper 2 | As described in this guide | No change |
| Individual oral | As described in this guide | Same format The wording of the top descriptors for criteria B2 and C is slightly revised for clarity |
| Course framing | Five concepts: audience, context, purpose, meaning and variation | Adds three lenses (cultures, communication and perspectives) and names three skill areas: sociolinguistic, linguistic and pragmatic |
| Teaching | Current guide and materials | A clearer guide, more emphasis on critical thinking, and new teacher support materials |
| HL literature | Two works originally written in Chinese | Same |
In short, if you start the Diploma in 2027 or later, everything in this guide about the exams will still apply.
Common Problems in IB Chinese
These are the errors our tutors see most often in Paper 1 and the oral. Fixing them is one of the fastest ways to move up a markband in Criterion A.
- Measure words (量词): use the right one for each noun (一本书, 一张纸, 一件衣服, 一条河). Overusing 个 is a common sign of limited range.
- Word order: time and place come before the verb (我昨天在图书馆看书), not at the end as in English.
- 了, 过 and 着: 了 for completed actions or change, 过 for past experience (我去过北京), 着 for ongoing states.
- 的, 得 and 地: 的 before nouns (漂亮的花), 得 after verbs for degree (跑得很快), 地 before verbs (认真地学习). They sound the same but are written differently.
- 把 and 被 sentences: use 把 to show what happens to an object (我把作业做完了) and 被 for the passive. Accurate use shows complex structures.
- Characters: write characters accurately, and watch similar-looking pairs (已/己, 买/卖, 休/体). Wrong characters count as errors.
- Tones in the oral: tone errors can change meaning (买 mǎi "buy" vs 卖 mài "sell"), so practise speaking aloud.
- Connectors: go beyond 和 and 但是. Use 虽然…但是…, 不但…而且…, 因此, 另外 and 总之 to organise your ideas. A few well-used idioms (成语) also help, especially at HL.
Tips for Success in IB Chinese B
1. Study characters in context. Learn new characters as part of words and sentences linked to the five themes, not in isolation. 2. Build vocabulary by theme. Keep a list for each theme, with useful phrases and their pinyin and tones. 3. Learn the text type conventions. Knowing them, including the right format and set phrases, is an easy way to secure marks in Criterion C. 4. Practise speaking without a script. Describe random photos aloud for three minutes, then answer questions about them. 5. Time your past papers. Writing 300–480 characters by hand in 1 hour 15 minutes, with accurate characters, takes practice. See why past papers are the ultimate tool for exam preparation. 6. Use command terms. Paper 2 questions use IB command terms. Our complete guide to IB command terms explains what each one asks for. 7. HL: know your two works inside out. Re-read key scenes and practise summarising extracts aloud.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Taking a level that doesn't match your starting Chinese
- Writing a generic, memorised Paper 1 answer that ignores the audience and purpose
- Ignoring letter format, or mixing 您 and 你 in the same text
- Writing well below or above the character range
- Reading notes aloud in the oral, or giving a pre-learned presentation
- Relying on pinyin instead of reading characters
Frequently Asked Questions
Is IB Chinese B hard?
It is demanding, mainly because of characters and tones. If your Chinese matches the course level and you practise regularly, it is very manageable. The challenge is breadth: you need to write, speak, listen and read well.
How long is Paper 1 in Chinese B?
Length is counted in characters, not words. Schools and teachers widely use 300–480 characters at SL and 540–720 at HL, in line with the 1.2 characters-per-word ratio the IB uses for Chinese Extended Essays. Always check the range printed on your exam paper.
Can I use a dictionary in IB Chinese B exams?
No. Dictionaries and other reference materials aren't allowed in Paper 1 or Paper 2, or in the preparation room for the oral.
Is IB Chinese B the same as the HSK?
No. IB Chinese B is part of the IB Diploma and is graded 1 to 7. The HSK (Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi) is a separate Chinese proficiency test. Some students take both, and the skills overlap.
Can I use traditional characters?
IB Chinese exams are available in both simplified and traditional characters. Check with your school which version you'll sit, and use one script consistently.
Can I take Chinese B if I have a Chinese-speaking parent?
It depends on your actual level. If you are fluent and literate in Chinese, your school will usually place you in Chinese A. If you speak Mandarin at home but find reading and writing characters difficult, Chinese B may be right. Your school decides.
What changes in IB Chinese B from 2029?
The updated course is first taught in August 2027 and first assessed in May 2029. The five themes and all the assessments stay the same. The main changes are a clearer guide, a stronger focus on critical thinking, and a new framing around cultures, communication and perspectives.
Get Support With IB Chinese B
Whether you need help with characters, writing, Paper 2 practice or preparing for the oral, our experienced IB Chinese tutors can help, online wherever you are. To see how Chinese B fits into your diploma, read our guide to everything you need to know about the IB and how your IB score is calculated.
