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Hong KongHKSI Paper 1 in English or Traditional Chinese: how to pick the right version
Paper 1 is offered in English and Traditional Chinese. HKSI publishes one pass rate per sitting, not a split by language, so nobody can honestly say either version is easier. Choose the language your study material is in, not the one you speak best. Terminology mismatch costs more marks than fluency gains.
Most candidates decide this in about four seconds, on the basis of which language they think in. That is the wrong input, and it costs people marks every sitting.
The question is not which language you are more comfortable in. It is which language you learned the material in, because Paper 1 is largely a test of whether you can match a scenario to a defined term, and defined terms do not translate in your head under time pressure.
- Languages offered
- English and Traditional Chinese
- Questions
- 60 multiple choice, same count in either version
- Time
- 90 minutes, 1.5 minutes a question
- Pass mark
- 70% - 42 of 60
- Fee
- HKD 1,800, same either way
- Separate pass rate by language?
- Not published by HKSI
- Can you switch between versions during the exam?
- Check the current HKSI examination handbook. We have not verified this.
Is the Chinese version of HKSI Paper 1 easier?
Nobody knows. HKSI publishes a single pass rate for each sitting and does not break it down by language, so any claim that one version is softer is somebody's impression dressed as a fact.
What we can say is that the twelve-month mean to June 2026 was 51.9% across both versions combined, and that is the only figure with a source behind it. If a tutor tells you the Chinese paper has a higher pass rate, ask where the number came from. There is no published number to have come from.
The terminology problem, which is the real issue
Hong Kong law is bilingual. The Ordinance and the SFC codes exist in English and Chinese, and both language texts are authentic. So neither version of the exam is a translation of the other in any second-class sense.
The problem is on your side, not theirs. If you read the syllabus in English, worked through the Ordinance in English and learned the codes in English, then sit the Chinese paper, every question makes you do an extra step: recognise the Chinese term, retrieve the English one, then answer. That step takes seconds. You have 1.5 minutes a question.
The reverse is just as true. Someone who did their reading in Chinese and sits the English paper will meet a stack of statutory expressions that they know perfectly and cannot map fast enough.
Decide before you start studying, not the week before the exam. Whichever you pick, do your practice questions in that language too. A candidate who revises in one language and tests in another is adding a translation tax to every single item on the paper.
A straight decision table
| Your situation | Take | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You work in an English-language compliance or dealing environment | English | Your daily vocabulary already matches the source texts and the codes you will be held to |
| You studied law or finance in Chinese and work in Cantonese | Traditional Chinese | Reading speed matters at 1.5 minutes a question, and the Chinese statutory text is equally authentic |
| You are comfortable in both but your study material is English only | English | Match the exam to the material, not to your fluency |
| You are comfortable in both and using Chinese-medium tuition | Traditional Chinese | Same principle in reverse |
| You are a non-Chinese-reading candidate | English | No decision to make |
| Your employer's internal training is in one language | That language | Free revision you will actually use |
Does the choice affect anything after the exam?
No. A pass is a pass. The result does not record which version you sat in any way that affects an SFC application, and no employer we have heard of asks.
There is a soft argument for English if you expect to work across regional teams, since the codes you will be quoting in meetings are more often quoted in English in that setting. It is a soft argument. Do not let it override reading speed.
The opinion, and the concession
Our view is that most bilingual candidates in Hong Kong should sit the English paper, and not because it is easier. It is because the overwhelming majority of accessible Paper 1 study material, including ours, is written in English against the English text of the Ordinance, and material availability beats marginal reading comfort every time. Studying in a language you read slightly slower is a small tax. Studying from thin material is a large one.
The concession is that this argument is about supply, not about the exam. If you have good Chinese-medium material and a tutor working in Cantonese, the argument evaporates and you should sit the Chinese paper without a second thought. We are telling you about a constraint in the market, not a property of the paper.
Whichever you choose, the thing that actually moves your score is timed practice in that language. The Paper 1 exam format page sets out the mechanics, and the study plan covers how to fit the practice around a job.
Common questions
Does HKSI publish separate pass rates for the English and Chinese papers?
No. HKSI publishes one pass rate per sitting, covering both versions together. The twelve-month mean to June 2026 was 51.9%. Anyone claiming a language-specific rate is quoting something HKSI has not released.
Is the Chinese paper a direct translation of the English one?
Both versions test the same syllabus, and Hong Kong law is published in English and Chinese with both texts authentic. Treat them as two renderings of one paper rather than an original and a copy. The difference that matters is which language your study material used.
Can I change my language choice after enrolling?
That is an administrative question for HKSI and we have not verified the current policy, so we will not guess at it. Contact the HKSI Institute or check the examination handbook before your enrolment deadline rather than after.
Which language should I do practice questions in?
The same one you will sit. Practicing in English and testing in Chinese, or the reverse, adds a translation step to every question, and at 1.5 minutes each that step is the difference between finishing comfortably and rushing the last block.