HSK 3 Vocabulary List — All 500 Words
Official HSK 3.0 syllabus (2025) · simplified characters, pinyin and English · sorted A–Z by pinyin
HSK 3 is the band the official standard describes as “Effective everyday communication”. 500 words are new at this level, and they are all listed below.
The exam is cumulative: an HSK 3 paper can draw on any of the 1,000 words introduced from level 1 up to and including level 3 — level 2 added 200 of them.
Every entry links to a full word page with stroke-order animation, native audio and the part of speech.
A
5 words| Simplified | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 矮 | ǎi | short; low(of a person) short; (of a wall etc) low; (of rank) inferior (to); lower (than) |
| 爱人 | àiren | spouse; husband or wifespouse (PRC); lover (non-PRC) |
| 安静 | ānjìng | quiet; peacefulquiet; peaceful; calm |
| 安全 | ānquán | safe; safetysafe; secure; safety; security |
| 阿姨 | āyí | auntie; aunt; childcare helpermaternal aunt; step-mother; childcare worker; nursemaid |
B
38 words| Simplified | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 把 | bǎ | ba construction marker; to holdto hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch |
| 搬 | bān | to move; to carryto move (i.e. relocate oneself); to move (sth relatively heavy or bulky); to shift; to copy indiscriminately |
| 办 | bàn | to handle; to do; to manageto take care of (a matter); to deal with (a task, procedure etc); to organize (an event); to establish; to set up; to manage; to run (an enterprise); (law) to handle; to investigate; to prosecute (a case or suspect); (bound form) office (as in 招办, admissions office) (abbr. for 办公室) |
| 办法 | bànfǎ | method; way; solutionway of handling sth; means; measure; (practical) solution to a problem |
| 办公室 | bàngōngshì | officeoffice; business premises |
| 帮助 | bāngzhù | to help; helpassistance; aid; to help; to assist |
| 班级 | bānjí | class; school classclass (group of students); grade (in school) |
| 搬家 | bānjiā | to move houseto move house; to relocate; to remove (sth) |
| 半天 | bàntiān | half a day; a long whilehalf of the day; a long time; quite a while; midair |
| 饱 | bǎo | full; not hungryto eat till full; satisfied |
| 报纸 | bàozhǐ | newspapernewspaper; newsprint |
| 北 | běi | northnorth; (classical) to be defeated |
| 被 | bèi | by; passive markerquilt; to cover (with); (literary) to suffer (a misfortune); used to indicate passive voice (placed before the doer of the action like "by" in English passive-voice sentences, or, if the doer is not mentioned, before the verb) |
| 北方 | běifāng | the north; northern areanorth; the northern part a country; China north of the Yellow River |
| 变 | biàn | to change; to become differentto change; to become different; to transform; to vary |
| 遍 | biàn | time; measure word for complete actionseverywhere; all over; classifier for actions: one time |
| 变成 | biànchéng | to become; to turn intoto change into; to turn into; to become |
| 变化 | biànhuà | change; variation(intransitive) to change; to vary; change; variation |
| 表演 | biǎoyǎn | performance; to performplay; show; performance; exhibition |
| 别的 | biéde | other; elseelse; other |
| 别人 | biérén | other people; othersother people; others; other person |
| 笔记 | bǐjì | notes; to take notesto take down (in writing); notes; a type of literature consisting mainly of short sketches |
| 比较 | bǐjiào | comparatively; to compareto compare; to contrast; comparatively; relatively |
| 笔记本 | bǐjìběn | notebook; laptopnotebook (stationery); (computing) laptop; notebook (abbr. for 笔记本电脑) |
| 冰 | bīng | ice; icyice; to chill sth; (of an object or substance) to feel cold |
| 冰激凌 | bīngjīlíng | heladoice cream |
| 病人 | bìngrén | patient; sick personsick person; patient; invalid |
| 宾馆 | bīnguǎn | hotel; guesthouseguesthouse; lodge; hotel |
| 冰箱 | bīngxiāng | refrigeratorrefrigerator; (old) icebox |
| 比如 | bǐrú | for examplefor example; for instance; such as; see 比如县 |
| 比赛 | bǐsài | competition; matchcompetition (sports etc); match; to compete |
| 必须 | bìxū | must; have toto have to; must; compulsory; necessarily |
| 不但 | búdàn | not onlynot only (... but also ...) |
| 不见 | bújiàn | to disappear; not seenot to see; not to meet; to have disappeared; to be missing |
| 不久 | bùjiǔ | soon; before longnot long (after); before too long; soon; soon after |
| 不同 | bù tóng | different; not the samedifferent; distinct; not the same; not alike |
| 不行 | bùxíng | not okay; will not workwon't do; be out of the question; be no good; not work |
| 不用 | búyòng | need not; no need toneed not |
C
27 words| Simplified | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 才 | cái | only then; just; not untilability; talent; sb of a certain type; a capable individual; then and only then |
| 菜单 | càidān | menumenu |
| 参加 | cānjiā | to participate; to jointo participate; to take part; to join |
| 草 | cǎo | grassgrass; straw; manuscript; draft (of a document); careless; rough; variant of 肏 |
| 草地 | cǎodì | lawn; meadowlawn; meadow; sod; turf |
| 层 | céng | floor; layer; measure word for layersto pile on top of one another; layer; stratum; floor (of a building); story; (math.) sheaf |
| 查 | chá | to check; to look upto research; to check; to investigate; to examine; to refer to; to look up (e.g. a word in a dictionary); surname Zha |
