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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 刚才 | gāng cái | (just) a moment ago | |
| 别人 | bié ren | other people; others; other person | |
| 刮 | guā | to blow (of the wind) | |
| 刷 | shuā | to brush; to paint; to daub | |
| 刻 | kè | quarter (hour); moment; to carve | |
| 办公室 | bàn gōng shì | office; business premises; bureau | |
| 办法 | bàn fǎ | means; method; way (of doing sth) | |
| 动物 | dòng wù | animal; CL:隻|只; 群 | |
| 努力 | nǔ lì | great effort; to strive; to try hard | |
| 包 | bāo | to cover; to wrap; to hold | |
| 北方 | běi fāng | north; the northern part a country; China north of the Yellow River | |
| 半 | bàn | half; semi-; incomplete | |
| 南 | nán | south | |
| 历史 | lì shǐ | history; CL:門|门; 段[duàn] | |
| 厨房 | chú fáng | kitchen; CL:間|间[jiān] | |
| 参加 | cān jiā | to participate; to take part; to join | |
| 又 | yòu | (once) again; also; both... and... | |
| 双 | shuāng | two; double; pair | |
| 发烧 | fā shāo | to have a high temperature (from illness); to have a fever | |
| 发现 | fā xiàn | to find; to discover | |
| 叔叔 | shū shu | father's younger brother; uncle; Taiwan pr. [shú shu] | |
| 变化 | biàn huà | change; variation; to change | |
| 口 | kǒu | mouth; classifier for things with mouths (people, domestic animals, cannons, wells etc); classifier for bites or mouthfuls | |
| 句子 | jù zi | sentence; CL:個|个[gè] | |
| 只 | zhī | classifier for birds and certain animals; one of a pair; some utensils |
Free Simplified Chinese Vocab List and Flashcard PDFs to Download
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