HSK Exam Guide The HSK 3.0 syllabus: its five parts and how to read them
The HSK 3.0 syllabus is the official Chinese-language outline of what the new HSK covers. It was issued by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (中外语言交流合作中心) in November 2025 and has been in force since July 2026. It has five parts: tasks, topics, vocabulary, Chinese characters and grammar.
The document and its five parts
The cover reads "HSK 考试大纲 / Syllabus for the Chinese Proficiency Test". The PDF is 406 pages long and is in Chinese only. The chinesetest.cn HSK page links to it under the name "New HSK Test Syllabus". That page says the new HSK covers five components: tasks, topics, vocabulary, grammar and Chinese characters.
The table of contents gives the start page of each part:
| Part | Chinese name | Starts on page |
|---|---|---|
| Task syllabus | HSK 任务大纲 | 1 |
| Topic syllabus | HSK 话题大纲 | 55 |
| Vocabulary syllabus | HSK 词汇大纲 | 76 |
| Chinese character syllabus | HSK 汉字大纲 | 352 |
| Grammar syllabus | HSK 语法大纲 | 382 |
The task, topic, vocabulary and grammar parts each have one chapter for 一级 (level 1) through 六级 (level 6), and one joint chapter for 七—九级 (levels 7 to 9). In the task part, these chapters start on pages 2, 6, 11, 18, 29, 37 and 45.
The character part is organised differently. It has one 认读字 (characters to recognise) list for each level, from 一级 on page 353 to 七—九级 on page 367. Its 书写字 (characters to write) list is one entry in the table of contents, starting on page 374.
To find a part, go to the page number in the table above. Each chapter heading in the table of contents gives its own start page.
Level 1 task headings
The level 1 task chapter (一级) has 15 headings, numbered 一 to 十五. Five of them are below. The English in brackets is our own translation. It is not in the official text.
- 一、问答个人基本信息 (answering questions about basic personal information)
- 四、问答天气 (answering questions about the weather)
- 七、问答饮食喜好 (answering questions about food likes)
- 十、告知生病、探病 (telling someone about an illness and visiting someone who is sick)
- 十五、问答中国传统饮食 (answering questions about traditional Chinese food)
Topic totals by level
The topic syllabus (HSK 话题大纲, from page 55) ends each level's topic table with three printed totals. These match the three columns: 一级话题, 二级话题 and 三级话题.
| Level | 一级话题 | 二级话题 | 三级话题 |
|---|---|---|---|
| HSK level 1 (一级) | 5个 | 15个 | 30个 |
| HSK level 2 (二级) | 5个 | 18个 | 34个 |
| HSK level 3 (三级) | 6个 | 22个 | 54个 |
| HSK level 4 (四级) | 7个 | 31个 | 77个 |
| HSK level 5 (五级) | 7个 | 29个 | 72个 |
| HSK level 6 (六级) | 7个 | 25个 | 68个 |
| Levels 7 to 9 (七—九级) | 5个 | 29个 | 92个 |
These totals count topics in the topic part only. They are not word or character counts.
Sources
- HSK 考试大纲 / Syllabus for the Chinese Proficiency Test (PDF), published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (中外语言交流合作中心)
- HSK page, Chinese Tests Service Website, published by Chinese Testing International
Checked 11 October 2026
This page is an unofficial summary; it is not published by Chinese Testing International, the Center for Language Education and Cooperation or the Ministry of Education, and the official page prevails if they differ.