| 差 | chà | poor; bad; differencedifferent; wrong; mistaken; to fall short; to lack; not up to standard; inferior; Taiwan pr. chā |
| 差不多 | chàbuduō | almost; about the samealmost; nearly; more or less; about the same |
| 尝 | cháng | to taste; to try foodto taste; to try (food); to experience; (literary) ever; once |
| 常 | cháng | often; commonalways; ever; often; frequently; common; general; surname Chang |
| 常常 | chángcháng | often; frequentlyfrequently; often |
| 常见 | cháng jiàn | common; often seencommonly seen; common; to see sth frequently |
| 常用 | cháng yòng | commonly usedin common usage |
| 成绩 | chéngjì | grade; result; achievementachievement; performance records; grades |
| 城市 | chéngshì | citycity; town |
| 衬衫 | chènshān | shirt; blouseshirt; blouse |
| 迟到 | chídào | to be lateto arrive late |
| 船 | chuán | boat; shipboat; vessel; ship |
| 出发 | chūfā | to set off; to departto set off; to start (on a journey) |
| 除了 | chúle | besides; except forapart from; besides; in addition to (used to exclude, as in 除了他，谁也没来 "apart from him, nobody came", or to include, as in 除了英语，他也会法语 "in addition to English, he also knows French"); (used to introduce one of two habitual alternatives in the pattern 除了 + A + 就是 + B, "either A or B") |
| 春天 | chūntiān | springspring (season) |
| 出生 | chūshēng | nacerto be born |
| 出院 | chūyuàn | to leave hospitalto leave hospital; to be discharged from hospital |
| 初中 | chūzhōng | junior high schooljunior high school (abbr. for 初级中学) |
| 词典 | cídiǎn | dictionarydictionary |
| 聪明 | cōngmíng | smart; cleverintelligent; clever; bright; acute (of sight and hearing) |
D
39 words| Simplified | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 大概 | dàgài | probably; roughlyroughly; probably; rough; approximate |
| 带 | dài | to bring; to take along; beltband; belt; girdle; ribbon |
| 蛋糕 | dàngāo | cakecake |
| 当然 | dāngrán | of course; certainlyonly natural; as it should be; certainly; of course |
| 担心 | dānxīn | to worry; worriedanxious; worried; uneasy; to worry |
| 到处 | dàochù | por todas parteseverywhere |
| 大人 | dàren | adult; grown-upadult; grownup; title of respect toward superiors |
| 打扫 | dǎsǎo | limpiar; barrerto clean; to sweep |
| 打算 | dǎsuàn | to plan; to intendto plan; to intend; to calculate; plan |
| 大小 | dàxiǎo | size; large and smalllarge and small; size; adults and children; consideration of seniority |
| 大熊猫 | dàxióngmāo | giant pandagiant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) |
| 大衣 | dàyī | overcoat; coatovercoat; topcoat; cloak |
| 得 | dé | to get; to obtainto obtain; to get; to gain; to catch (a disease) |
| 得到 | dédào | to get; to receiveto get; to obtain; to receive |
| 得分 | défēn | to score; scoreto score a point (in a competition, test etc); score; rating; grade |
| 的话 | dehuà | if; in the case thatif (coming after a conditional clause) |
| 得 | děi | must; have toto have to; must; ought to; to need to |
| 灯 | dēng | lamp; lightlamp; light; lantern |
| 地 | dì | ground; place; landearth; ground; field; place; land |
| 电 | diàn | electricity; electriclightning; electricity; electric (bound form); to get (or give) an electric shock |
| 电梯 | diàntī | elevator; liftelevator; escalator |
| 电子书 | diànzǐshū | e-bookelectronic book; e-book; e-book reader |
| 地点 | dìdiǎn | place; locationplace; site; location; venue |
| 地方 | dìfang | place; areaplace; area; part; aspect; space |
| 地图 | dìtú | mapmap |
| 丢 | diū | to lose; to throw awayto lose; to put aside; to throw |
| 东 | dōng | easteast; host (i.e. sitting on east side of guest); landlord; surname Dong |
| 东北 | dōngběi | northeastnortheast; Northeast China; Manchuria |
| 懂得 | dǒngde | to understand; to knowto understand; to know; to comprehend |
| 东方 | dōngfāng | the East; easteast; the East; the Orient |
| 东南 | dōngnán | surestesoutheast |
| 冬天 | dōngtiān | inviernowinter |
| 动物 | dòngwù | animalanimal |
| 动物园 | dòngwùyuán | zoológicozoo |
| 短 | duǎn | short; briefshort; brief; to lack; weak point |
| 段 | duàn | section; paragraph; measure word for sectionsparagraph; section; segment; stage (of a process); classifier for stories, periods of time, lengths of thread etc; surname Duan |
| 短裤 | duǎnkù | shortsshort pants; shorts |
| 锻炼 | duànliàn | to exercise; to trainto toughen; to temper; to engage in physical exercise; to work out |
| 对话 | duìhuà | dialogue; conversationto talk (with sb); dialogue; conversation |
E
4 wordsF
21 words| Simplified | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 发 | fā | to send; to issue; to developto send out; to show (one's feeling); to issue; to develop |
| 放 | fàng | to put; to place; to let goto put; to place; to release; to free |
| 方便 | fāngbiàn | convenient; easyconvenient; suitable; to facilitate; to make things easy; having money to spare; (euphemism) to relieve oneself |
| 方便面 | fāngbiànmiàn | fideos instantáneosinstant noodles |
| 方法 | fāngfǎ | method; waymethod; way; technique; procedure |
| 放假 | fàngjià | to have a holiday; be on vacationto have a holiday or vacation |
| 方向 | fāngxiàng | directiondirection; orientation |
| 放心 | fàngxīn | to feel reassuredto feel relieved; to feel reassured; to be at ease |
| 放学 | fàngxué | school is over; after schoolto dismiss students at the end of the school day |
