HSK 3: What Level 3 Covers
HSK 3 is level 3 of the nine HSK 3.0 levels. It builds on HSK 2 with 500 new words, for 1,000 words in total, 655 characters to read and 244 grammar points.
- New words
- 500
- Words in total
- 1,000
- Characters to read
- 655
- Grammar points
- 244
Step-by-step lessons
HSK 3 Unit 1: Reasons and results · 5 lessons
Five lessons on joining ideas: giving reasons with 因为…所以, contrasts with 虽然…但是, conditions with 如果…就, as long as and only if, and a story about a big life decision.
HSK 3 Unit 2: Getting things done · 5 lessons
Five lessons on what happens to things: results of actions (找到, 看见, 洗干净), directions of movement (进来, 拿上去), doing something to an object with 把, things that happen to you with 被, and a story about a very bad day.
HSK 3 Unit 3: Home and daily life · 5 lessons
Five lessons about home: describing how things are with 着, doing two things at once, cooking a classic dish step by step, using apps and phones to get things done, and finding a flat to rent.
HSK 3 Unit 4: Health and change · 5 lessons
Five lessons about health and change: more and more with 越来越, just now with 刚 and 刚才, again with 又 and 再, how things seem with 好像, and a story about changing your habits with 几乎 and 差不多.
HSK 3 Unit 5: Interests and feelings · 5 lessons
Five lessons about what moves you: interests with 对…感兴趣, how you do things with 地, exclamations with 多么, anyway and in short with 反正 and 总之, and a story about learning calligraphy.
HSK 3 Unit 6: Work and study · 5 lessons
Five lessons for work and study: a job interview, meetings and plans, the library and exams, making and changing appointments, and a first week in a new job, with all the HSK 3 grammar in use.
HSK 3 Unit 7: Travel and seasons · 5 lessons
Five lessons for travelling: booking a hotel, flights and delays at the airport, sorting out problems with service, the four seasons and the weather, and a story about a river trip in Guilin.
HSK 3 Unit 8: Festivals and stories · 7 lessons
The last seven HSK 3 lessons: celebrating Spring Festival, the Mid-Autumn legend of Chang'e and the moon, the story behind the idiom 画蛇添足, an afternoon in a teahouse, a letter that brings the whole level together, and two lessons with the words you need for the HSK 3 stories.
These lessons follow the HSK 3.0 progression. Up to HSK 3, together with Chinese Foundations, they teach 725 words; the official syllabus counts 1,000. Mythic Mandarin is an HSK-aligned learning path and does not reproduce the complete official word list.
Learn HSK 3 step by step
Preview version — Chinese review in progress.
Elementary stage (levels 1–3)
HSK 3 is the step from sentences to stories. You link ideas with because, although and so; say what the result of an action was; move objects with 把 and describe what happened to someone with 被. Speaking becomes part of the exam from this level.
Goal: In this HSK 3-aligned track you practise telling a short story in order, giving reasons, describing results and changes, and following everyday conversations.
What you will learn
- Linking clauses: 因为……所以……, 虽然……但是……, 先……然后……
- Result complements such as 完, 到 and 懂, and direction complements with 来 and 去
- The 把 sentence: doing something to an object
- The 被 sentence: something happens to the subject
- 着 for continuing states, 地 for manner, and topic-first sentences
- Separable verbs split by time and number
Audio preview uses your device’s Chinese voice. It is not a recording.
Foundations: listening to real speed
From HSK 3 the exam includes speaking. Keep tones clear while you speak faster, and let neutral tones stay short: that is what makes speech sound natural.
Practise Neutral tones in fast speech
In common two-syllable words the second syllable is often neutral. Saying it short and light makes your speech both faster and clearer.
东西
dōngxi
thing, stuff
With a full tone, 东西 dōngxī means east and west.
明白
míngbai
to understand
Vocabulary: reasons, changes and feelings
Mythic Mandarin starter words for this level, chosen for the patterns and stories below. They are not the official HSK 3 word list.
Characters: components that repeat
Characters now repeat the same components, so learning a component once pays off many times. The characters below are a Mythic Mandarin practice selection, not an official HSK list.
Practise Meaning parts you will see everywhere
氵 (water) appears in 河, 海 and 洗; 讠 (speech) in 说, 话 and 请; 亻 (person) in 你, 他 and 住. When you meet a new character, look for a part you already know.
洗澡
xǐzǎo
to take a shower, to bathe
Both characters have the water part 氵.
请说话
qǐng shuōhuà
please speak
All three characters have the speech part 讠.
Optional practice. Watch the strokes, then trace the character; each finished trace counts as one repetition, up to 20. Progress is saved on this device only, and nothing here is needed to continue.
Grammar: connecting ideas
HSK 3 grammar is about connections: between clauses, between an action and its result, and between the topic and what you say about it.
New 因为……所以……: because, so
因为 + reason，所以 + result
Chinese usually gives the reason first and the result second, and often uses both words, where English uses only one.
因为下雨了，所以我没去。
Yīnwèi xià yǔ le, suǒyǐ wǒ méi qù.
Because it rained, I didn't go.
New 虽然……但是……: although, but
虽然 + fact，但是 + contrast
Again both halves are marked, unlike English, which uses only "although" or only "but".
虽然很累，但是我很高兴。
Suīrán hěn lèi, dànshì wǒ hěn gāoxìng.
Although I'm tired, I'm happy.
New Result complements: 看完, 找到, 听懂
Verb + result
A second verb or adjective after the main verb says what the action achieved. 看 is to look; 看完 is to finish reading; 找 is to look for; 找到 is to find.
