TOPIK is the Test of Proficiency in Korean, the standard exam for non-native speakers. TOPIK I covers beginner levels 1 to 2 and TOPIK II covers intermediate to advanced levels 3 to 6. Vocabulary scope grows sharply between the two.

How accurate is this checker?

It uses a representative core word list, not the full official TOPIK lexicon, so treat it as a guide rather than an exact score. Real difficulty also depends on grammar and sentence length, which a vocabulary scan cannot fully capture.

Why does one rare word raise the whole level?

Reading comprehension is gated by the hardest words a reader must understand, so a single advanced term can block a beginner. The headline reflects the maximum band present, while the breakdown shows how much of the text sits at each level.

Does it handle conjugated verbs?

Korean verbs inflect heavily, so a conjugated form may not match a dictionary stem and will be counted as out-of-list. The unmatched figure is shown separately so you can judge how much inflection affected the result.

What is the Korean TOPIK Level Checker?

Checks Korean words against TOPIK I and II vocabulary bands and estimates whether a beginner, intermediate, or advanced learner is needed to read the passage. Runs entirely in your browser. It runs free in your browser on Gera Tools, with nothing uploaded.

Korean TOPIK Level Checker

Name: Korean TOPIK Level Checker
Creator: Gera Tools
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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The Korean TOPIK Level Checker estimates how advanced a learner needs to be to read a Korean passage. It matches each word against vocabulary bands aligned with TOPIK I (beginner) and TOPIK II (intermediate to advanced) so you can pick reading material at the right difficulty.

What is TOPIK?

TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korean, 한국어능력시험) is the standardised test measuring Korean language ability for non-native speakers. It is administered by the National Institute for International Education (NIIED) in South Korea and recognised by universities, employers, and visa authorities worldwide.

The test has two tiers:

TOPIK I — Levels 1 and 2, beginner. Candidates demonstrate basic communication in familiar daily situations.
TOPIK II — Levels 3 through 6, intermediate to advanced. Level 6 indicates near-native proficiency in formal and informal contexts.

How it works

The passage is split on whitespace and punctuation into word tokens. Each token is looked up in two built-in vocabulary sets:

band 1  →  TOPIK I core words (levels 1–2, beginner)
band 2  →  TOPIK II core words (levels 3–6, intermediate–advanced)
none    →  not in either list (rare, proper noun, or conjugated)

The headline level is the hardest band that appears, because comprehension is limited by the most difficult vocabulary a reader must decode. The breakdown then shows the share of words at each band so you can judge overall density.

Reading the results

Pattern	Interpretation	Suggested action
Mostly band 1, no band 2	Suitable for TOPIK I learners	Good beginner reading
Mix of band 1 and band 2	Intermediate level needed	Use as study material with a dictionary
Mostly band 2	TOPIK II intermediate or above	Advanced reading; expect many unknown words for band 2–3 learners
High unmatched %	Heavy conjugation or proper nouns	Check if inflected forms explain the gap

The conjugation gap

Korean verbs and adjectives conjugate extensively, and most inflected forms do not match their dictionary stem directly. The verb stem 가다 (to go) appears in texts as 가요, 가서, 갔어요, 갑니다, 가도, and many more forms. None of these is the bare stem, so they fall into the “not in list” bucket even though every Korean beginner knows 가다.

A high unmatched percentage in a short text usually means heavy verb conjugation rather than genuinely unfamiliar vocabulary. If you paste a longer passage (200+ words), the proportion of recognisable content words stabilises and the level estimate becomes more reliable.

Tips for using the results

Paste a representative paragraph rather than a title or headline, which contains dense vocabulary not typical of the body text.
The headline level reflects the ceiling — a single rare proper noun or academic term can push the result to band 2. Check the breakdown percentages to understand overall difficulty.
For the cleanest read, compare the share at band 1 versus band 2: a passage that is mostly band 1 suits a beginner, while a meaningful band 2 share signals intermediate study material. Everything runs locally in your browser.