| 房子 | fángzi | house; apartmenthouse; building (single- or two-story); apartment; room |
| 发烧 | fāshāo | to have a feverto have a high temperature (from illness); to have a fever; (fig.) to be fascinated with; to obsess over; (fig.) flourishing; thriving; popular |
| 发生 | fāshēng | to happen; to occurto happen; to occur; to take place; to break out |
| 发现 | fāxiàn | to discover; to noticeto notice; to become aware of; to discover; to find; to detect; a discovery |
| 发展 | fāzhǎn | to develop; developmentdevelopment; growth; to develop; to grow |
| 风 | fēng | windwind; news; style; custom |
| 封 | fēng | measure word for letters; to sealto confer; to grant; to bestow a title; to seal; classifier for sealed objects, esp. letters; surname Feng |
| 分开 | fēnkāi | separar; separarseto separate; to part |
| 附近 | fùjìn | nearby; nearby areanearby; neighboring; (in the) vicinity (of); neighborhood |
| 夫妻 | fūqī | matrimonio; pareja casadahusband and wife; married couple |
| 服务 | fúwù | service; to serveto serve; service |
| 复习 | fùxí | to review; revisionto review; revision |
G
26 words| Simplified | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 该 | gāi | should; ought toshould; ought to; probably; must be |
| 干 | gàn | to do; to workto do; to work; to manage; cadre |
| 感到 | gǎndào | to feel; to senseto feel; to sense; to perceive |
| 刚 | gāng | just; exactly; only just(literary) hard; firm; strong; exactly; precisely; barely; only just; just; only a short while ago |
| 刚才 | gāngcái | hace un momentojust now; a moment ago |
| 刚刚 | gānggāng | just; just nowjust recently; just a moment ago |
| 干净 | gānjìng | limpio; aseadoclean; neat |
| 感冒 | gǎnmào | to catch a cold; coldto catch cold; (common) cold; (coll.) to be interested in (often used in the negative) |
| 感兴趣 | gǎn xìngqù | to be interested into be interested (in sth) |
| 高铁 | gāotiě | high-speed railhigh speed rail |
| 更 | gèng | more; even moremore; even more; further; still; still more |
| 根据 | gēnjù | according to; based onaccording to; based on; basis; foundation |
| 公斤 | gōngjīn | kilogramkilogram (kg) |
| 公园 | gōngyuán | parkpark (for public recreation) |
| 工作日 | gōngzuòrì | workday; weekdayworkday; working day; weekday |
| 刮 | guā | to blow; to scrape; to shaveto scrape; to blow; to shave; to plunder |
| 关 | guān | to close; to turn offmountain pass; to close; to shut; to turn off; to confine; to lock (sb) up; to shut (sb in a room, a bird in a cage etc); to concern; to involve; surname Guan |
| 关机 | guānjī | to turn off a deviceto turn off (a machine or device); to finish shooting a film |
| 关系 | guānxì | relationship; relationrelation; relationship; to concern; to affect |
| 关心 | guānxīn | to care about; to be concerned aboutto be concerned about; to care about |
| 关于 | guānyú | about; regardingpertaining to; concerning; with regard to; about |
| 关注 | guānzhù | to pay attention to; to followto pay attention to; to follow sth closely; to follow (on social media); concern; interest; attention |
| 国家 | guójiā | country; nationcountry; nation; state |
| 过节 | guòjié | to celebrate a festivalto celebrate a festival; after the celebrations (i.e. once the festival is over) |
| 过去 | guòqù | the past; formerly(in the) past; former; previous; to go over; to pass by |
| 故事 | gùshi | storynarrative; story; tale |
H
26 words| Simplified | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 海 | hǎi | sea; oceanocean; sea; great number of people or things; (dialect) numerous; surname Hai |
| 害怕 | hàipà | to be afraidto be afraid; to be scared |
| 好多 | hǎoduō | many; a lotmany; quite a lot; much better |
| 好久 | hǎojiǔ | a long time(coll.) for a long time |
| 号码 | hàomǎ | numbernumber |
| 好像 | hǎoxiàng | to seem; as ifas if; to seem like |
| 河 | hé | riverriver; (bound form) the Yellow River; (bound form) the Milky Way; (bound form) (on restaurant menus) rice noodles 河粉 |
| 黑板 | hēibǎn | blackboardblackboard |
| 合适 | héshì | suitable; appropriatesuitable; fitting; appropriate |
| 红绿灯 | hóng-lǜdēng | traffic lighttraffic light; traffic signal |
| 后来 | hòulái | later; afterwardsafterwards; later; newly arrived |
| 后年 | hòunián | dentro de dos añosthe year after next |
| 后天 | hòutiān | the day after tomorrowthe day after tomorrow; life after birth (the period in which one develops through experiences, contrasted with 先天); acquired (not innate or congenital); a posteriori |
| 画家 | huàjiā | painter; artistpainter |
| 还 | huán | to return; to give backto pay back; to return; surname Huan |
| 换 | huàn | to change; to exchangeto exchange; to change (clothes etc); to substitute; to switch |
| 黄色 | huángsè | yellow; the color yellowyellow; vulgar; lewd; pornographic |
| 环境 | huánjìng | environment; surroundingsenvironment; circumstances; surroundings |
| 欢迎 | huānyíng | dar la bienvenidato welcome; welcome |
| 花园 | huāyuán | gardengarden (for flowers, ornamental plants etc); (landscaped) park; yard with decorative plants |
| 会 | huì | can; know how to; meetingcan; to have the skill; to know how to; to be likely to; to be sure to; to meet; to get together; meeting; gathering |
| 回答 | huídá | to answer; answerto reply; to answer; reply; answer |
| 会议 | huìyì | meeting; conferencemeeting; conference |