我看完这本书了。
Wǒ kànwán zhè běn shū le.
I've finished reading this book.
你找到钥匙了吗？
Nǐ zhǎodào yàoshi le ma?
Did you find the keys?
New 来 and 去: towards or away from the speaker
After a verb of movement, 来 means towards the speaker and 去 away. They combine with 上, 下, 进 and 出.
他走进来了。
Tā zǒu jìnlai le.
He walked in (towards me).
请你上去看看。
Qǐng nǐ shàngqu kànkan.
Please go up and have a look.
New 把: doing something to an object
Subject + 把 + object + verb + result
把 brings a known object before the verb, and the verb must then say what happened to it. You cannot end a 把 sentence with a bare verb.
我把作业做完了。
Wǒ bǎ zuòyè zuòwán le.
I've finished my homework.
请把门关上。
Qǐng bǎ mén guānshang.
Please close the door.
New 被: something happened to the subject
Subject + 被 + (doer) + verb + result
被 marks the subject as the one affected, usually by something unwelcome.
我的自行车被偷了。
Wǒ de zìxíngchē bèi tōu le.
My bike was stolen.
蛋糕被弟弟吃完了。
Dàngāo bèi dìdi chīwán le.
The cake was all eaten by my younger brother.
New 着: a state that continues
着 after a verb describes a state that holds, often for background description in stories.
窗户开着。
Chuānghu kāizhe.
The window is open.
她笑着说：“没问题。”
Tā xiàozhe shuō: “Méi wèntí.”
She said with a smile, "No problem."
New Topic first, comment after
A known object can open the sentence as its topic. This is common in speech and makes a contrast or a reply sound natural.
这个电影我看过。
Zhège diànyǐng wǒ kànguo.
This film, I've seen.
Practise 了 twice: done, and still true
了 after the verb and 了 at the end together say that something has been going on up to now.
我学了两年中文了。
Wǒ xuéle liǎng nián Zhōngwén le.
I've been studying Chinese for two years.
Practise Splitting separable verbs
Durations and 过 go between the two parts of a separable verb.
我昨天游了一个小时泳。
Wǒ zuótiān yóule yí ge xiǎoshí yǒng.
I swam for an hour yesterday.
Practice
Answer each question, then read the explanation. Your answers stay on this device only.
Grammar
因为太晚了，＿我们打车回家。
但是 introduces a contrast, not a result.
Show the answer
Answer: A, 所以.
因为 gives the reason; 所以 introduces the result: we took a taxi home.
Grammar
Which 把 sentence is correct?
A 把 sentence needs a verb and what happened to the object.
Show the answer
Answer: A, 我把书放在桌子上了。.
把 + object + verb + result: 把书 + 放在桌子上.
Meaning
What does 我的手机被弟弟拿走了 mean?
我的手机被弟弟拿走了。 Wǒ de shǒujī bèi dìdi názǒu le.
Show the answer
Answer: A, My younger brother took my phone..
被 marks 我的手机 as affected: it was taken away (拿走) by 弟弟.
Fill the gap
Fill the gap: 老师的话你听＿了吗？ (Did you understand what the teacher said?)
听完 means you finished listening, not that you understood.
听见 means you heard it, not that you understood.
Show the answer
Answer: A, 懂.
听懂 is to listen and understand.
Grammar
You are inside the house. Your friend is outside. What do you say?
Show the answer
Answer: A, 进来吧！.
来 points towards the speaker: you are inside, so the friend comes in towards you, 进来.
Word order
Build: "Although it's expensive, I like it."
- 我很喜欢
- 虽然很贵
- 但是
Show the answer
虽然很贵但是我很喜欢 Suīrán hěn guì, dànshì wǒ hěn xǐhuan.
Although it's expensive, I like it.
虽然 opens the fact and 但是 introduces the contrast.
Grammar
Which sentence describes a state: "The door is open"?
在开 means someone is opening it right now.
开过 means it has been opened at some point.
Show the answer
Answer: A, 门开着。.
着 describes a continuing state: 门开着.
Reading
Read: 今天早上突然下雨了。我没带伞，所以衣服都湿了。 Why are the writer's clothes wet?
Show the answer
Answer: A, It suddenly rained and they had no umbrella..
突然下雨了 (it suddenly rained), 没带伞 (no umbrella), 所以 (so) the clothes got wet.
Review: can you do this?
Check yourself before moving on.
- I can give a reason and a result with 因为……所以…….
- I can say what an action achieved: 看完, 找到, 听懂.
- I can use 把 to say what I did to something.
- I can use 被 to say what happened to me or to something.
- I can describe a scene with 着.
- I can start a sentence with its topic.
HSK 4 moves into the intermediate stage: potential complements, more ways to emphasise and contrast, and longer texts on work, study and society. Continue to HSK 4
How many words are in HSK 3?
HSK 3 has 1,000 words in total: the 500 words up to HSK 2 plus 500 new words.
That is 9% of the 11,000 words in the complete HSK 3.0 list, which runs from HSK 1 to the advanced HSK 7–9 band.
What comes after HSK 3
HSK 4 adds 1,000 new words, for 2,000 in total.
Writing Chinese characters at HSK 3
Optional character writing practice: watch the stroke order, then write the character yourself. This is a Mythic Mandarin practice method, not an official HSK requirement.
Look up the stroke order of any character in the Chinese Stroke Order Dictionary
Look up any word, its pinyin and meanings in the Chinese dictionary
Speaking at HSK 3
From level 3, speaking is part of the exam: for levels 3 to 6 the speaking test is registered together with the written test of the same level.