HSK Vocabulary List by Level (HSK 1-9): Word Counts, Old vs New HSK 3.0, and Free PDF

Key Takeaways

• HSK runs on two systems right now: old HSK 2.0 (6 levels, ~5,000 words) and new HSK 3.0 (9 levels, ~11,092 words), so the same level can show two different counts.
• Every level's word count is cumulative: HSK 2 = 300 words is the running total including HSK 1, not 300 brand-new words.
• HSK 1 doubled under the reform, from 150 words (2.0) to 300 words (3.0), per the Hanban / Chinese Testing International standard.
• HSK 7-9 is one combined Advanced band, not three exams, covering roughly 11,092 words in total.
• Lists stick when you pair them with spaced repetition, radical-based character learning, and words met in context, not flat memorization.

If you have seen HSK 1 listed as 150 words on one site and 300 on another, you are not wrong, and neither site is lying: there are two HSK systems in circulation, and they count differently. This guide gives you the word count for every level (old 2.0 and new 3.0 side by side), embedded sample lists with pinyin and meaning, a free PDF source, and a method to actually remember the words.

I. HSK Vocabulary by Level: Word Count Overview (Old 2.0 vs New 3.0)

The confusion over "how many words" is not a mistake to correct; it is two coexisting systems reporting cumulative totals. The old HSK 2.0 spread the test across 6 levels, while the new HSK 3.0 spreads it across 9. Read the two columns below as two systems, not as a right answer and a wrong one.

Read the numbers as a cumulative total, not as new words. HSK 2 = 300 means 300 words total once you include HSK 1, so only about 150 of them are genuinely new at that level. Every count below works the same way: it stacks on top of the level before it. 

Word counts here follow the Hanban / Chinese Testing International (CTI) standard. HSK 3.0 was released in 2025 and implemented in 2026; the older single-column figures (HSK 1 = 150) come from the outgoing HSK 2.0 system.

II. Old HSK (2.0, Levels 1-6) vs New HSK 3.0 (Levels 1-9): What Changed

Most readers do not need the full history of the reform. You need to know which of two systems your target exam actually uses, so this section moves from what changed, to why the numbers look different everywhere, to which list applies to you. Treat it as a decision funnel, not a chronology.

1. What Changed in the HSK 3.0 Reform (3 Bands, 9 Levels)

HSK 3.0 restructures the test into 3 bands and 9 levels: Beginner (1-3), Intermediate (4-6), and Advanced (7-9). Per the Hanban / CTI standard, it covers roughly 3,000 characters and 11,092 words, alongside 1,110 syllables and 572 grammar structures, and it was released in 2025 and implemented in 2026.

The jump from 6 levels to 9 is the headline change, and it is bigger than it sounds. Here is how the new structure breaks down:

• Beginner band, Levels 1-3: the foundation, ending where old HSK 3 used to sit.
• Intermediate band, Levels 4-6: working fluency, mapping loosely onto old HSK 4-6.
• Advanced band, Levels 7-9: entirely new ceiling that did not exist under 2.0.

The four anchor numbers (3,000 characters, 11,092 words, 1,110 syllables, 572 grammar points) come straight from the official standard. The old system topped out near 5,000 words at HSK 6, so the reform roughly doubled the vocabulary expected of an advanced learner.

2. Why Different Websites Show Different HSK Word Counts

You will see one site say HSK 1 = 150 and another say 300, and the instinct is to assume one is broken. Both are accurate for the system they describe. Different websites show different HSK word counts for two reasons.

• Old vs new figures. Some pages still cite the old HSK 2.0 numbers (HSK 1 = 150) while others use the new HSK 3.0 numbers (HSK 1 = 300). A page that has not been updated since 2024 is reporting the system that was current then.
• Cumulative vs new-at-this-level. Many sources confuse the cumulative total at a level with the count of words introduced at that level. HSK 2 = 300 is the running total; only about 150 of those are new on top of HSK 1.

So which number do you trust? The one that matches the system your exam uses, read as a cumulative total. Once you know that, the "contradictions" across sites resolve into a single, consistent picture.