| 或 | huò | or; possiblymaybe; perhaps; might; possibly |
| 或者 | huòzhě | or; perhapsor; possibly; maybe; perhaps |
| 护照 | hùzhào | passportpassport |
J
38 words| Simplified | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 鸡 | jī | chickenfowl; chicken; (slang) prostitute |
| 极 | jí | extremely; veryextremely; pole (geography, physics); utmost; top |
| 急 | jí | urgent; anxious; hurriedurgent; pressing; rapid; hurried |
| 记 | jì | to remember; to recordto record; to note; to memorize; to remember |
| 季 | jì | season; quarterseason; the last month of a season; fourth or youngest amongst brothers; classifier for seasonal crop yields; surname Ji |
| 加 | jiā | to add; plus; to increaseto add; (math.) plus; to increase; to augment; (used before a disyllabic verb, often after an adverb like 不, 大, 稍 etc, to indicate that the action applies to sth previously mentioned, as in 稍加改良 "make some minor improvements to (it)"); Canada (abbr. for 加拿大); surname Jia |
| 检查 | jiǎnchá | to check; to inspect; examinationinspection; to examine; to inspect |
| 坚持 | jiānchí | to persist; to keep doingto persevere with; to persist in; to insist on |
| 简单 | jiǎndān | simple; easysimple; not complicated |
| 讲 | jiǎng | to speak; to explain; to tellto speak; to explain; to negotiate; to emphasize |
| 健康 | jiànkāng | healthy; healthhealth; healthy |
| 见面 | jiànmiàn | to meet; to see each otherto meet; to see each other |
| 检票 | jiǎnpiào | to check ticketsto inspect a ticket; to examine a ballot |
| 角 | jiǎo | corner; angle; jiao, one tenth of yuanangle; corner; horn; horn-shaped; unit of money equal to 0.1 yuan, or 10 cents (a dime); surname Jue |
| 脚 | jiǎo | footfoot; leg (of an animal or an object); base (of an object) |
| 假期 | jiàqī | vacation; holidayvacation |
| 接 | jiē | to pick up; to receive; to connectto receive; to answer (the phone); to meet or welcome sb; to connect |
| 街 | jiē | streetstreet |
| 节 | jié | festival; section; measure word for lessonsjoint; node; (bound form) section; segment; solar term (one of the 24 divisions of the year in the traditional Chinese calendar); seasonal festival; (bound form) to economize; to save; (bound form) moral integrity; chastity; see 节骨眼 |
| 借 | jiè | to borrow; to lendto borrow; (used in combination with 给 or 出 etc) to lend; to make use of; to avail oneself of; (sometimes followed by 着) by; with |
| 结婚 | jiéhūn | to get marriedto marry; to get married |
| 解决 | jiějué | to solve; to resolveto solve; to resolve; to settle (a problem); to eliminate; to wipe out (an enemy, bandits etc) |
| 姐妹 | jiěmèi | sisters; siblingssisters; siblings; sister (school, city etc) |
| 节目 | jiémù | program; show(TV or radio) program; show; item; act; segment; number (on the program of a concert, variety show or cultural event); a planned activity (in one's schedule) |
| 节日 | jiérì | festival; holidayholiday; festival |
| 结束 | jiéshù | to end; to finishto end; to finish; to conclude |
| 几乎 | jīhū | almost; nearlyalmost; nearly; practically |
| 机会 | jīhuì | opportunity; chanceopportunity; chance; occasion |
| 季节 | jìjié | seasontime; season; period |
| 斤 | jīn | jin, about 500 gramscatty; (PRC) weight equal to 500 g; (Tw) weight equal to 600 g; (HK, Malaysia, Singapore) slightly over 604 g |
| 经过 | jīngguò | to pass through; processto pass; to go through; process; course |
| 经理 | jīnglǐ | managermanager; director |
| 久 | jiǔ | long time(of a period of time) long |
| 酒 | jiǔ | alcohol; winewine (esp. rice wine); liquor; spirits; alcoholic beverage |
| 旧 | jiù | old; usedold; opposite: new 新; former; worn (with age) |
| 句 | jù | measure word for sentencessentence; clause; phrase; classifier for phrases or lines of verse; variant of 勾 |
| 决定 | juédìng | to decide; decisionto decide; to determine; to make up one's mind; decision |
| 句子 | jùzi | sentencesentence |
K
18 words| Simplified | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 卡 | kǎ | card; to get stuckcard (loanword); truck; calorie; (coll., of software) laggy; slow |
| 开花 | kāihuā | to bloom; to blossomto bloom; to blossom; to flower; (fig.) to burst; to split open; (fig.) to burst with joy; (fig.) to spring up everywhere; to flourish |
| 开会 | kāihuì | to have a meetingto hold a meeting; to attend a meeting |
| 开机 | kāijī | to turn on a deviceto start an engine; to boot up (a computer); to press Ctrl-Alt-Delete; to begin shooting a film or TV show |
| 开心 | kāixīn | happy; to have funto feel happy; to rejoice; to have a great time; to make fun of sb |
| 看来 | kànlái | it seems; apparentlyapparently; it seems that |
| 可 | kě | can; may; really(prefix) can; may; able to; -able; to approve; to permit; to suit; (particle used for emphasis) certainly; very |
| 渴 | kě | sediento; tener sedthirsty |
| 刻 | kè | quarter hour; to carvequarter (hour); moment; to carve; to engrave |
| 可爱 | kě’ài | cute; lovelyadorable; cute; lovely |
| 课本 | kèběn | textbooktextbook |
| 客人 | kèrén | guest; customervisitor; guest; customer; client |
| 可是 | kěshì | but; howeverbut; however; (used for emphasis) indeed |
| 课文 | kèwén | text; lesson texttext |
| 空调 | kōngtiáo | air conditioner; air conditioningair conditioning; air conditioner (including units that have a heating mode) |
| 哭 | kū | to cryto cry; to weep |
