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HSK 3 Vocabulary

HSK 3 Vocabulary List: 1,000 Words (HSK 3.0)

HSK 3 has 1,000 words in HSK 3.0, 500 of them new at this level (the old HSK 2.0 list had 600). Fluentide has 293 free stories at the Elementary (HSK 3) level that use them, with transcript and pinyin.

Browse 293 stories ↓

By Haoshan HongNative Mandarin speakerUpdated October 2026

Hear HSK 3 words in a real story

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2 min

What is on the HSK 3 word list?

The other 500 come from HSK 1–2. They cover work, study, money, transport, and basic cause-and-effect. This is the bridge from survival phrases into actual conversation.

HSK proficiency ladderHSK 3.0 levels 1 to 6 with cumulative vocabulary requirements: HSK 1 requires 300 words, HSK 2 requires 500, HSK 3 requires 1,000, HSK 4 requires 2,000, HSK 5 about 3,600, and HSK 6 about 5,400 words. Word counts follow the official HSK 3.0 exam syllabus.HSK levels by cumulative vocabularyHSK 1beginner300 wordsHSK 2elementary500 wordsHSK 3pre-intermediate1,000 wordsHSK 4intermediate2,000 wordsHSK 5upper-intermediate~3,600 wordsHSK 6advanced~5,400 wordsSource: HSK 3.0 exam syllabus, chinesetest.cn
Words needed at each level, counting the levels below it.

HSK 3 word list

All 988 words from the official HSK 3.0 syllabus, the 491 new at HSK 3 first. The syllabus counts 1,000 because a few words are listed once per reading; here each appears once.

Pinyin from the syllabus, definitions from CC-CEDICT. Tap a word for its other senses.

Showing 601–650 of 988 · page 13 of 20

跑pǎoHSK 2

to run

  • to run
  • to run away
  • to escape
  • to run around (on errands etc)
  • (of a gas or liquid) to leak or evaporate
  • (verb complement) away
  • off
  • (of an animal) to paw (the ground)
跑步pǎobùHSK 2

to run

  • to run
  • to jog
  • (military) to march at the double
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
票piàoHSK 2

ticket

  • ticket
  • ballot
  • banknote
  • CL:张
  • person held for ransom
  • amateur performance of Chinese opera
  • classifier for groups, batches, business transactions
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
妻子qīziHSK 2

wife

起来qǐláiHSK 2

to stand up

  • to stand up
  • to get up
  • also pr.
前面qiánmiànHSK 2

ahead

  • ahead
  • in front
  • preceding
  • above
  • also pr.
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
晴qíngHSK 2

clear

球qiúHSK 2

ball used for playing games (variant of 球)

  • ball used for playing games (variant of 球)
  • ball
  • sphere
  • globe
  • CL:个
  • ball game
  • match
  • CL:场
让ràngHSK 2

to let

  • to let
  • to allow
  • to make (sb do sth)
  • to yield
  • to permit
  • to let sb do sth
  • to have sb do sth
  • to make sb (feel sad etc)
  • by (indicates the agent in a passive clause, like 被)
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
肉ròuHSK 2

meat

  • meat
  • flesh
  • pulp (of a fruit)
  • (coll.) (of a fruit) squashy
  • (of a person) flabby
  • irresolute
  • Kangxi radical 130
商场shāngchǎngHSK 2

shopping mall

  • shopping mall
  • shopping center
  • department store
  • emporium
  • CL:家
  • the business world
上来shàngláiHSK 2

to come up

  • to come up
  • to approach
  • (verb complement indicating success)
上面shàngmiànHSK 2

on top of

  • on top of
  • above-mentioned
  • also pr.
上去shàngqùHSK 2

to go up

  • to go up
上网shàngwǎngHSK 2

to go online

  • to go online
  • to connect to the Internet
  • (of a document etc) to be uploaded to the Internet
  • (tennis, volleyball etc) to move in close to the net
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
身体shēntǐHSK 2

the body

生日shēngrìHSK 2

birthday

时shíHSK 2

o'clock

  • o'clock
  • time
  • when
  • hour
  • season
  • period
  • surname Shi
  • old variant of 时
事情shìqingHSK 2

affair

  • affair
  • matter
  • thing
  • business
  • CL:件,桩
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
手shǒuHSK 2

hand

  • hand
  • (formal) to hold
  • person engaged in certain types of work
  • person skilled in certain types of work
  • personal(ly)
  • convenient
  • classifier for skill
  • CL:双,只
手表shǒubiǎoHSK 2

wristwatch

书包shūbāoHSK 2

schoolbag

  • schoolbag
  • satchel
  • bookbag
  • CL:个,只
舒服shūfuHSK 2

comfortable

送sòngHSK 2

to send

  • to send
  • to deliver
  • to transmit
  • to give (as a present)
  • to see (sb) off
  • to accompany
  • to go along with
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
虽然suīránHSK 2

although

  • although
  • even though (often used correlatively with 可是 or 但是 etc)
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
所以suǒyǐHSK 2

therefore

  • therefore
  • as a result
  • so
  • the reason why
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
疼téngHSK 2

