HSK 3 is the level where Chinese conversations stop being a guessing game and start feeling like real exchanges. You’re past pointing at menus and counting change-now you want to chat about your weekend, describe your plans, and handle everyday situations without freezing. This vocabulary list is built for exactly that moment.
We’ve gathered around 299 HSK 3 words that the official test expects and that daily life actually demands. Each entry gives you a straightforward meaning and a natural example sentence, so you see the word in action-not just a lifeless translation.
There’s audio playback built right into the table, because hearing a word once beats reading it ten times. When you’re ready to study offline, the free PDF download button sits below the table-no sign-up, no fuss.
If this topic helped, explore more in our Chinese learning section. it’s the easiest way to keep building related vocabulary without jumping around the web.
Quick Quiz
Quiz time! See how many of these HSK 3 words you can match to their meanings. It’s a quick, low-stress check-just hit the quiz below and give it a shot.
Browse the Full List
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 一会儿 | yī huì r | a while; also pr. [yī huǐ r] | |
| 一共 | yī gòng | altogether | |
| 一定 | yī dìng | surely; certainly; necessarily | |
| 一样 | yī yàng | same; like; equal to | |
| 一直 | yī zhí | straight (in a straight line); continuously; always | |
| 一般 | yī bān | same; ordinary; so-so | |
| 一边 | yī biān | one side; either side; on the one hand | |
| 万 | wàn | ten thousand; a great number | |
| 上网 | shàng wǎng | to be on the internet; to stretch a net (in a sports game or for covering sth); to be netted (of fish) | |
| 世界 | shì jiè | world; CL:個|个[gè] | |
| 东 | dōng | east; host (i.e. sitting on east side of guest); landlord | |
| 中间 | zhōng jiān | between; intermediate; mid | |
| 为了 | wèi le | in order to; for the purpose of; so as to | |
| 为什么 | wèi shén me | why?; for what reason? | |
| 主要 | zhǔ yào | main; principal; major | |
| 举行 | jǔ xíng | to hold (a meeting, ceremony etc) | |
| 久 | jiǔ | (long) time; (long) duration of time | |
| 习惯 | xí guàn | habit; custom; usual practice | |
| 了解 | liǎo jiě | to understand; to realize; to find out | |
| 云 | yún | cloud; CL:朵[duǒ] | |
| 以为 | yǐ wéi | to believe; to think; to consider | |
| 以前 | yǐ qián | before; formerly; previous | |
| 以后 | yǐ hòu | after; later; afterwards | |
| 会议 | huì yì | meeting; conference; CL:場|场 | |
| 伞 | sǎn | umbrella; parasol; CL:把[bǎ] |
Free Simplified Chinese Vocab List and Flashcard PDFs to Download
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