| 筷子 | kuàizi | chopstickschopsticks |
| 矿泉水 | kuàngquánshuǐ | mineral watermineral water |
L
21 words| Simplified | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 来自 | láizì | to come fromto come from (a place); From: (in email header) |
| 蓝 | lán | blueblue; indigo plant; surname Lan |
| 老 | lǎo | old; experiencedprefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity; old (of people); venerable (person); experienced |
| 老人 | lǎorén | elderly person; old personold man or woman; the elderly; one's aged parents or grandparents |
| 脸 | liǎn | faceface |
| 练 | liàn | to practice; to trainto practice; to train; to drill; to perfect (one's skill) |
| 辆 | liàng | measure word for vehiclesclassifier for vehicles |
| 凉快 | liángkuai | pleasantly coolpleasantly cool (weather etc); to cool oneself; to cool off; (Tw) (slang) (of clothing) scanty; revealing; (coll.) to stay out of it; to butt out |
| 练习 | liànxí | to practice; exerciseto practice; exercise; drill; practice |
| 聊 | liáo | to chat(coll.) to chat; (literary) temporarily; for a while; (literary) somewhat; slightly; (literary) to depend upon |
| 了解 | liǎojiě | to understand; to learn aboutto understand; to realize; to find out |
| 聊天儿 | liáotiānr | to chatto chat; to gossip; erhua variant of 聊天 |
| 离开 | líkāi | to leave; to departto depart; to leave |
| 邻居 | línjū | vecinoneighbor |
| 历史 | lìshǐ | historyhistory |
| 留学 | liúxué | estudiar en el extranjeroto study abroad |
| 留学生 | liúxuéshēng | international studentstudent studying abroad; returned student; foreign student; international student |
| 礼物 | lǐwù | gift; presentgift; present |
| 楼梯 | lóutī | stairs; staircasestair; staircase |
| 路边 | lùbiān | roadsidecurb; roadside; wayside |
| 路口 | lùkǒu | intersection; crossingcrossing; intersection (of roads) |
M
10 words| Simplified | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 马 | mǎ | horsehorse; horse or cavalry piece in Chinese chess; knight in Western chess; surname Ma; abbr. for Malaysia 马来西亚 |
| 马路 | mǎlù | road; streetstreet; road |
| 满意 | mǎnyì | satisfied; pleasedsatisfied; pleased; to one's satisfaction |
| 毛 | máo | mao, one tenth of yuan; hairhair; feather; down; wool; mildew; mold; surname Mao |
| 马上 | mǎshàng | right away; immediatelyat once; right away; immediately; on horseback (i.e. by military force) |
| 米 | mǐ | rice; meteruncooked rice; meter (unit of length); (slang) Chinese yuan; surname Mi |
| 面前 | miànqián | in front of; beforein front of; facing; (in the) presence (of) |
| 明白 | míngbai | to understand; clearclear; obvious; unequivocal; sensible; reasonable; to understand; to realize |
| 名单 | míngdān | name listlist of names |
| 名人 | míngrén | famous person; celebritypersonage; celebrity |
N
15 words| Simplified | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 南 | nán | southsouth; surname Nan |
| 难 | nán | difficult; harddifficult (to...); problem; difficulty; difficult |
| 南方 | nánfāng | the south; southern areasouth; southern direction; (in China) southern regions, often referring to areas south of the Yangtze River |
| 难过 | nánguò | sad; to feel badto feel sad; to feel unwell; (of life) to be difficult |
| 难看 | nánkàn | ugly; unpleasant to look atugly; unsightly |
| 男人 | nánrén | man; malea man; a male; men |
| 男生 | nánshēng | male student; boyschoolboy; male student; boy; guy (young adult male) |
| 难题 | nántí | problema difícildifficult problem |
| 难听 | nántīng | unpleasant to hearunpleasant to hear; coarse; vulgar; offensive |
| 年级 | niánjí | grade; school yeargrade; year (in school, college etc) |
| 年轻 | niánqīng | jovenyoung |
| 牛 | niú | cow; cattle; awesomeox; cow; bull; newton (abbr. for 牛顿); (slang) awesome; surname Niu |
| 努力 | nǔlì | to work hard; effortto make an effort; to try hard; to strive; hard-working; conscientious |
| 女人 | nǚrén | mujerwoman |
| 女生 | nǚshēng | female student; girlschoolgirl; female student; girl |
P
8 words| Simplified | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 爬 | pá | to climb; to crawlto crawl; to climb; to get up or sit up |
| 怕 | pà | to fear; to be afraidto be afraid; to fear; to dread; to be unable to endure; perhaps; surname Pa |
| 拍照 | pāizhào | to take a phototo take a picture |
| 胖 | pàng | fat; plumpfat; plump |
| 盘子 | pánzi | plate; dishtray; plate; dish |
| 啤酒 | píjiǔ | beerbeer (loanword) |
| 平时 | píngshí | usually; in normal timesordinarily; in normal times; in peacetime |
| 瓶子 | píngzi | bottlebottle |
Q
16 words| Simplified | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 骑 | qí | to rideto sit astride; to ride (a horse, bike etc); classifier for saddle horses |
| 起 | qǐ | to rise; to get up; to startto rise; to raise; to get up; to set out |
| 铅笔 | qiānbǐ | pencil(lead) pencil |
| 前年 | qiánnián | hace dos añosthe year before last |
| 前天 | qiántiān | anteayerthe day before yesterday |
| 汽车 | qìchē | car; automobilecar; automobile; bus |
| 起飞 | qǐfēi | to take off; to lift off(of an aircraft or rocket) to take off; to lift off; (fig.) (of an enterprise etc) to start to develop rapidly |
| 奇怪 | qíguài | strange; oddstrange; odd; to marvel; to be baffled |
| 清楚 | qīngchu | clear; to understand clearlyclear; distinct; to understand thoroughly; to be clear about |
| 请假 | qǐngjià | to ask for leaveto request leave of absence |