3. Which List Should You Study, Old or New?

You should study the list that matches the version your test center administers; when in doubt, default to the new HSK 3.0 list, since it is the implemented 2026 standard and the older HSK 2.0 vocabulary is largely a subset of it. Most of what you learn for 2.0 still counts toward 3.0, so you rarely lose work.

A few practical cases:

• Your test center has switched to 3.0. Study the 9-level list. This is the forward-looking default.
• Your course still uses old 2.0 materials. Keep using them, but cross-check counts against 3.0 so you are not surprised by the larger scope at exam time.
• You are unsure during the transition. Default to 3.0 and treat your old 2.0 list as the core subset you have already covered.

With the systems clear, here is the actual word list, starting at HSK 1.

III. HSK 1 Vocabulary List (with Pinyin & Meaning)

HSK 1 is where the old-vs-new gap is widest, doubling from 150 words to 300 under the reform. Think of it as the foundation level where you learn to greet, count, and name the people and objects around you. The table below is a representative sample, not the full set; the complete list lives in the PDF in the download section.

Word count: Old 150 / New 300 (cumulative).

What you can do at HSK 1: introduce yourself, exchange greetings, and handle the most basic everyday phrases like ordering water or asking a price. It is survival Chinese, and it doubled under 3.0 precisely because the old 150 left learners short of even that. See the complete HSK 1 vocabulary list for every word with pinyin and meaning.

IV. HSK 2 Vocabulary List

HSK 2 is the clearest case of the cumulative trap. The "300" most sites cite is the running total that already includes HSK 1, so roughly 150 of those words are genuinely new here. Frame the level around that distinction and the count stops being confusing.

Word count: Old 150 new / 300 cumulative. New 3.0: ~300 new / ~600 cumulative.

What you can do at HSK 2: manage simple, direct exchanges on familiar daily topics, like talking about the weather, travel plans, or what you did yesterday. If you want a deeper level-specific breakdown, see the dedicated HSK 2 vocabulary list.

V. HSK 3 Vocabulary List

HSK 3 is the practical "I can survive daily life" threshold. The words here move you past objects and greetings into opinions, feelings, and reasons, which is why so many learners describe HSK 3 as the moment Chinese starts to feel usable. Frame the list around what those words unlock in real conversation.

Word count: Old 600 / New ~900-1,000 (cumulative; approximate).

What you can do at HSK 3: handle most situations in daily life, travel, and basic work topics, and explain why you think something rather than just naming it.

In Prep's HSK courses, HSK 3 is taught as roughly 300 words spread across 20 topics with about 50 grammar structures, aligned to the Hanban standard. Organizing the level topic-by-topic rather than as one long list is what makes that "daily-survival" jump feel manageable to learners. For every word at this level, see the full HSK 3 vocabulary list.

VI. HSK 4 Vocabulary List

HSK 4 is where learners stop asking "how many words" and start asking "is this enough for my real goal?" For many, that goal is university in China, and HSK 4 is the intermediate gateway. The honest answer: it is commonly required, but the exact bar varies by program.

Word count: Old 1,200 / New ~1,600-2,000 (cumulative; approximate).

What you can do at HSK 4: discuss a broad range of topics with reasonable fluency, from culture to current events. Many undergraduate programs in China list HSK 4 as a minimum, though requirements differ by university and major, so always check the specific program rather than assuming. See the complete HSK 4 vocabulary list for the full set.

VII. HSK 5 Vocabulary List

From HSK 5 onward, the lists grow too large to memorize as flat columns. This is the point where method matters more than the list itself, and the sample below shows the abstract, academic register you are heading into. The full list is best handled in the PDF and an SRS app.

Word count: Old 2,500 / New ~3,000+ (cumulative; approximate).

What you can do at HSK 5: read newspapers and magazines, follow films and TV without subtitles, and deliver a relatively full spoken presentation. For the full HSK 5 list, see our HSK 5 vocabulary list or the PDF in the download section below.

