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 289 free stories at the Elementary (HSK 3) level that use them, with transcript and pinyin.
By Haoshan Hong · Native Mandarin speaker · Updated October 2026
Hear HSK 3 words in a real story
美国佛州李尔喷气机坠毁 九人全部遇难
Learjet 60 Crashes in Palm Beach County, Florida, Killing All Nine On Board
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.
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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 51–100 of 988 · page 2 of 20
差chàHSK 3poor
- poor
- bad
- short of
- different
- wrong
- mistaken
- to fall short
- to lack
- not up to standard
- inferior
- Taiwan pr.
- difference
- discrepancy
- (math.) difference (amount remaining after a subtraction)
- (literary) a little
- somewhat
- slightly
- to send (on an errand)
- job
- official post
- (archaic) person sent on such an errand
- used in 参差
差不多chàbuduōHSK 3almost
- almost
- nearly
- more or less
- about the same
- good enough
- not bad
尝chángHSK 3to taste
- to taste
- to try (food)
- to experience
- (literary) ever
- once
- to taste
- to experience (variant of 尝)
- old variant of 尝
常chángHSK 3always
- always
- ever
- often
- frequently
- common
- general
- constant
- surname Chang
常常chángchángHSK 3frequently
- frequently
- often
常见cháng jiànHSK 3commonly seen
- commonly seen
- common
- to see sth frequently
常用cháng yòngHSK 3in common usage
- in common usage
衬衫chènshānHSK 3shirt
- shirt
- blouse
- CL:件
成绩chéngjìHSK 3achievement
- achievement
- performance records
- grades
- CL:项,个
城市chéngshìHSK 3city
- city
- town
- CL:座
迟到chídàoHSK 3to arrive late
- to arrive late
出发chūfāHSK 3to set off
- to set off
- to start (on a journey)
- (fig.) to proceed from (a particular standpoint or basis)
出生chūshēngHSK 3to be born
出院chūyuànHSK 3to leave hospital
- to leave hospital
- to be discharged from hospital
初中chūzhōngHSK 3junior high school (abbr. for 初级中学)
- junior high school (abbr. for 初级中学)
除了chúleHSK 3apart from
- apart from
- besides
- in addition to (used to exclude, as in 除了他，除了他，谁也没来 "apart from him, nobody came", or to include, as in 除了英語，除了英语，他也会法语 "in addition to English, he also knows French")
- (used to introduce one of two habitual alternatives in the pattern 除了 + A + 就是 + B, "either A or B")
船chuánHSK 3boat
- boat
- vessel
- ship
- CL:条,艘,只
- variant of 船
春天chūntiānHSK 3spring (season)
- spring (season)
- CL:个
词典cídiǎnHSK 3dictionary
- dictionary
- CL:本,部
聪明cōngmíngHSK 3intelligent
- intelligent
- clever
- bright
- acute (of sight and hearing)
打扫dǎsǎoHSK 3to clean
- to clean
- to sweep
打算dǎsuànHSK 3to plan
- to plan
- to intend
- to calculate
- plan
- intention
- calculation
- CL:个
大概dàgàiHSK 3roughly
- roughly
- probably
- rough
- approximate
- about
- general idea
大人dàrenHSK 3adult
- adult
- grownup
- title of respect toward superiors
大小dàxiǎoHSK 3large and small
- large and small
- size
- adults and children
- consideration of seniority
- at any rate
大熊猫dàxióngmāoHSK 3giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
- giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
大衣dàyīHSK 3overcoat
- overcoat
- topcoat
- cloak
- CL:件
带dàiHSK 3to bring
- to bring
- to take
- to lead
- band
- belt
- girdle
- ribbon
- tire
- area
- zone
- region
- CL:条
- to wear
- to carry
- to take along
- to bear (i.e. to have)
- to lead
- to bring
- to look after
- to raise
担心dānxīnHSK 3anxious
- anxious
- worried
- uneasy
- to worry
- to be anxious
蛋糕dàngāoHSK 3cake
当然dāngránHSK 3of course
- of course
- naturally
- only natural
- as it should be
- certainly
- of course
- without doubt
到处dàochùHSK 3everywhere
得到dédàoHSK 3to get
- to get
- to obtain
- to receive
得分défēnHSK 3to score a point (in a competition, test etc)
- to score a point (in a competition, test etc)
- score
- rating
- grade
地点dìdiǎnHSK 3place
- place
- site
- location
- venue
- CL:个
地方dìfang / dìfāngHSK 3place
- place
- location
- area
- space
- territory
- aspect
- part
- CL:处
地图dìtúHSK 3map
的话dehuàHSK 3if (coming after a conditional clause)
- if (coming after a conditional clause)
灯dēngHSK 3lamp
- lamp
- light
- lantern
- CL:盏
电diànHSK 3electricity
- electricity
- electric
- lightning
- electricity
- electric (bound form)
- to get (or give) an electric shock
- phone call or telegram etc
- to send via telephone or telegram etc
电梯diàntīHSK 3elevator
- elevator
- escalator
- CL:台,部
电子书diànzǐshūHSK 3electronic book
- electronic book
- e-book
- e-book reader
丢diūHSK 3to lose
- to lose
- to put aside
- to throw
东dōngHSK 3east
- east
- host (i.e. sitting on east side of guest)
- landlord
- surname Dong
东北dōngběiHSK 3northeast
- northeast
东方dōngfāngHSK 3east
- east
东南dōngnánHSK 3southeast
- southeast
冬天dōngtiānHSK 3winter
- winter
懂得dǒngdeHSK 3to understand
- to understand
- to know
- to comprehend
动物dòngwùHSK 3animal
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 2 Chinese listening episodes
HSK 3 Chinese listening episodes
HSK 4 Chinese listening episodes
HSK 5+ Chinese listening episodes
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.
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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.