HSK 3 (2025)

The HSK (汉语水平考试, Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì) is a standardised Chinese proficiency test for non-native speakers. This deck contains all 500 new words in HSK 3 from the official HSK 3.0 syllabus, which will be used for the new exam from December 2026. Together with HSK 1 and 2, that makes 1,000 words.

The new HSK has nine levels across three stages, and HSK 3 completes the elementary stage. The writing section adds 150 characters at this level, for 250 in total, which you can practise by hand with our HSK 3 Handwriting (2025) deck.

Learning vocabulary in alphabetical order (which is how the official HSK lists are sorted) makes little sense, so we’ve instead sorted the words by how useful they are to learners, using frequency data from both spoken and written Chinese. That way, you can work your way through the deck knowing you’re learning the most useful words first, starting with words like 会, 还, 如果 and 需要. 得 appears twice, because the syllabus lists it twice.