| 请客 | qǐngkè | to treat someone; to host gueststo give a dinner party; to entertain guests; to invite to dinner |
| 其实 | qíshí | actually; in factactually; in fact; really |
| 其他 | qítā | other; elseother; (sth or sb) else; the rest |
| 球场 | qiúchǎng | sports field; court; stadiumstadium; sports ground; court; pitch |
| 秋天 | qiūtiān | autumn; fallautumn |
| 裙子 | qúnzi | skirtskirt |
R
7 words| Simplified | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 然后 | ránhòu | then; after thatthen; after that; afterwards |
| 认得 | rènde | to recognizeto recognize; to remember sth (or sb) on seeing it; to know |
| 认为 | rènwéi | to think; to believeto believe; to think; to consider; to feel |
| 认真 | rènzhēn | serious; careful; earnestconscientious; earnest; serious; to take seriously |
| 热情 | rèqíng | warm; enthusiasticcordial; enthusiastic; passion; passionate |
| 容易 | róngyì | easy; likelyeasy; straightforward; likely; liable to; apt to |
| 如果 | rúguǒ | ifif; in case; in the event that |
S
29 words| Simplified | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 伞 | sǎn | umbrellaumbrella; parasol |
| 扫 | sǎo | to sweep; to scanto sweep (with a brush or broom); to sweep away; to wipe out; to get rid of; to sweep (one's eyes etc) over; to scan |
| 沙发 | shāfā | sofa(loanword) sofa; (Internet slang) first reply to a forum post |
| 山 | shān | mountainmountain; hill; (coll.) small bundle of straw for silkworms to spin cocoons on; surname Shan |
| 上衣 | shàngyī | jacket; upper garmentjacket; upper outer garment |
| 勺子 | sháozi | spoonspoon; ladle |
| 身边 | shēnbiān | by one's side; around oneat one's side; on hand |
| 声 | shēng | sound; voicesound; voice; tone; noise |
| 身高 | shēngāo | height of a person(a person's) height |
| 生活 | shēnghuó | life; to liveto live; life; livelihood |
| 生气 | shēngqì | to get angryto get angry; to be furious; vitality; liveliness |
| 声音 | shēngyīn | sonido; vozsound; voice |
| 市 | shì | city; marketmarket; city; municipality (administrative unit); (literary) to trade; to buy and sell goods |
| 试 | shì | to try; to testto test; to try; experiment; examination |
| 室 | shì | room; chamberroom; work unit; grave; scabbard; family or clan; one of the 28 constellations of Chinese astronomy; surname Shi |
| 世界 | shìjiè | mundoworld |
| 收 | shōu | to receive; to collect; to put awayto receive; to accept; to collect; to put away |
| 受 | shòu | to receive; to suffer; to be affected byto receive; to accept; to suffer; subjected to |
| 瘦 | shòu | thin; slimthin; to lose weight; (of clothing) tight; (of meat) lean |
| 收到 | shōudào | recibirto receive |
| 受到 | shòudào | to receive; to be affected byto receive (praise, an education, punishment etc); to be ...ed (praised, educated, punished etc) |
| 树 | shù | treetree; to cultivate; to set up |
| 刷 | shuā | to brush; to scrub; to swipea brush; to paint; to daub; to brush; to scrub; (fig.) to remove; to eliminate (from a contest); to fire (from a job) |
| 双 | shuāng | pair; measure word for pairstwo; double; pair; both; even (number); surname Shuang |
| 水平 | shuǐpíng | level; standard; ability levelhorizontal; level; a standard; a level (of ability, development etc) |
| 叔叔 | shūshu | uncle; father's younger brotherfather's younger brother; paternal uncle; form of address used by children for a male one generation older |
| 数学 | shùxué | matemáticasmathematics |
| 司机 | sījī | driverchauffeur; driver |
| 四季 | sìjì | four seasonsfour seasons, namely: spring 春, summer 夏, autumn 秋 and winter 冬 |
T
16 words| Simplified | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 太阳 | tàiyáng | sunsun; sunlight; sunshine; temple (on the side of the human head) (abbr. for 太阳穴) |
| 糖 | táng | sugar; candysugar; sweets; candy |
| 特别 | tèbié | special; especially; veryunusual; special; very; especially; particularly; expressly; for a specific purpose; (often followed by 是) in particular |
| 甜 | tián | sweetsweet; (fig.) pleasant; endearing; lovely |
| 跳 | tiào | to jumpto jump; to hop; to skip over; to bounce |
| 提高 | tígāo | to improve; to raiseto raise; to increase; to improve |
| 挺 | tǐng | quite; verystraight; erect; to stick out (a part of the body); to (physically) straighten up |
| 听说 | tīngshuō | to hear that; listening and speakingto hear (sth said); one hears (that); hearsay; listening and speaking |
| 体育 | tǐyù | deporte; educación físicasports; physical education |
| 体育馆 | tǐyùguǎn | gymnasium; sports hallgym; gymnasium; stadium |
| 同事 | tóngshì | colleague; coworkercolleague; co-worker |
| 同意 | tóngyì | to agreeto agree; to consent; to approve |
| 头发 | tóufa | hairhair (on the head) |
| 腿 | tuǐ | legleg |
| 突然 | tūrán | suddenly; suddensudden; abrupt; unexpected |
| 图书馆 | túshūguǎn | librarylibrary |
W
15 words| Simplified | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 外地 | wàidì | another place; out of townparts of the country other than where one is |
| 外卖 | wàimài | takeout; food delivery(of a restaurant) to provide a takeout or home delivery meal; takeout (business); takeout (meal) |
| 外语 | wàiyǔ | foreign languageforeign language |
| 碗 | wǎn | bowlbowl; cup |
| 完成 | wánchéng | to complete; to finishto complete; to accomplish |
| 晚点 | wǎndiǎn | late; delayed(of trains etc) late; delayed; behind schedule; light dinner |
