HSK 3 study guide: the new test, its speaking paper and a plan by words per week (video)
HSK 3 from 13 December 2026: 1,000 words, a 70-question written paper and a 15-minute speaking paper. Test day, what's new on the list and a plan.
Chapters
- 0:00Start
- 0:20The short answer
- 0:38Your test date decides
- 1:11The written paper
- 1:51Test day and speaking
- 2:53The word list
- 4:01Pass marks aren't out
- 4:19A plan by words per week
- 5:05Practice tests
- 5:56What to do next
Transcript
Start
HSK 3 is where the exam starts to ask you to talk. From 13 December, it gets a speaking paper of its own, and the word list grows by two thirds. From SayMei Guides, by Mei Lin: the HSK 3 study guide. The new test, its speaking paper, and a plan by words per week.
The short answer
The short answer. HSK 3 is the third level of China's official Mandarin exam. From the 13 December sitting, it tests 1,000 words in a written paper, and adds a short speaking paper. Pass marks aren't published, so aim well above the old pass line.
Your test date decides
So which HSK 3 will you sit? The 13 December sitting is the first to use the new HSK, Chinese Testing International, CTI, announced in September. Earlier sittings, like 7 November, use the old paper. So check your booking first. For 13 December, paper bookings close on 16 November, and computer bookings on 3 December. But your centre may stop sooner. Expect to book the speaking paper with the written one: centres list both for that date.
The written paper
What's on the written paper? 70 questions in about 83 minutes. Listening: 30 questions. Reading: 30. Writing: 10, in 20 minutes. So listening loses ten questions, and writing gets more time. The true-or-false listening part is gone, and so is putting jumbled words in order. The new task is picture sentences: you see a picture and a word, and write a sentence with it. For 开心, happy: 他开心得跳起来了。 He was so happy he jumped up. And there's pinyin only as a clue in five questions. Everything else is in characters.
Test day and speaking
Expect test day to run from 2 pm to 4:35. In CTI's pilot timetable, the written paper starts at 2, and the speaking paper at 4:20. In between, you wait for nearly an hour. So in mock runs, take a short walk, then start speaking cold. The speaking paper is recorded, with headphones and a microphone. Part 1: repeat eight sentences, ten seconds each. 汉字的历史很长。 Chinese characters have a long history. Part 2: one sentence for each of five photos. Part 3: two printed questions, with three minutes to prepare each, and a minute and a half to speak. We timed the official sample recording, and those two answers fill the last ten minutes. A minute and a half is longer than it sounds. So jot three or four key words while you prepare. Then go: 我想介绍一下我的妈妈。 I'd like to introduce my mum. One more fact, a reason, an example.
The word list
Now, the words. The new HSK 3 takes you to 1,000 words, up from 600. We matched its new words against the old lists. Only 238 of 491 were old HSK 3 words. 195 were on no old list at all. And 51 came down from old HSK 4, like 丢, lost. So if you finished the old HSK 3, about 420 words are left to learn. If you stopped at the old HSK 2, it's about 700. And those 195 new words? Everyday life. 高铁, high-speed train. 外卖, takeaway. 红绿灯, traffic lights. And 187 of them use only characters from old HSK 1 to 3 words. So learn them as combinations of characters you know. For characters, you should recognise 655 by HSK 3, and write 250 by hand. All five the sample asks you to write are on that list. So drill the 250 by hand, in sentences.
Pass marks aren't out
What score do you need? On the old HSK 3, you pass with 180 of 300. For the new papers, we found no published scale or pass mark in late October. So treat the old 60% as a floor on each paper, and keep going until you clear it comfortably.
A plan by words per week
How fast do you need to go? Count words per week. From the new HSK 2, you have 500 to learn. With seven weeks to 13 December, that's 83 a week. In our view, about 50 is a steady pace. At 80, you're cramming, so a date next year is the better bet. Here's a 12-week plan from the new HSK 2: 100 new words a fortnight for ten weeks, then two weeks of review. The official sample, timed, at the end of week six. SayMei's practice test in weeks nine and ten. About 45 minutes a day. And for spoken answers, use a frame: 我觉得, I think. 因为, because. 比如, for example.
Practice tests
Which practice tests? CLEC's official sample papers are free, written and speaking, with recordings and answers. CTI's online trial is free, but asks for your name and email. HSK Mock sells two new-format written papers at $6.99 each. SayMei's HSK 3 practice test has both papers, free with a SayMei account. SayMei wrote every question, so it's a practice test in the new HSK format, not an official paper. Do the official sample first, and save a fresh paper for the final week. Where does SayMei fit? Its free word list, workbooks and practice test do a lot of the work. Lessons with Mei Lin are for speaking, with corrections as you go. It isn't an exam simulator, and Mei Lin isn't an HSK examiner.
What to do next
So, what next? Check your test date. Book before your centre's deadline. Set your words per week. Speak from week one. And do the official sample early. You can practise speaking with Mei Lin, SayMei's teacher, in a short spoken lesson at your level. The full guide, with every source, is on the page at saymei dot app.