New HSK 3.0 Explained
What the new HSK exam asks for, level by level. Last checked 12 November 2026.
When does the new HSK start?
The HSK Syllabus (《HSK考试大纲》) was published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC) in November 2025 and is marked for implementation from July 2026. Test centres report that the first sitting of the new exam is on 13 December 2026; sittings before that date at many centres still use HSK 2.0. Confirm the version with your own test centre before you register.
Word counts by level
| Level | Band | New words | Total words | Syllabus entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HSK 1 | Elementary | 300 | 300 | 1–300 |
| HSK 2 | Elementary | 200 | 500 | 301–500 |
| HSK 3 | Elementary | 500 | 1,000 | 501–1000 |
| HSK 4 | Intermediate | 1,000 | 2,000 | 1001–2000 |
| HSK 5 | Intermediate | 1,600 | 3,600 | 2001–3600 |
| HSK 6 | Intermediate | 1,800 | 5,400 | 3601–5400 |
| HSK 7–9 | Advanced | 5,600 | 11,000 | 5401–11000 |
Levels 7, 8 and 9 share one word list and one exam; your score decides which of the three certificates you get.
Why other sites say HSK 1 has 500 words
HSK 3.0 began as a national standard, Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards for International Chinese Language Education (GF 0025-2021), published by China's Ministry of Education in 2021. Its lower levels are bigger (500 words at level 1, 11,092 in total). The 2025 exam syllabus builds on that standard but sets smaller targets for levels 1–6. For the exam, the 2025 syllabus is the list that counts, and it is the list this site uses.
Sources
- CLEC, HSK考试大纲 Syllabus for the Chinese Proficiency Test, released Nov 2025, implemented July 2026 (PDF published on the official HSK site, hskexam.net).
- Ministry of Education of the PRC, GF 0025-2021, announcement, 2021-03-29.
- Confucius Institute Maastricht, “Taking an HSK exam in Maastricht? Here's what changes with HSK 3.0” (last HSK 2.0 sitting 7 Nov 2026, first HSK 3.0 sitting 13 Dec 2026).