HSK 3 Vocabulary List: All 300 Words with Example Sentences

HSK 3 adds 300 new words to the 300 you learn for HSK 1 and 2, making 600 in total. That's level 3 of the HSK 2.0 exam, the six-level version of China's official Chinese test that has been sat since 2010. All 300 new words are below, sorted by topic, each with its pinyin, its meaning and a short example sentence. The page assumes you already know the first 300. If you don't yet, start with the HSK 1 vocabulary list and then the HSK 2 vocabulary list.

The example sentences come from Mandarin Mosaic's sentence library. Every one has been checked by a native speaker except two: the sentences for 皮鞋 (píxié, leather shoes) and 黄河 (huánghé, the Yellow River), which come from the same library but haven't been through that check yet. We looked for short, everyday sentences that use each word in its HSK 3 sense. Some still include a word from a later level, because sentences made only from 600 words soon sound forced. A few words are shown inside a longer word they usually appear in: the seasons 春, 夏, 秋 and 冬 in 春天, 夏天, 秋天 and 冬天, and also 东 in 东边 (dōngbian, the east side), 绿 in 绿色, 蓝 in 蓝天, 甜 in 甜食 and 胖 in 肥胖. 刮风 (guā fēng, to be windy) is split, as it often is: 刮大风 is "a strong wind is blowing".

Which HSK 3? 600, 1,000 or 2,245 Words

The size of "HSK 3" depends on which version of the test you mean. These are the level 3 figures from Wikipedia's HSK article. The totals include the words from levels 1 and 2:

The date of the first official sitting comes from the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission. If you're booking a test, ask your test centre which version your sitting uses. Our post on whether to take the HSK covers what each level tests, and HSK vs CEFR explains how HSK 3 compares with European levels like A2 and B1.

For learning rather than exams, the version matters less. HSK 3 is where Chinese stops being phrasebook Chinese: these 300 words bring in 把 and 被 sentences, pairs like 如果…就 and 不但…而且, and the everyday nouns for home, school, work and travel. They're worth learning whichever list you move on to. Mandarin Mosaic has lesson packs for the HSK 2.0 levels and for the new HSK 3.0 levels.

The HSK 3 Word List

Each row gives the simplified characters, with the traditional form in brackets where it's different. The pinyin next to the word has its dictionary tones. The pinyin under each sentence writes 一 and 不 the way they're spoken, so 一定 is yídìng and 不会 is bú huì, but it doesn't mark third-tone changes. Both rules are explained in our guide to tone sandhi. To hear any syllable, use the pinyin chart.

Three characters you met in HSK 2 come back with a new reading: 还 is hái (still) in HSK 2 and huán (to give back) here, 长 is cháng (long) and now also zhǎng (to grow), and 过 is guo after a verb and now also guò (to pass, to cross). The rows below give the HSK 3 reading.

Time and Seasons

刻 (kè) is a quarter of an hour, and 差 (chà) means "short of", so 五点差一刻 is "a quarter to five" and 三点一刻 (sān diǎn yí kè) is "a quarter past three". 半 (bàn) goes after the hour for half past: 六点半 (liù diǎn bàn).

Weather, Nature and Animals

Many weather words are a verb plus a noun: 刮风 (the wind blows) works like 下雨 (xià yǔ, to rain) from HSK 1.

People and Relationships

叔叔 (shūshu) and 阿姨 (āyí) are family words, but children also use them for any adult of their parents' age, so a friend's mum is 阿姨 and a shopkeeper might be 叔叔.

The Body and Health

疼 (téng) follows the part that hurts: 头疼 (tóu téng) is a headache, and 肚子疼 (dùzi téng) is a stomach ache. 长 (zhǎng) is also how you say what someone looks like: 他长得很高 (tā zhǎng de hěn gāo) is "he's tall".

Home and Daily Routine

Food and Drink

饱 (bǎo) usually comes after 吃 (chī, to eat): 我吃饱了 (wǒ chī bǎo le) is "I'm full", a useful thing to say when someone keeps filling your bowl.

Clothes, Shopping and Money

Clothes take different measure words: 一件衬衫 (yí jiàn chènshān) for tops, 一条裤子 (yì tiáo kùzi) for trousers and skirts, 一双鞋 (yì shuāng xié) for shoes and 一顶帽子 (yì dǐng màozi) for hats.