| 忘记 | wàngjì | olvidarto forget |
| 网球 | wǎngqiú | tennistennis; tennis ball |
| 网站 | wǎngzhàn | sitio webwebsite |
| 晚会 | wǎnhuì | evening partyevening party |
| 为 | wèi | for; as; to act asfor; for the sake of; because of; in order to |
| 为了 | wèile | in order to; for the purpose offor; for the purpose of; in order to |
| 卫生间 | wèishēngjiān | bathroom; restroombathroom; toilet; WC |
| 文化 | wénhuà | cultureculture; civilization; cultural |
| 屋子 | wūzi | room; househouse; room |
X
36 words| Simplified | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 西 | xī | westwest; the West; abbr. for Spain 西班牙 |
| 喜爱 | xǐ’ài | to like; to loveto like; to love; to be fond of; favorite |
| 先 | xiān | first; beforehandbeforehand; first; earlier; at first; originally; for the time being; for now; (prefix) my late (in referring to deceased relatives older than oneself) |
| 向 | xiàng | toward; totowards; to face; to turn towards; direction; to support; to side with; surname Xiang |
| 像 | xiàng | to be like; to resembleto resemble; to be like; to look as if; such as |
| 相机 | xiàngjī | cameracamera (abbr. for 照相机); at the opportune moment; as the circumstances allow |
| 香蕉 | xiāngjiāo | bananabanana |
| 相信 | xiāngxìn | to believe; to trustto believe; to be convinced; to accept as true |
| 箱子 | xiāngzi | box; suitcasesuitcase; chest; box; case |
| 小区 | xiǎoqū | residential community; neighborhoodhousing estate; community; neighborhood; (telecommunications) cell |
| 小心 | xiǎoxīn | to be carefulto be careful; to take care |
| 校园 | xiàoyuán | campuscampus |
| 校长 | xiàozhǎng | principal; headmaster; president(college, university) president; headmaster |
| 夏天 | xiàtiān | summersummer |
| 西北 | xīběi | northwestnorthwest; Northwest China (Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, Xinjiang) |
| 鞋 | xié | shoesshoe |
| 西方 | xīfāng | the West; western countriesthe West; the Occident; Western countries |
| 西瓜 | xīguā | watermelonwatermelon |
| 习惯 | xíguàn | habit; to be used tohabit; custom; usual practice; to be used to |
| 信 | xìn | letter; to believe; to trustletter; mail; to trust |
| 西南 | xīnán | suroestesouthwest |
| 行 | xíng | okay; acceptable; row; lineto walk; to go; OK; all right; capable; to be feasible |
| 行李 | xíngli | luggageluggage |
| 兴趣 | xìngqù | interest; hobbyinterest (desire to know about sth); interest (thing in which one is interested); hobby |
| 心里 | xīnlǐ | in one's heart; in one's mindchest; heart; mind |
| 新年 | xīnnián | New YearNew Year |
| 新闻 | xīnwén | newsnews |
| 新鲜 | xīnxiān | fresh; newfresh (experience, food etc); freshness; novel; uncommon |
| 信用卡 | xìnyòngkǎ | tarjeta de créditocredit card |
| 休假 | xiūjià | to take leave; to go on vacationto go on vacation; to have a holiday; to take leave |
| 洗衣机 | xǐyījī | washing machinewashing machine; washer |
| 洗澡 | xǐzǎo | to take a shower; to batheto bathe; to take a shower |
| 选 | xuǎn | to choose; to selectto choose; to pick; to select; to elect |
| 选择 | xuǎnzé | to choose; choiceto select; to pick; choice; option; alternative |
| 学期 | xuéqī | semester; school termterm; semester |
| 需要 | xūyào | to need; needto need; to want; to demand; to require; needs |
Y
46 words| Simplified | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 牙 | yá | toothtooth; ivory |
| 羊 | yáng | sheep; goatsheep; goat; surname Yang |
| 养 | yǎng | to raise; to keep; to supportto raise (animals); to bring up (children); to keep (pets); to support |
| 要求 | yāoqiú | to require; request; requirementto request; to require; requirement; to stake a claim |
| 牙刷 | yáshuā | toothbrushtoothbrush |
| 页 | yè | pagepage; leaf |
| 一般 | yìbān | ordinary; average; generallysame; ordinary; so-so; common |
| 一边 | yìbiān | one side; while doingone side; either side; on the one hand; on the other hand |
| 一定 | yídìng | definitely; certainly; certainsurely; certainly; definitely; fixed; settled; a certain ...; a given ... |
| 一共 | yígòng | en totalin total; altogether |
| 以后 | yǐhòu | after; laterafter; later; afterwards; following |
| 一块儿 | yíkuàir | togethera piece; a chunk; (fig.) (coll.) (typically preceded by a specifier such as 这) aspect; area; dimension (Example: 情感这一块 "the emotional aspect (of it)"); (coll.) one yuan; a dollar; together; in the same place; in company; erhua variant of 一块 |
| 应该 | yīnggāi | should; ought toought to; should; must |
| 影响 | yǐngxiǎng | influence; to affectinfluence; effect; to influence; to affect (usually adversely) |
| 银行 | yínháng | bankbank |
| 银行卡 | yínhángkǎ | tarjeta bancariabank card |
| 饮料 | yǐnliào | bebidadrink; beverage |
| 音乐 | yīnyuè | musicmusic |
| 以前 | yǐqián | before; formerlybefore; formerly; previous; ago |
| 以上 | yǐshàng | above; more than; the abovethat level or higher; that amount or more; the above-mentioned; (used to indicate that one has completed one's remarks) That is all. |
| 以外 | yǐwài | except; outside of; apart fromapart from; other than; except for; external |
| 以为 | yǐwéi | to think mistakenly; to believeto think; to believe (often with the implication that the belief is mistaken – unless referring to one's own current belief) |
| 以下 | yǐxià | below; less than; the followingthat level or lower; that amount or less; the following |