(it) hurts

踢tīHSK 2

to kick

  • to kick
  • to play (e.g. soccer)
  • (slang) butch (in a lesbian relationship)
题tíHSK 2

topic

  • topic
  • problem for discussion
  • exam question
  • subject
  • to inscribe
  • to mention
  • CL:个,道
  • surname Ti
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
条tiáoHSK 2

strip

  • strip
  • item
  • article
  • clause (of law or treaty)
  • classifier for long thin things (ribbon, river, road, trousers etc)
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
跳舞tiàowǔHSK 2

to dance

头tóu / touHSK 2

head

  • head
  • hair style
  • the top
  • end
  • beginning or end
  • a stub
  • remnant
  • chief
  • boss
  • side
  • aspect
  • first
  • leading
  • classifier for pigs or livestock
  • CL:个
  • suffix for nouns
外国wàiguóHSK 2

foreign country

  • foreign country
外面wàimiànHSK 2

outside (also pr. for this sense)

  • outside (also pr. for this sense)
  • surface
  • exterior
  • external appearance
完wánHSK 2

to finish

  • to finish
  • to be over
  • whole
  • complete
  • entire
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
万wànHSK 2

ten thousand

  • ten thousand
  • a great number
  • surname Wan
  • used in 万俟
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
网上wǎngshangHSK 2

online

  • online
往wǎngHSK 2

to go (in a direction)

  • to go (in a direction)
  • to
  • towards
  • (of a train) bound for
  • past
  • previous
  • old variant of 往
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
忘wàngHSK 2

to forget

  • to forget
  • to overlook
  • to neglect
为什么wèi shénmeHSK 2

why?

位wèiHSK 2

position

  • position
  • location
  • place
  • seat
  • classifier for people (honorific)
  • classifier for binary bits (e.g. 十六位 16-bit or 2 bytes)
  • (physics) potential
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
希望xīwàngHSK 2

to hope

洗xǐHSK 2

to wash

  • to wash
  • to bathe
  • to develop (photographs)
  • to shuffle (cards etc)
  • to erase (a recording)
  • used in 洗马
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
洗手间xǐshǒujiānHSK 2

toilet

下来xiàláiHSK 2

to come down

  • to come down
  • (completed action marker)
  • (after verb of motion, indicates motion down and towards us, also fig.)
  • (indicates continuation from the past towards us)
  • to be harvested (of crops)
  • to be over (of a period of time)
  • to go among the masses (said of leaders)
下面xiàmiànHSK 2

below

  • below
  • under
  • next
  • the following
  • also pr.
下去xiàqùHSK 2

to go down

  • to go down
  • to descend
  • to go on
  • to continue
  • (of a servant) to withdraw
小孩儿xiǎoháirHSK 2

child

  • child
  • CL:个
小时候xiǎoshíhouHSK 2

in one's childhood

  • in one's childhood
笑xiàoHSK 2

to laugh

  • to laugh
  • to smile
  • to laugh at
  • old variant of 笑
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →

Stories that use these HSK 3 words

Each one is a Fluentide Elementary (HSK 3) story, written inside that word band. Press play; the first few need no account.

HSK 3 Chinese listening episodes

Showing 12 of 293

How to actually learn HSK 3 vocabulary

Reading a word on a page and catching it at speed in a sentence are different skills. The HSK listening section tests the second.

Four steps in a loop. One: skim this list and note which words feel unfamiliar. Two: hear them in HSK 3 stories every day. Three: look a word up only after you have heard it. Four: check the list monthly; the gaps show what to listen for next. Then repeat.Hear a word first, look it up second1Skim this listNote the wordsyou don't know2Hear themHSK 3 stories,every day3Look up afteronly once youhave heard it4Check monthlyGaps show whatto listen forrepeat
Use the list as a checklist, and do the learning by ear.

The method in practice

Hear HSK 3 vocabulary in real Mandarin

Each HSK 3 episode uses this word band, with the transcript, pinyin and line-by-line English. Five free episodes after a one-tap magic-link sign-in — no password, no payment.

More HSK 3