HSK 3.0: What Changes and When (Checked November 2026)

HSK 3.0 is the new nine-level HSK, and its first regular exam worldwide is on 13 December 2026. It comes from China's 2021 proficiency standard (GF 0025-2021), which sets nine levels in three bands: 1–3, 4–6 and a combined 7–9 band. The exam itself follows a syllabus published in November 2025 and dated to take effect in July 2026, which is why some sites say HSK 3.0 "started in July". For a learner right now, it means that HSK 1–6 exams from 13 December are in the new format, with longer word lists at levels 1–5, and that the words you learned for the old exam still count: about 95% of the old HSK 1–4 words are in the new levels 1–4.

Checked 8 November 2026. Below, confirmed means we read it in an official document (the 2025 syllabus itself, a Ministry of Education page or a Chinese government notice) or on a test centre's own page, and we say which. Reported means a guide or encyclopedia says it, but we couldn't find it in an official notice. The official registration site, chinesetest.cn, wouldn't load for us on the day, so where a fact rests on it we say so.

HSK 3.0 Timeline: Confirmed and Reported Dates

On a phone, swipe the table sideways.

July or December? Both dates are real, but they mark different things. July 2026 is printed on the syllabus's cover as the date it comes into force, and many guides took it as the exam's launch. 13 December 2026 is the first regular exam, set out in a September 2026 notice with registration deadlines, and test centres such as the LSE have scheduled around it. For when you can sit the new exam, we trust 13 December. One more correction to what's circulating: 16 November is when paper-based registration closes, not when it opens.

Words and Characters per Level: Old HSK, 2021 Standard, 2025 Syllabus

Three sets of numbers are in circulation, which is why sources disagree about the new word counts. The 2021 standard is a framework for teaching and textbooks. The 2025 syllabus is what the new exam tests, and it cut the lists back at the lower levels. All counts are cumulative. For the old HSK lists level by level, with sample words, see our HSK vocabulary list.

The HSK 2.0 and 2021 columns are from Wikipedia's HSK article. We counted the three 2025 columns ourselves from the syllabus, whose word list is numbered 1 to 11,000 with a level against each word, and they match Wikipedia's figures. The syllabus lists its first 100 characters to write for levels 1 and 2 together. If you see "500 words for HSK 1", that's the 2021 standard, not the exam you'll sit.

Which Lists Mandarin Mosaic Uses

Mandarin Mosaic uses the HSK 2.0 lists and the 2021 standard, not yet the 2025 syllabus. We checked the app's code on 8 November 2026: it holds six HSK 2.0 lists (150, 150, 300, 600, 1,300 and 2,500 new words) and seven "New HSK 3.0" lists, which are the 2021 standard's levels 1–6 plus its 7–9 band, shown in the app as "New HSK 7–9". The HSK lessons teach a level's HSK 2.0 words first, then that level's 2021-standard words, as how HSK lessons work explains. About 89% of the app's 2021-standard words are also in the 2025 syllabus, but often at a different level, so if you're sitting the new exam, check the 2025 list for your level as well.

What Changes in the Test Itself

• Nine levels instead of six. Levels 1–6 are separate exams. Levels 7–9 are one advanced exam, and your score decides whether you reach level 7, 8 or 9 (reported by StudyCLI and Wikipedia). The syllabus confirms that 7–9 share one word list and one character list.
• Speaking from level 3. In both trial sittings, candidates for levels 3–6 had to register for the speaking test at the same level at the same time (Beijing government; University of Glasgow). On the old exam the speaking test, the HSKK, was separate and optional, with its own three levels. The 13 December notice doesn't say whether that rule carries over, and the LSE says its written and speaking exams don't have to be taken together. Ask your test centre.
• Writing from level 2, with a handwriting list. The syllabus lists the characters you should be able to write by hand: 100 by level 2, 700 by level 6 and 1,200 at 7–9 (confirmed). On the old exam, writing started at HSK 3. A writing section from level 2 is reported by Wikipedia. We found nothing official on whether an internet-based test asks you to write by hand rather than type.
• Translation only at 7–9. The 2021 standard added translation as a fifth skill, after listening, speaking, reading and writing. In the 2025 syllabus, translation tasks appear only at levels 7–9; levels 1–6 have none (confirmed). The 7–9 exam includes translation and interpreting (reported).
• Sections and timing (reported). Wikipedia gives level 1 as 20 listening and 20 reading questions, about 32 minutes, and level 6 as 40 listening and 40 reading questions, 2 writing tasks and a 5-item speaking test. It cites a December 2025 exam-structure document from Chinese Testing International, but its link opens the syllabus, which doesn't include timings.
• Score reports last two years. The trial notices say HSK 3.0 score reports are valid for two years (confirmed, Beijing government).