VIII. HSK 6 Vocabulary List

HSK 6 was the summit under the old system, but it is now mid-advanced under HSK 3.0. If your goal is "the highest level," you should know that the Advanced band 7-9 now sits above it. Frame this list with that status change in mind: HSK 6 is a milestone, not the finish line.

Word count: Old 5,000 / New ~5,400 (cumulative; approximate).

What you can do at HSK 6: easily understand virtually anything you hear or read in Chinese, and express yourself fluently and precisely. Under HSK 2.0 this was the top of the ladder; under 3.0, three more levels stretch above it. See the complete HSK 6 vocabulary list for the full set.

IX. HSK 7-9 Vocabulary: The 11,000-Word Advanced Band (New HSK 3.0)

HSK 7-9 is a single Advanced band in the new HSK 3.0, covering roughly 11,092 words in total, and it is assessed by one combined HSK 7-9 exam rather than three separate tests. Your placement at 7, 8, or 9 comes from how you score on that one exam, not from sitting three of them.

The number scares people, and that fear is the real obstacle, not the words. You do not memorize 11,092 words in isolation. By the time you reach this band, new vocabulary arrives mostly through wide reading and listening: novels, news, academic articles, podcasts. The list becomes a map of what you are already meeting in real material, which is exactly why the next section on method matters more than ever here.

For the full HSK 7-9 word list, see the PDF in the download section below.

X. How to Memorize HSK Vocabulary (Without Forgetting It)

Forgetting HSK words is rarely a memory failure; it is a method failure. The usual culprits are no spacing (you cram, then never review), characters memorized as strokes instead of patterns, words learned with zero context, and no daily rhythm. Each method below fixes one of those root causes, so read them as a diagnosis-and-repair set, not a menu.

1. Use Spaced Repetition (SRS): Anki & Pleco

Spaced repetition (SRS) apps like Anki and Pleco fight forgetting by re-showing each word at widening intervals, so a word you recall easily comes back in 10 days instead of tomorrow. A sustainable pace is about 10 new cards a day, since the daily review load compounds as your deck grows.

That compounding is the warning most beginners miss. Ten new cards sounds trivial in week one. By week eight, those daily additions plus their scheduled reviews can mean 80 to 100 cards a day. Start modest, hold the pace steady, and let the algorithm decide what you see, rather than re-reading the whole list every session.

2. Learn Characters by Radicals, Not Stroke by Stroke

Learning characters by their radicals, the recurring components that hint at meaning or sound, is faster than memorizing strokes one by one, because a single radical like 氵("water") links a whole family of characters such as 河 (river), 海 (sea), and 湖 (lake). Once you see the pattern, a new character is rarely new from scratch.

A radical is the building block of a character. Group characters by their shared radical and you stop memorizing isolated strokes; you start reading meaning and sound clues. See 心 (heart) and you can guess a word touches emotion; see 钅(metal) and you expect something to do with metals or minerals.

Prep's character-mnemonics course teaches this directly, working through 52 radicals across the curriculum: 25 basic, then 19 extended, then 8 advanced. The point is not to learn radicals for their own sake but to make every later character cheaper to remember.

3. Learn Words in Context, Not Isolated Lists

Words learned in context, through reading, listening, and dialogue, are retained far better than words memorized from an isolated list, because context attaches each word to meaning, situation, and sound. A word on a flashcard is a fact; a word in a sentence you understood is a memory.

What counts as context? Graded readers pitched at your level, short dialogues, subtitled video, and shadowing, where you listen to a model line and speak it back. Isolated-list memorization is fragile because the only retrieval cue is the English gloss; meet the same word in three different sentences and you build three independent paths back to it.

Prep's Chinese Dialogue Shadowing feature is built for exactly this: you listen to a model dialogue, speak it back, toggle pinyin on or off, and run role-play, so each target word arrives inside a situation rather than on a bare card. For a guided start, our HSK 1 Chinese conversation lessons drop beginner words straight into short dialogues.

