HSK 3.0 explained
HSK 3.0 is the new version of the HSK Chinese proficiency test. It has 9 levels instead of 6, and the full vocabulary grows from 5,000 to 11,000 words. Levels 7–9 are tested together in one exam. The word counts below come from the official HSK 3.0 syllabus published in November 2025.
Words per level (cumulative)
| Level | HSK 3.0 | HSK 2.0 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 300 | 150 |
| 2 | 500 | 300 |
| 3 | 1,000 | 600 |
| 4 | 2,000 | 1,200 |
| 5 | 3,600 | 2,500 |
| 6 | 5,400 | 5,000 |
| 7–9 | 11,000 | — |
Source: HSK 3.0 syllabus (PDF). HSK 2.0 counts are from the 2012 official word list.
What changed from HSK 2.0
- Six levels became nine. Levels 7, 8 and 9 share one exam.
- Each level needs more words. Level 4 goes from 1,200 to 2,000 words, Level 6 from 5,000 to 5,400.
- Many words moved between levels. For example, the colour words 黑, 红 and 白 are Level 5 in HSK 3.0, while 黑色, 红色 and 白色 are Level 2.
When does HSK 3.0 start?
It depends on the country and the test center. In South Korea, the HSK Korea Office announced on 14 September 2026 that the last HSK 2.0 exam is on 7 November 2026 and HSK 3.0 starts with the 13 December 2026 exam. Check with your local test center for your date.
Free HSK 3.0 word lists
- HSK 1300 new words · 300 total
- HSK 2197 new words · 500 total
- HSK 3491 new words · 1,000 total
- HSK 4990 new words · 2,000 total
- HSK 51,579 new words · 3,600 total
- HSK 61,777 new words · 5,400 total
Word levels: HSK 3.0 syllabus (Center for Language Education and Cooperation, November 2025). Pinyin and English definitions: complete-hsk-vocabulary (MIT) and CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0).