2025 HSK examination syllabus

HSK 3
vocabulary.

三级词汇

Bridge into independent reading with vocabulary for culture, nature, opinions, causes, and more complete narratives.

500new words
1,000cumulative words
What to learn

Understand paragraph-length ideas, connect cause and effect, and keep reading when a few words are unfamiliar.

How to use this list

Choose five new words, write one sentence with each, then meet them again in an HSK 3 story before adding more.

2026 rollout: This syllabus was published in November 2025 and became effective in July 2026. The official second-round HSK 3.0 global trial is scheduled for September 20, 2026, so confirm the syllabus and test format with your center.

List scope

All 1,000 words from HSK 1 through HSK 3.

HSK 3 only 500HSK 1–3 combined 1,000
Useful examples

Meet six HSK 3 words in context.

Short sentences make a word easier to understand—and much easier to remember.

办法bànfǎway; solution

我有一个办法。

I have a solution.
发现fāxiànto discover

他发现门开了。

He discovered that the door was open.
安静ānjìngquiet

晚上很安静。

It is quiet at night.
故事gùshistory

爷爷给我讲故事。

Grandpa tells me a story.
月亮yuèliangmoon

今天的月亮很亮。

The moon is bright today.
世界shìjièworld

故事里的世界很大。

The world inside the story is vast.
Official 2025 syllabus

HSK 3 vocabulary

Words 1–100 of 1,000Hear any word · Save useful vocabulary

vegetable; greens (CL:棵[ke1]); dish (of food) (CL:樣|样[yang4],道[dao4],盤|盘[pan2])

to bore through; to pierce; to perforate; to go through (e.g. a tunnel); to cross (e.g. a street)

university student; college student

of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun)

(prefix indicating ordinal number, as in 第六[di4 liu4] "sixth"); (literary) grades in which successful candidates in the imperial examinations were placed

前缀

to touch briefly; to tap; to mark with a dot; to check off (on a list)

量、(名)

inn; old-style hotel (CL:家[jia1]); (bound form) shop; store

I'm sorry; excuse me; I beg your pardon; to let (sb) down; to disappoint

many; much; more; a lot of; too many; in excess

形、动、代、(数、副)

how much?; how many?; (phone number, student ID etc) what number?

to divide; to separate; to distribute; to allocate

量、(动、名)

(classifier used before a noun that has no specific classifier); (bound form) individual

good-looking; nice-looking; (of a movie, book, TV show etc) good

(literary) to call out; to command; (bound form) bugle; trumpet

名、量

to go back; to return; to turn back; to turn around; to reply; to answer

动、(量)

can; to have the skill; to know how to; to be likely to; to be sure to

to think that ...; to feel that ...; to feel (uncomfortable etc)

to open (transitive or intransitive); (of ships, vehicles, troops etc) to start

to drive a car (or train etc); (slang) to post sexual content online; to make a sexual joke

Vocabulary levels, pinyin, parts of speech, and counts follow the official 2025 HSK examination syllabus, published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation and effective July 2026. English glosses are adapted from CC-CEDICT under CC BY-SA 4.0; context may change the best translation.