The HSK has two official frameworks in use at the same time. Knowing which one a textbook, course or exam follows saves a lot of confusion.
At a glance
| HSK 2.0 | HSK 3.0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Introduced | 2009 | 2021 |
| Levels | 6 | 9, in three bands |
| Words at the top level | 5,000 (HSK 6) | about 11,000 (HSK 7–9) |
| Top levels | HSK 5–6 | HSK 7–9, one combined exam |
| Also defines | Vocabulary | Vocabulary, characters, syllables and grammar points |
HSK 2.0: six levels
HSK 2.0 is cumulative: each level includes the words of the levels below it.
| Level | Total words |
|---|---|
| HSK 1 | 150 |
| HSK 2 | 300 |
| HSK 3 | 600 |
| HSK 4 | 1,200 |
| HSK 5 | 2,500 |
| HSK 6 | 5,000 |
The best-known textbook series, the HSK Standard Course, follows this framework, which is why many learners still describe their level in HSK 2.0 terms.
HSK 3.0: three bands, nine levels
HSK 3.0 groups levels into elementary (1–3), intermediate (4–6) and advanced (7–9). Levels 7, 8 and 9 share one word list and one exam; the score decides which of the three you reach.
The main changes compared with HSK 2.0:
- Much larger vocabulary. HSK 3.0 level 1 already has around 500 words, compared with 150 in HSK 2.0 level 1. The full list is roughly twice the size of HSK 2.0.
- Characters are counted separately. The standard sets a number of characters to recognise and to write at each level, not only a list of words.
- Handwriting is tested earlier and more.
- Grammar points are listed per level.
Which list should you study?
- Following a textbook? Use the version your textbook uses. Most current courses map to HSK 2.0 levels.
- Taking the exam? Check the current format for your level on chinesetest.cn before you choose a word list. The HSK 7–9 exam is based on HSK 3.0.
- Self-study with no exam? HSK 3.0 is the more complete and more current syllabus.
In practice the two lists overlap heavily at the lower levels. A word such as 银行 (bank) is HSK 3.0 level 2 and HSK 2.0 level 3; hanzi.ac shows both labels on each word page so you never have to convert.
HSK 3.0 word counts on hanzi.ac
These are the word counts in the HSK 3.0 lists used on this site. Each level page lists only the words new at that level.
| Level | New words | Word list |
|---|---|---|
| HSK 1 | 506 | HSK 1 |
| HSK 2 | 750 | HSK 2 |
| HSK 3 | 953 | HSK 3 |
| HSK 4 | 972 | HSK 4 |
| HSK 5 | 1,059 | HSK 5 |
| HSK 6 | 1,123 | HSK 6 |
| HSK 7–9 | 5,606 | HSK 7–9 |
Word lists compiled from the standard differ slightly in how they count variants and multi-word phrases, so totals from different sources can vary by a few dozen words.