HSK 3 vocabulary list

• 加快jiā kuàito accelerate; to speed up
• 乐队yuè duìband; pop group
• 演唱会yǎn chàng huìvocal recital or concert
• 演唱yǎn chàngsung performance; to sing for an audience
• 电视台diàn shì táitelevision station
• 邮件yóu jiànmail; post; email
• 会员huì yuánmember
• 联合国lián hé guóUnited Nations
• 电视剧diàn shì jùTV series; TV drama
• 身份证shēn fèn zhèngidentity card; ID
• 收费shōu fèito charge a fee
• 难度nán dùdegree of difficulty
• 头脑tóu nǎobrains; mind; skull; (fig.) gist (of a matter); leader; boss
• 铁路tiě lùrailroad; railway
• 通信tōng xìnto correspond (by letter etc); to communicate; communication
• 环保huán bǎoenvironmental protection; environmentally friendly; abbr. for 环境保护
• 发送fā sòngto transmit; to dispatch; to issue (an official document or credential)
• 播出bō chūto broadcast; to air (a TV program etc)
• 读者dú zhěreader
• 巧qiǎoopportunely; coincidentally; as it happens; skillful; timely
• 整整zhěng zhěngwhole; full
• 亲人qīn rénone's close relatives
• 早已zǎo yǐfor a long time; long since; (dialect) in the past
• 南部nán bùsouthern part
• 没用méi yònguseless
• 另一方面lìng yī fāng miànon the other hand; another aspect
• 排名pái míngto rank (1st, 2nd etc); ranking
• 行李xíng liluggage
• 东部dōng bùthe east; eastern part
• 传来chuán lái(of a sound) to come through; to be heard; (of news) to arrive
• 推动tuī dòngto push (e.g. for acceptance of a plan); to promote; to give impetus to
• 北部běi bùnorthern part
• 适用shì yòngto be applicable
• 牌子pái zisign; trademark; brand
• 金牌jīn páigold medal
• 旅馆lǚ guǎnhotel
• 短期duǎn qīshort term; short-term
• 全场quán chǎngeveryone present; the whole audience; across-the-board; unanimously; whole duration (of a competition or match)
• 价钱jià qianprice
• 共有gòng yǒuto have altogether; in all
• 干吗gàn másee 干嘛
• 底下dǐ xiathe location below sth; afterwards
• 美食měi shículinary delicacy; fine food; gourmet food
• 中华民族zhōng huá mín zúthe Chinese nation; the Chinese people (collective reference to all the ethnic groups in China)
• 前后qián hòuaround; from beginning to end; all around; front and rear
• 学费xué fèituition fee; tuition
• 中部zhōng bùmiddle part; central section
• 歌声gē shēngsinging voice; fig. original voice of a poet
• 认出rèn chūrecognition; to recognize
• 可乐kě lèamusing; entertaining; (loanword) cola
• 近期jìn qīnear in time; in the near future; very soon; recent
• 歌迷gē mífan of a singer
• 解开jiě kāito untie; to undo; to solve (a mystery)
• 初中chū zhōngjunior high school (abbr. for 初级中学)
• 不光bù guāngnot the only one; not only
• 子女zǐ nǚchildren; sons and daughters
• 老太太lǎo tài taielderly lady (respectful); esteemed mother
• 上衣shàng yījacket; upper outer garment
• 建成jiàn chéngto establish; to build
• 一方面yī fāng miànon the one hand

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.