The best HSK books and study materials, checked against the HSK 3.0 word lists (video)
We checked HSK books and apps against the HSK 3.0 word lists. An old HSK 3 book covers about 60% of the new list. Our pick for each level, and why.
Chapters
- 0:00Start
- 0:23The short answer
- 0:43The best book for each level
- 1:35Which list does your book follow?
- 2:28Is the Standard Course still good?
- 3:16Early decks and whole courses
- 4:08The official books stop at HSK 4
- 4:34Apps with the new word lists
- 5:09Mock tests and speaking
- 6:00What to do next
Transcript
Start
Most HSK books on the shelf were written for the old exam. On the new one, HSK 3.0, an old HSK 3 book covers only about 60% of the words you can be tested on. So what should you buy instead? From SayMei Guides, by Mei Lin: the best HSK books for HSK 3.0, checked against the word lists.
The short answer
The short answer: HSK 3.0 starts on December 13. For levels 1 to 4, buy the official New HSK Course, and study a word list built on the new syllabus. Older books, like the HSK Standard Course, leave big gaps. So keep them for this autumn's old-format sittings.
The best book for each level
Here's what we'd use at each level. For HSK 1, 2 or 3: the New HSK Course, textbook and workbook, $29.83. For HSK 4: volumes 4A and 4B, $35.88. For HSK 5 or 6, there's no new book yet, so take the HSK Standard Course, plus a 2026 word list, every day. Why the New HSK Course? The exam's own organisers helped make it. But its publisher doesn't post its word list, so we couldn't check it. Then build a stack around it: one word list, one mock test, and from HSK 3, speaking practice. The guide's finder builds it for you. It measures words only, though. A good book also teaches grammar, listening and reading, so use both.
Which list does your book follow?
Three different word lists are sold as HSK, and each book follows one. The one that matters is 考试大纲, the exam syllabus, published in November 2025. The other two are older: the old exam's HSK 2.0 lists, and the 2021 Standard, a teaching framework from China's Ministry of Education. The exam's organisers have said it isn't the syllabus. And they're very different sizes. By HSK 3, the old list has 600 words, the exam's has 1,000, and the 2021 Standard has 2,245. Here's a quick test before you pay. How many words does the book give for HSK 1? 300 means the exam's list. 500, the 2021 list. And 150, the old one.
Is the Standard Course still good?
Is the HSK Standard Course still good? For the old exam, yes: it was written for it. For HSK 3.0, it covers about 60% of the new words, at every level. The gap grows with every book: 391 words still to learn after the HSK 3 book, and 2,050 by HSK 6. Many gaps are everyday words the new lists added. 做饭, cook, and 电影院, cinema, are now HSK 1 words. About a quarter are easy compounds, like 这个, this one, made of 这 and the measure word 个. Count those as known, and the old books reach about 70%. If you own them, keep them, and let a 2026 list fill the rest.
Early decks and whole courses
Early HSK 3.0 decks, built on the 2021 Standard, have the opposite problem. They cover about 90% of the exam's words. But for HSK 3, you'd learn more than twice as many words as the exam lists. 图书馆, library, is an HSK 1 word there, and HSK 3 on the exam's list. If your exam is in December, that's months of study aimed at the wrong level. And no course covers the new list on its own. Even after six or more books, the classic series reach only about 80% of the new HSK 1 words. Duolingo does better, at about 90% of HSK 1 to 3, but in its own order, so it can't tell you when you're ready. The lesson: learn Chinese from a course, and use a 2026 word list to know you've covered the exam.
The official books stop at HSK 4
The New HSK Course is the official series for the new exam. Its publisher says it was made with Chinese Testing International, which runs the HSK. It's planned as 23 volumes, arriving a level at a time. The HSK 4 books came out in September, about three months before the first sitting, with no workbook yet. And at HSK 5 and 6, there's no HSK 3.0 book at all.
Apps with the new word lists
Now, word list apps. Pleco's HSK 3.0 list has every word, and nothing extra. It's free, or $9.99 once for flashcard tests on iPhone. Hack Chinese misses just one word, at $12 a month, billed yearly. SayMei's free lists, which are ours, match too. Skritter's decks still use the 2021 lists, though its team says 2026 editions are now a priority. For Anki, import our CSV rather than guessing which shared deck is current.
Mock tests and speaking
For mock tests, start with the free official sample paper for your level, with its recording. CTI's online trial exam is free too, but asks for your name and email. HSK Mock, the organisers' own platform, sells papers for $3.99 to $11.99 each. Free mock PDFs from unofficial sites are a gamble. And time the paper strictly: in the real exam, the clock is the hard part. And no book makes you speak. From December 13, HSK 3 to 6 are booked together with a speaking test of the same level. At HSK 4, you'll retell what you heard, then talk for two minutes at a stretch. A tutor gives you a human ear for your tones. SayMei's lessons are cheaper conversation practice, levelled by HSK.
What to do next
So, what next? Check your exam date. Check your book's HSK 1 word count. Pick one 2026 word list, and study it every day. Do the free official sample paper, timed. And practise speaking from day one. You can talk with Mei Lin for free: your first lesson is 10 minutes, with no account and no card. The full guide, with the stack finder and every source, is on the page at saymei dot app.