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 101–150 of 988 · page 3 of 20
动物园dòngwùyuánHSK 3zoo
- zoo
短duǎnHSK 3short
- short
- brief
- to lack
- weak point
- fault
短裤duǎnkùHSK 3short pants
- short pants
- shorts
段duànHSK 3paragraph
- paragraph
- section
- segment
- stage (of a process)
- classifier for stories, periods of time, lengths of thread etc
- surname Duan
锻炼duànliànHSK 3to toughen
- to toughen
- to temper
- to engage in physical exercise
- to work out
- (fig.) to develop one's skills
- to train oneself
对话duìhuàHSK 3to talk (with sb)
- to talk (with sb)
- dialogue
- conversation
饿èHSK 3hungry
- hungry
- to starve (sb)
而且érqiěHSK 3(not only ...) but also
- (not only ...) but also
- moreover
- in addition
- furthermore
耳朵ěrduoHSK 3ear
- ear
- CL:只,个,对
- handle (on a cup)
耳机ěrjīHSK 3headphones
- headphones
- earphones
- telephone receiver
发fāHSK 3to send out
- to send out
- to show (one's feeling)
- to issue
- to develop
- to make a bundle of money
- classifier for gunshots (rounds)
- hair
- Taiwan pr.
发烧fāshāoHSK 3to have a high temperature (from illness)
- to have a high temperature (from illness)
- to have a fever
- (fig.) to be fascinated with
- to obsess over
- (fig.) flourishing
- thriving
- popular
发生fāshēngHSK 3to happen
- to happen
- to occur
- to take place
- to arise (e.g. 发生问题 "a problem arises")
发现fāxiànHSK 3to notice
- to notice
- to become aware of
- to discover
- to find
- to detect
- a discovery
发展fāzhǎnHSK 3development
- development
- growth
- to develop
- to grow
- to expand
方便fāngbiànHSK 3convenient
- convenient
- suitable
- to facilitate
- to make things easy
- having money to spare
- (euphemism) to relieve oneself
方便面fāngbiànmiànHSK 3instant noodles
- instant noodles
方法fāngfǎHSK 3method
- method
- way
- technique
- procedure
方向fāngxiàngHSK 3direction
- direction
- orientation
房子fángziHSK 3house
- house
- building (single- or two-story)
- apartment
- room
- CL:栋,幢,座,套,间
放fàngHSK 3to put
- to put
- to place
- to release
- to free
- to let go
- to let out
- to set off (fireworks)
放假fàngjiàHSK 3to have a holiday or vacation
- to have a holiday or vacation
放心fàngxīnHSK 3to feel relieved
- to feel relieved
- to feel reassured
- to be at ease
放学fàngxuéHSK 3to dismiss students at the end of the school day
- to dismiss students at the end of the school day
分开fēnkāiHSK 3to separate
- to separate
- to part
风fēngHSK 3wind
- wind
- news
- style
- custom
- manner
- CL:阵,丝
封fēngHSK 3classifier for letters
- classifier for letters
- to seal
- to confer
- to grant
- to bestow a title
- to seal
- classifier for sealed objects, esp. letters
- surname Feng
夫妻fūqīHSK 3husband and wife
- husband and wife
- married couple
服务fúwùHSK 3to serve
- to serve
- service
- CL:项
附近fùjìnHSK 3nearby
- nearby
- neighboring
- (in the) vicinity (of)
- neighborhood
复习fùxíHSK 3to review
- to review
- revision
- CL:次
该gāiHSK 3should
- should
- ought to
- probably
- must be
- to deserve
- to owe
- to be sb's turn to do sth
- that
- the above-mentioned
感到gǎndàoHSK 3to feel
- to feel
- to sense
- to perceive
感冒gǎnmàoHSK 3to catch cold
- to catch cold
- (common) cold
- CL:场,次
- (coll.) to be interested in (often used in the negative)
- (Tw) to detest
- can't stand
感兴趣gǎn xìngqùHSK 3to be interested (in sth)
- to be interested (in sth)
干gàn / gānHSK 3to do
- to do
- to work
- tree trunk
- main part of sth
- to manage
- to work
- to do
- capable
- cadre
- to kill (slang)
- to fuck (vulgar)
- (coll.) pissed off
- annoyed
- dry
- dried food
- empty
- hollow
- taken in to nominal kinship
- adoptive
- foster
- futile
- in vain
- (dialect) rude
- blunt
- (dialect) to cold-shoulder
- (bound form) to have to do with
- to concern oneself with
- one of the ten heavenly stems 天干
- (archaic) shield
- surname Gan
- surname Gan
- old variant of 干
- variant of 干
干净gānjìngHSK 3clean
刚gāngHSK 3just
- just
- only a moment ago
- exactly
- precisely
- barely
- only just
- just
- only a short while ago
- (literary) hard
- firm
- strong
刚才gāngcáiHSK 3just now
- just now
- a moment ago
刚刚gānggāngHSK 3just recently
- just recently
- just a moment ago
高铁gāotiěHSK 3high speed rail
- high speed rail
根据gēnjùHSK 3according to
- according to
- based on
- basis
- foundation
- CL:个
更gèngHSK 3more
- more
- even more
- further
- still
- still more
- to change or replace
- to experience
- one of the five two-hour periods into which the night was formerly divided
- watch (e.g. of a sentry or guard)
工作日gōngzuòrìHSK 3workday
- workday
- working day
- weekday
公斤gōngjīnHSK 3kilogram (kg)
- kilogram (kg)
公园gōngyuánHSK 3park (for public recreation)
- park (for public recreation)
- CL:座
故事gùshiHSK 3narrative
- narrative
- story
- tale
刮guāHSK 3to scrape
- to scrape
- to blow
- to shave
- to plunder
- to extort
- to blow (of the wind)
关guānHSK 3to close
- to close
- to turn off
- mountain pass
- to close
- to shut
- to turn off
- to confine
- to lock (sb) up
- to shut (sb in a room, a bird in a cage etc)
- to concern
- to involve
- surname Guan
关机guānjīHSK 3to turn off (a machine or device)
- to turn off (a machine or device)
- to finish shooting a film
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.