Measure Words and Numbers

只 (zhī) is the measure word for most animals: 一只猫 (yì zhī māo) is "a cat". The same character also reads zhǐ, "only", as in 只有 below. In traditional characters the measure word is 隻, and "only" stays 只. With 万 (wàn, ten thousand), "two" is 两 again: 两万 (liǎngwàn) is 20,000.

Places and Directions

The four directions are 东 (dōng), 南 (nán), 西 (xī) and 北 (běi), and Chinese lists them in that order: 东南西北. Add 边 (biān) or 方 (fāng) for "the east side" or "the north". Don't confuse 东西 (dōngxi), "thing", with 东西 (dōng xī), "east and west".

Travel and Transport

坐 (zuò, to sit) is for vehicles you sit in as a passenger, like 坐地铁 and 坐船, while 骑 (qí) is for anything you sit astride, like a bike, a motorbike or a horse.

School and Studying

Free Time, Work and Media

聊天 (liáotiān) is a verb plus its object, so 和 (hé) or 跟 (gēn) comes before it: 和朋友聊天 (hé péngyou liáotiān) is "to chat with friends". The same goes for 见面 (jiànmiàn) and 结婚 (jiéhūn) in the next sections.

Feelings

Several of these use 对 (duì) to say what the feeling is about: 我对科学感兴趣 (wǒ duì kēxué gǎn xìngqù) is "I'm interested in science", and 对…满意 is "satisfied with…".

Verbs: Taking, Using and Giving Back

借 (jiè) means both "to borrow" and "to lend". 我借了他的书 (wǒ jiè le tā de shū) is "I borrowed his book", and 借给 (jiè gěi), as in 借给我 (jiè gěi wǒ), is "lend me". When you give it back, the verb is 还 (huán).

Verbs: Meeting, Helping and Everyday Actions

见面 (jiànmiàn) and 结婚 (jiéhūn) can't take an object, so you can't say 见面你. Say 跟你见面 (gēn nǐ jiànmiàn), "meet you", and 跟他结婚 (gēn tā jiéhūn), "marry him".

Verbs: Thinking, Deciding and Solving Problems

认为 (rènwéi) gives a considered opinion and sounds a little more formal than 觉得 (juéde) from HSK 2. 了解 (liǎojiě) is knowing something or someone well, while 明白 (míngbai) is understanding what was just said.

Verbs: Teaching, Needing and Changing

应该 (yīnggāi) is "should" and 必须 (bìxū) is "must". For "don't have to", use 不用 (bú yòng) rather than 不必须.

Adjectives: Describing Things and Situations

容易 (róngyì) and 难 (nán) go before a verb to say something is easy or hard to do: 很难理解 (hěn nán lǐjiě) is "hard to understand". 比较 (bǐjiào) before an adjective softens it to "fairly" or "quite".

Adjectives: People, Age and Colour

老 (lǎo) is old for people, animals and things that have been around a long time, while 旧 (jiù) is old in the sense of worn or not new: 旧车 is a used car, and 老朋友 is an old friend.

Adverbs: Always, Suddenly, Finally

又 (yòu) and 再 (zài, from HSK 2) both mean "again", but 又 is for something that has already happened again, and 再 is for something that will. 才 (cái) says something happened later than expected: 他到十一点才回家 is "he didn't get home until eleven".

Conjunctions and Prepositions

Several of these come in pairs: 如果…就… (if… then…), 不但…而且… (not only… but also…), 只有…才… (only if… will…), 除了…以外 (apart from…) and 一边…一边… (while…). 还是 (háishi) is "or" in questions and 或者 (huòzhě) is "or" in statements.