4. Set a Realistic Daily Word Target

To set a realistic daily target, divide the words you need by the days until your exam. For example, the roughly 600 cumulative words of HSK 3 over four months works out to about 5 new words a day, then track which words are known, half-known, or unknown so your reviews target the weak ones. The math turns a vague "study daily" into a number you can actually hit.

Run the calculation backward from your exam date, not forward from today. A four-month HSK 3 run at 5 words a day leaves slack for review; the same 600 words in six weeks demands 14 a day, which is where most plans quietly collapse.

Prep's ATLAS AI knowledge tracing supports this by mapping each word as known, half-known, or unknown and updating in real time, while Daily Goals keeps the target visible so the daily number does not drift. Once you have picked a method, grab the full lists to drill from.

XI. Download the Full HSK Vocabulary List (PDF)

Yes, you can download the full HSK vocabulary list for free as a PDF for reading, an Excel or CSV file for sorting, or an Anki or Pleco deck for spaced repetition; choose a list sourced from the official Hanban / CTI standard so it matches the current exam. The format you pick should follow how you plan to study.

• PDF: best for reading through a level and printing a reference sheet.
• Excel / CSV: best for sorting, filtering by level, and building your own custom decks.
• Anki / Pleco: best for spaced repetition, since the file plugs straight into your SRS schedule.

One caution: plenty of random uploads float around with outdated 2.0 counts or typos in the pinyin. Start from a list that traces back to the official Hanban / CTI standard so your study matches what the exam actually tests. If you want the bigger picture on test format, scoring, and registration, the HSK test guide covers the exam itself, and PREP HSK courses pair the lists with structured lessons and SRS so you are drilling the right words from day one.

XII. HSK Vocabulary FAQs

1. How Many Words Are in the Full HSK Vocabulary List?

The full HSK vocabulary list contains about 11,092 words under the new HSK 3.0 standard, counting all 9 levels combined. That compares with roughly 5,000 words under the old HSK 2.0 system, which had only 6 levels, per Hanban / CTI.

2. What Is the Difference Between Old HSK and New HSK 3.0 Vocabulary?

Old HSK 2.0 has 6 levels and roughly 5,000 words total, while new HSK 3.0 has 9 levels grouped into 3 bands and roughly 11,092 words. Per-level counts also rose: HSK 1, for example, climbed from 150 words to 300.

3. Is There a Free HSK Vocabulary PDF to Download?

Yes, free HSK vocabulary lists are available as PDF, Excel, and Anki or Pleco files. Use one sourced from the official Hanban / CTI standard so it matches the current exam rather than an outdated count.

4. How Many Words Are in HSK 7-9?

HSK 7-9 is a single Advanced band in HSK 3.0 covering about 11,092 words cumulatively across the whole test. It is assessed by one combined exam, not three.

5. What Is the Best Way to Memorize HSK Vocabulary?

The most effective approach combines spaced repetition with Anki or Pleco, learning characters by radicals, meeting words in context through reading and dialogue, and keeping a realistic daily word target. No single trick beats stacking these four.

6. Are HSK 7, 8, and 9 a Single Exam?

Yes. Under HSK 3.0, levels 7, 8, and 9 form one Advanced band assessed by a single combined HSK 7-9 exam, not three separate tests. Your level is decided by how you score on that one exam.

XIII. Conclusion: Your HSK Vocabulary Roadmap by Level

Your HSK vocabulary roadmap is straightforward: start at the level that matches your current ability, follow the new HSK 3.0 list unless your test center still uses 2.0, and pair each level's word list with spaced repetition, radicals, and contextual practice so the words actually stick. The numbers only feel chaotic until you read them as one cumulative ladder.

That ladder runs from HSK 1 as the 300-word foundation up to the 7-9 Advanced band near 11,092 words. Pick your rung, default to 3.0 when the version is unclear, and remember that method beats raw lists every time: a level you drill with SRS, radicals, and real context will outlast one you crammed. Prep's HSK courses, Daily Goals, and Chinese Dialogue Shadowing are built to keep that daily rhythm going, so the words you learn this week are still there at exam time.