Do Old HSK Certificates Stay Valid?

Probably, but nobody official has said so in writing that we could find. For university admission and scholarships, an HSK result is generally accepted for two years from the test date: Vilnius University's Confucius Institute, a test centre, says "the HSK and HSKK certificate is valid for two years (from the date the exam was taken)", and the HSK 3.0 trial score reports are valid for two years too. We found no statement from the organisers cancelling HSK 2.0 certificates, and none converting old levels into new ones. So a 2025 or 2026 HSK 2.0 result should work for what it worked for before, within those two years, but an old HSK 4 (1,200 words) and a new HSK 4 (2,000 words) aren't the same level. If a university or employer asks for "HSK 4", ask which one they mean.

Is HSK 3.0 Harder?

At levels 1–4, yes, on word count. At levels 5 and 6 the new lists are only a little longer, and they need fewer characters than the old ones. Counts are cumulative:

The old exam had no character list, so the old figures are our count of the different characters in its words. The new figures are the syllabus's own character list, which matches the characters in its words almost exactly. Many of the extra words at the low levels are compounds of words you already know, such as 你们 (nǐmen, you, plural), 这个 (zhège, this one) and 早饭 (zǎofàn, breakfast), so the load is lighter than the word count suggests. What does make the lower levels harder is the rest of the exam: a speaking test from level 3 in the trials, and writing from level 2. Compared with the 2021 standard, though, the exam is easier at every level from 1 to 6: new HSK 3 is 1,000 words, not 2,245. Our HSK vs CEFR post lines the new levels up with the old ones and with European levels such as A2 and B1.

What to Do If You're Studying for the HSK Now

• Booking an exam from 13 December: learn the 2025 syllabus list for your level, and ask your centre whether the speaking test is included and whether your sitting is on paper or on a computer. Register before your centre's deadline, which may be earlier than 16 November.
• Working through the old lists: carry on. Of the 1,200 old HSK 1–4 words, about 95% are in the new levels 1–4, and about 97% of all 5,000 old HSK 1–6 words appear somewhere in the 2025 syllabus (our word-by-word comparison of the two lists). Our lists for HSK 1, HSK 2, HSK 3, HSK 4, HSK 5 and HSK 6 give every old word with pinyin and an example sentence.
• Checking a word or a text: the HSK level checker shows a word's level on the HSK 2.0 list and in the 2021 standard.
• Not sure you need the exam at all: should you take the HSK? covers who needs a certificate.

Whichever list you follow, the work is the same: learn the words in sentences and review them before you forget them. That's how Mandarin Mosaic's HSK lessons work, with one new word per sentence where possible.

Frequently Asked Questions about HSK 3.0

When does HSK 3.0 start?

The first regular HSK 3.0 exam worldwide is on 13 December 2026. July 2026 is when the new syllabus officially came into force, not an exam date.

Is HSK 3.0 harder than the old HSK?

At levels 1–4 it asks for more words, such as 2,000 at HSK 4 instead of 1,200, and the trial exams added a speaking test from level 3. At levels 5 and 6 the word lists are only a little longer, and they need fewer characters than the old ones.

Are old HSK certificates still valid after HSK 3.0?

We found no official statement cancelling them, and universities usually accept HSK results for two years from the test date anyway. If a university or employer asks for a level, ask whether they mean the old or the new exam, because the levels don't match.

How many words are in the new HSK 3.0 word list?

The 2025 exam syllabus has 11,000 words: 300 at level 1, then 500, 1,000, 2,000, 3,600 and 5,400 by levels 2 to 6, and 11,000 for levels 7–9. Figures such as 500 words for HSK 1 come from the 2021 standard, which the exam syllabus revised.

Can I still take the old six-level HSK?

Probably not after November 2026: the last old-format HSK 1–6 date on the 2026 calendar was reportedly 7 November, and the LSE's test centre says HSK 2.0 is no longer offered from December. If you need the six-level exam, ask your local test centre whether it is running any later sittings.

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