Grammar Words: 把, 被, 地, 极, 越…越 and More

These do grammatical jobs, so the example sentence tells you more than the meaning column:

• 把 (bǎ) moves the object before the verb, to say what you do to it: 把这本书给她 (bǎ zhè běn shū gěi tā) is "give her the book". The verb can't stand alone after 把; it needs something after it, like 给她, 了 or a result such as 完.
• 被 (bèi) makes a passive sentence, with the thing affected first: 我的伞被他拿走了 (wǒ de sǎn bèi tā ná zǒu le) is "my umbrella was taken by him". It's often used for things that went wrong.
• 地 (de) goes after a description and before the verb, like "-ly": 大声地哭 (dàshēng de kū), "cry loudly". It's one of three particles read de. 的 goes before a noun (我的书), 地 before a verb, and 得 after a verb (说得很好), as on the HSK 2 list.
• 极 (jí) before an adjective means "extremely", and 极了 (jí le) after one means "extremely" too: 好极了 (hǎo jí le) is "excellent".
• 越…越… (yuè… yuè…) is "the more… the more…", and 越来越 (yuèláiyuè) is "more and more": 越来越着急 is "more and more anxious", from the sentence for 着急 above.
• 一样 (yīyàng) compares two things that are the same: A 跟 B 一样 + adjective, as in 他跟我一样高 (tā gēn wǒ yíyàng gāo), "he's as tall as me". 像 (xiàng) often pairs with it: 像雪一样白, "as white as snow".

How to Learn the 300 HSK 3 Words

A table like this is for checking and looking things up. To make the words stick, practise them this way:

• Learn each word in a sentence, not on its own. Words like 把, 被 and 地 barely translate, and pairs like 只有…才 only make sense in a full sentence. Learning from sentences with one new word in each is the idea behind sentence mining.
• Use spaced repetition. Review each word just before you'd forget it, with gaps that grow from a day to a week to a month. Reviews of words you half know take seconds, and they keep HSK 1 and 2 fresh while you add HSK 3.
• Recall, don't just reread. Cover the Chinese and try to produce it from the English, or fill in a missing word. It feels harder than reading the list again, and that's why it works.

At 5 to 10 new words a day, the 300 words take one to two months, plus a few minutes of reviews each day. If you're not sure what pace suits you, see how many characters to learn per day. Our Chinese study plan starts HSK 3-level material in month five, near the end of its second stage.

Mandarin Mosaic's HSK 3 lessons take you through these words in sentences, with one new word per sentence where possible. You fill in the missing word, tap any word for its meaning and audio, and spaced repetition brings each word back in Review Lessons when it's due. The app is on iPhone and Android. At the time of writing, Premium's first month is free, and there's a limited free plan. Get it on iOS or Android.

Not sure whether you're already past HSK 3? The free Chinese level test estimates your HSK level in about five minutes, so you know which list to start from. When these 300 words feel solid, the HSK 4 vocabulary list is the next step.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Many Words Are in HSK 3?

600 on the HSK 2.0 exam: the 300 HSK 1 and 2 words plus the 300 new words on this page. The 2021 standard puts 2,245 words at level 3, and the exam syllabus published in November 2025 puts 1,000 words at level 3. Both of those totals include levels 1 and 2.

How Long Does It Take to Learn HSK 3?

If you already know the HSK 1 and 2 words, about one to two months for the 300 new ones, at 5 to 10 a day with daily reviews. Starting from zero, add the time for the first 300 words and for learning pinyin and tones. Being ready for the exam takes longer, because you also need to read the characters without pinyin and follow them at normal speaking speed.

Is HSK 3 Enough to Have a Conversation in Chinese?

Enough for simple everyday conversations, yes: talking about your day, your family, your plans and your health, shopping, asking the way and making arrangements. It isn't enough to follow fast native speech or talk about abstract topics. The HSK itself says HSK 3 matches CEFR level B1, but European teachers of Chinese put it lower, at about A1 to A2. Our post on HSK vs CEFR explains the gap.

Can I Skip HSK 1 and 2 and Go Straight to HSK 3?

You can sit the HSK 3 exam without having taken the lower levels, but you can't skip the words. HSK 3 assumes all 300 words from HSK 1 and 2, and almost every sentence on this page uses some of them. If you think you know most of them already, a quick run through the two earlier lists will show up any gaps.

Want to learn these 300 words in sentences, with audio and spaced repetition built in? Mandarin Mosaic has HSK 3 lessons made of short sentences with one new word at a time. It's on iPhone and Android, and at the time of writing Premium's first month is free, and there's a limited free plan. Get it on iOS or Android.

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