Unofficial guide
HSK Exam Guide

HSK 3.0 and the earlier HSK: what the official pages say has changed

Sources checked

The official HSK page says the test is being upgraded from the current six-level system to a framework called 'Three Stages, Nine Levels'. The CTI launch notice gives 13 December 2026 as the test date, with registration open until 24:00 on 16 November 2026 for the paper-based test and until 24:00 on 3 December 2026 for the computer-based test (Beijing time). The notice gives no question counts, timing or pass marks for HSK 3.0 papers.

This site is not the official site. It is not affiliated with Chinese Testing International (CTI), the Center for Language Education and Cooperation or any university, and it takes no registrations.

What the HSK page says about the new test

The About the New HSK section of the HSK page on chinesetest.cn describes the new HSK as an upgrade of the existing test. The section makes four points:

  • The test moves from the current six-level system to a new 'Three Stages, Nine Levels' framework. The page says this framework covers elementary, intermediate and advanced proficiency.
  • Five language skills are assessed: listening, speaking, reading, writing and translation (at advanced levels).
  • The new HSK introduces adjustments and optimizations in aspects such as question types, number of questions, test duration and listening speed. The paragraph gives no figures for any of these.
  • The test syllabus covers five components: tasks, topics, vocabulary, grammar and Chinese characters.

The launch notice

The notice was published on 9 September 2026 on chinesetest.cn. It gives these dates:

  • Test date: 13 December 2026.
  • Paper-based test: registration runs until 24:00 on 16 November 2026 (Beijing time).
  • Computer-based test: registration runs until 24:00 on 3 December 2026 (Beijing time).

The notice tells readers to visit the Chinese Tests Service Website to find test centres in their country and to register online there. It says further test information will be released on that website and on CTI's official WeChat account.

The notice does not give question counts, timing or pass marks for HSK 3.0 papers. It also does not list the levels, fees, test centres or question types. For the fee, the notice gives no amount, so the test centre is the place to ask.

Readers who want a shorter summary of the dates can read HSK 3.0 launch date and registration.

Word and character figures by level

The 2025 syllabus was issued in November 2025. Its cover gives July 2026 as the implementation date. The Chinese-language PDF has 406 pages in five parts: task syllabus (from p. 1), topic syllabus (from p. 55), vocabulary syllabus (from p. 76), Chinese character syllabus (from p. 352) and grammar syllabus (from p. 382).

The syllabus prints no totals for words or characters. The figures below were counted by our count from the serial numbers in its lists. The vocabulary figure for each row comes from the vocabulary sentence on the level page at chinesetest.cn/HSK/1 through chinesetest.cn/HSK/7-9.

Vocabulary: two separate columns

Level Vocabulary figure on the current level page Cumulative words, by our count from the 2025 syllabus's numbered vocabulary list
Level 1 150 words 300
Level 2 300 words 500
Level 3 600 words 1,000
Level 4 1,200 words 2,000
Level 5 2,500 words 3,600
Level 6 5000 or more words 5,400
Levels 7–9 11,000 words 11,000

The two columns come from different documents. They are shown side by side only, and this article does not compare them.

Characters: counted from the numbered lists

Level Recognition characters (认读字), per level list Writing characters (书写字), per list
Level 1 246 100 (Levels 1 and 2 share one list)
Level 2 125 100 (shared with Level 1)
Level 3 284 150
Level 4 441 150
Level 5 431 150
Level 6 413 150
Levels 7–9 1,148 500

Each list is numbered from 1 for its own level. The lists are not cumulative.

Sources

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.

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