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HSK 3.0 explained: what changed from HSK 2.0, and is it actually better? (video)

HSK 3.0 starts 13 December 2026: nine levels, 300 words at HSK 1, speaking from HSK 3. We compared all 4,992 HSK 2.0 words with the new lists.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Start
  2. 0:21The short answer
  3. 0:43What is HSK 3.0?
  4. 1:11When does HSK 3.0 start?
  5. 1:38The exam got bigger
  6. 2:29Writing and speaking you can't skip
  7. 3:14Old words, new levels
  8. 4:46The new lists cover more real Chinese
  9. 5:38What's harder, and what's still unclear
  10. 6:03What to do next

Transcript

Start

HSK 4 used to mean 1,200 words. Under HSK 3.0, it means 2,000, plus an essay and a speaking test. From SayMei Guides, by Mei Lin: HSK 3.0 explained. What changed from HSK 2.0, and is it actually better?

The short answer

The short answer: HSK 3.0 is a better test, and a harder certificate. Better, because the word lists are more useful, you have to write and speak, and levels 7 to 9 add a real top end. Harder, because every level asks for more words. And the first regular exam is on the 13th of December, 2026.

What is HSK 3.0?

What is HSK 3.0? It's the third generation of China's official Chinese proficiency test. Most of the confusion online comes from one name used for three documents. The 2021 Standard is a teaching framework, with 500 words at HSK 1. The 2025 exam syllabus is the list the new exam is written from, and it has 300. So a list that says 500 is quoting the Standard.

When does HSK 3.0 start?

When does it start? The first regular HSK 3.0 exam is on the 13th of December, 2026, worldwide, on paper and on computer. Every regular sitting before that date still uses HSK 2.0. So why do some guides say July? That's the date printed on the syllabus cover, next to 实施, implemented. No regular HSK 3.0 exam took place in July.

The exam got bigger

The exam also got bigger. Every level asks for more words, and the jump is steepest for beginners. HSK 1 doubles, from 150 words to 300. HSK 2, 3 and 4 each grow by two thirds. And levels 7 to 9 add a ceiling that HSK 6 never had, for 11,000 words in all. You'll also read far more characters than you write. By HSK 6, you should read about 1,940 characters, but write only 700 from memory. From HSK 3 up, the written papers get shorter. A shorter test day, then? Not quite. Add the speaking test, and the day is as long as before, or longer: about 148 minutes at HSK 6, against 140.

Writing and speaking you can't skip

Writing now starts at HSK 2, where you write missing characters from their pinyin. At HSK 3, you build a sentence around a word, like 开心, happy. From HSK 4, you write essays, starting with at least 80 characters on your most memorable trip, and growing to 600 at the top. And translation? That only appears at HSK 7–9. Speaking used to be a separate exam, and outside China, it was optional. Now, the rules say HSK 3 to 6 must be booked together with a speaking test at the same level. At HSK 3, you repeat eight sentences, describe five pictures and answer two questions, in about 15 minutes.

Old words, new levels

What happens to the words you already know? We matched all 4,992 HSK 2.0 words against the new list. 97.3% are still there. The catch is where they landed: nearly two thirds of the old HSK 6 words now count as advanced, at levels 7 to 9. Some familiar words moved a long way. 饺子, dumplings, drop from HSK 4 to HSK 1. 小姐, Miss, climbs from HSK 1 to HSK 5, while 女士, madam, drops from HSK 5 to HSK 1. New words fill every level, too. They make up about a quarter of the new HSK 1, and most of levels 7 to 9. Many are words you'd use every day: 外卖, takeaway food, at HSK 3, and 扫码, to scan a code, at HSK 4. So what's an old certificate worth? There's no official conversion table. Take someone who knows the whole old list up to HSK 4. They know only 63% of the words in the new levels 1 to 3. So on vocabulary, an old HSK 4 sits below a new HSK 3. One chatbot told us it equals a new HSK 4 or 5. Even someone with old HSK 6 knows only 627 of those 988 words: 361 were never on any HSK 2.0 list.

The new lists cover more real Chinese

Are the new lists better, then? We measured it. On film and TV subtitles, the first four HSK 3.0 levels, about 2,000 words, cover 78.9% of the running text. All six old levels, about 5,000 words, cover 77.3%. More coverage, for fewer words. The old levels also promised more than they measured. In 2009, old HSK 6 was matched with C2, the top European level. German-speaking teachers of Chinese judged it closer to B2. In other languages, they said, the first three levels take about 500, 1,000 and 2,000 words: exactly the new HSK 2, 3 and 4. That's a match in size only. There's no official HSK 3.0 table for the European scale.

What's harder, and what's still unclear

So what's harder, and what's still unclear? The same number now means more work, so if a university asks for HSK 4, ask which version. The bundled speaking test adds cost and time. And as of the 6th of October, the organisers hadn't published pass marks for levels 1 to 6, or said whether HSK 2.0 continues after December.

What to do next

So, what should you do? Sitting HSK 1 to 6 before the 13th of December? Study HSK 2.0, because that's the version you're taking. Sitting on or after that date? Study HSK 3.0, and book the speaking test with levels 3 to 6. Holding an old certificate? It's valid for two years from your test date, so label it with its version. And whatever your date, practise speaking: it's the skill self-study practises least. You can talk with Mei Lin for free: your first lesson is 10 minutes, with no account and no card. The full guide, with every source and a word look-up, is on the page at saymei dot app.

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