HSK 3 vocabulary list

• 阿姨ā yímaternal aunt; step-mother; childcare worker; nursemaid; woman of similar age to one's parents (term of address used by child)
• 啊āinterjection of surprise; Ah!; Oh!
• 矮ǎilow; short (in length)
• 爱好ài hàoto like; to be fond of; to take pleasure in; to be keen on; interest; hobby
• 安静ān jìngquiet; peaceful; calm
• 把bǎto hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch; classifier for things with handles; (used to put the object before the verb: 把 + {noun} + {verb})
• 班bānsurname Ban
• 搬bānto move (i.e. relocate oneself); to move (sth relatively heavy or bulky); to shift; to copy indiscriminately
• 办法bàn fǎmeans; method; way (of doing sth)
• 办公室bàn gōng shìoffice; business premises; bureau
• 半bànhalf; semi-; incomplete; (after a number) and a half
• 帮忙bāng mángto help; to lend a hand; to do a favor; to do a good turn
• 包bāosurname Bao
• 饱bǎoto eat till full; satisfied
• 北方běi fāngnorth; the northern part a country; China north of the Yellow River
• 被bèiquilt; to cover (with); (literary) to suffer (a misfortune); used to indicate passive voice (placed before the doer of the action like "by" in English passive-voice sentences, or, if the doer is not mentioned, before the verb); (since c. 2009) (sarcastic or jocular) used to indicate that the following word should be regarded as being in air quotes (as in 被旅游 to "go on a trip", for example)
• 鼻子bí zinose
• 比较bǐ jiàoto compare; to contrast; comparatively; relatively; quite; comparison
• 比赛bǐ sàicompetition (sports etc); match; to compete
• 笔记本bǐ jì běnnotebook (stationery); notebook (computing)
• 必须bì xūto have to; must; compulsory; necessarily
• 变化biàn huà(intransitive) to change; to vary; change; variation
• 别人bié renother people; others; other person
• 冰箱bīng xiāngicebox; freezer cabinet; refrigerator
• 不但bù dànnot only (... but also ...)
• 而且ér qiě(not only ...) but also; moreover; in addition; furthermore
• 菜单cài dānmenu
• 参加cān jiāto participate; to take part; to join
• 草cǎovariant of 草
• 层céngto pile on top of one another; layer; stratum; floor (of a building); story; (math.) sheaf; classifier for layers
• 差chādifference; discrepancy; (math.) difference (amount remaining after a subtraction); (literary) a little; somewhat; slightly
• 超市chāo shìsupermarket (abbr. for 超级市场)
• 衬衫chèn shānshirt; blouse
• 成绩chéng jìachievement; performance records; grades
• 城市chéng shìcity; town
• 迟到chí dàoto arrive late
• 除了chú lebesides; apart from (... also...); in addition to; except (for)
• 船chuánvariant of 船
• 春chūnold variant of 春[chun1]
• 词典cí diǎndictionary; also written 辞典
• 聪明cōng mingintelligent; clever; bright; smart; acute (of sight and hearing)
• 打扫dǎ sǎoto clean; to sweep
• 打算dǎ suànto plan; to intend; to calculate; plan; intention; calculation
• 带dàiband; belt; girdle; ribbon; tire; area; zone; region; to wear; to carry; to take along; to bear (i.e. to have); to lead; to bring; to look after; to raise
• 担心dān xīnanxious; worried; uneasy; to worry; to be anxious
• 蛋糕dàn gāocake
• 当然dāng ránonly natural; as it should be; certainly; of course; without doubt
• 地de-ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct
• 灯dēnglamp; light; lantern
• 地方dì fāngregion; regional (away from the central administration); local
• 地铁dì tiěunderground railway; subway; subway train
• 地图dì túmap
• 电梯diàn tīelevator; escalator
• 电子邮件diàn zǐ yóu jiànemail
• 东dōngsurname Dong
• 冬dōngwinter
• 动物dòng wùanimal
• 短duǎnshort; brief; to lack; weak point; fault
• 段duànsurname Duan
• 锻炼duàn liànto toughen; to temper; to engage in physical exercise; to work out; (fig.) to develop one's skills; to train oneself

Frequently asked questions

How many words do you need for HSK 3?

On the current exam (HSK 2.0), HSK 3 requires 600 words in total, counted from HSK 1. Under the new HSK 3.0 standard, level 3 covers 2,245 words in total.

What is in this HSK 3 vocabulary list?

606 Chinese words that the HSK Ace dictionary places at HSK 3, sorted by frequency. Each one has pinyin, an English meaning, audio and a stroke-order animation. The set draws on both HSK 2.0 and HSK 3.0, so its size differs from the official counts.

Practice HSK 3

See how many of these words you can use under exam conditions, or learn to write them stroke by stroke.