| 一样 | yíyàng | same; alikesame; like; equal to; the same as |
| 一直 | yìzhí | always; continuously; straightstraight (in a straight line); continuously; always; all the way through |
| 用 | yòng | to use; withto use; to make use of; to employ; (coverb) with; using; to need; to have to (usu. used in the negative or in questions); usefulness; utility |
| 又 | yòu | again; also; both(once) again; also; both... and...; and yet |
| 有关 | yǒuguān | related to; concerningto have sth to do with; to relate to; related to; to concern |
| 邮件 | yóujiàn | email; mailmail; post; email |
| 游客 | yóukè | tourist; visitortraveler; tourist; (online gaming) guest player |
| 有名 | yǒumíng | famoso; conocidofamous; well-known |
| 游戏 | yóuxì | game; to playgame; to play |
| 邮箱 | yóuxiāng | mailbox; email inboxmailbox; post office box; email; email inbox |
| 有用 | yǒuyòng | útiluseful |
| 园 | yuán | garden; parkland used for growing plants; site used for public recreation; surname Yuan; abbr. for a place ending in 园, such as a botanical garden 植物园, kindergarten 幼儿园 etc |
| 员 | yuán | personnel; member(bound form) person engaged in a certain field of activity; (bound form) member; classifier for military generals |
| 愿意 | yuànyì | to be willing; to wantto wish; to want; ready; willing (to do sth) |
| 遇到 | yùdào | to meet; to run intoto meet; to run into; to come across |
| 越 | yuè | the more; to exceedto exceed; to climb over; to surpass; the more... the more; abbr. for Vietnam 越南 |
| 月亮 | yuèliang | moonthe moon |
| 遇见 | yùjiàn | to meet; to encounterto meet |
| 羽毛球 | yǔmáoqiú | badmintonbadminton; shuttlecock |
| 运动会 | yùndònghuì | sports meet; sports competitionsports competition |
| 运动员 | yùndòngyuán | athleteathlete |
| 语言 | yǔyán | languagelanguage |
| 雨衣 | yǔyī | raincoatraincoat |
Z
39 words| Simplified | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 脏 | zāng | dirtydirty; filthy; to get (sth) dirty |
| 咱们 | zánmen | we; us including the listenerwe or us (including both the speaker and the person(s) spoken to); (dialect) I or me; (dialect) (in a coaxing or familiar way) you; also pr. zá men |
| 怎么办 | zěnme bàn | what should be done; what to dowhat's to be done |
| 怎样 | zěnyàng | cómo; de qué manerahow; what kind |
| 站 | zhàn | station; to standstation; to stand; to halt; to stop |
| 张 | zhāng | measure word for flat objects; to opento open up; to spread; sheet of paper; classifier for flat objects, sheet; classifier for votes; surname Zhang |
| 长 | zhǎng | to grow; to be in chargeto grow; to develop; to come into being; chief; head; elder |
| 照 | zhào | to shine; according to; to take a phototo shine; to illuminate; variant of 照 |
| 照顾 | zhàogù | to take care ofto take care of; to show consideration; to attend to; to look after |
| 着急 | zháojí | to worry; anxious; in a hurryto worry; to feel anxious; to feel a sense of urgency; to be in a hurry; Taiwan pr. zhāojí |
| 照片 | zhàopiàn | photo; photographphotograph |
| 照相 | zhàoxiàng | to take a phototo take a photograph |
| 只 | zhǐ | only; justonly; merely; just; but |
| 纸 | zhǐ | paperpaper; classifier for documents, letters etc |
| 直到 | zhídào | hastauntil |
| 只能 | zhǐ néng | can only; have no choice butcan only; obliged to do sth; to have no other choice |
| 只是 | zhǐshì | only; merely; howevermerely; only; just; nothing but; simply; but; however |
| 只要 | zhǐyào | as long as; provided thatso long as; provided; if |
| 只有 | zhǐyǒu | only have; only ifonly have ...; there is only ...; (used in combination with 才) it is only if ... (that one can ...) (as in 只有通过治疗才能痊愈 "the only way to cure it is with therapy"); it is only (someone) who ... (as in 只有男性才有此需要 "only men would have such a requirement"); (used to express lack of alternatives) can only; have no choice but to (as in 只有屈服 "the only thing you can do is give in") |
| 中 | zhōng | middle; China; Chinesewithin; among; in; middle; center; while (doing sth); during; (dialect) OK; all right; to hit (a target); to be struck by (a bullet, illness etc); (bound form) China; Chinese |
| 种 | zhǒng | kind; type; measure word for kindsseed; species; kind; type |
| 中间 | zhōngjiān | middle; betweenthe middle; the inside; in the middle; within; between; among; during; in the meantime |
| 重要 | zhòngyào | importantimportant; significant; major |
| 终于 | zhōngyú | finally; at lastat last; in the end; finally; eventually |
| 周末 | zhōumò | fin de semanaweekend |
| 主要 | zhǔyào | main; primarymain; principal; major; primary |
| 注意 | zhùyì | to pay attention toto take note of; to pay attention to |
| 住院 | zhùyuàn | to be hospitalizedto stay in hospital; to be hospitalized |
| 子 | zi | child; suffixson; child; seed; egg |
| 字典 | zìdiǎn | dictionaryChinese character dictionary (containing entries for single characters, contrasted with a 词典, which has entries for words of one or more characters); (coll.) dictionary |
| 自行车 | zìxíngchē | bicyclebicycle; bike |
| 总 | zǒng | always; overall; total(bound form) general; overall; to sum up; in every case; always; invariably; anyway; after all; eventually; sooner or later |
| 总是 | zǒngshì | siemprealways |
| 嘴 | zuǐ | mouthmouth; beak; nozzle; spout (of teapot etc) |
| 最好 | zuìhǎo | best; had betterbest; had better ...; it would be best to ... |
| 最后 | zuìhòu | last; finallyfinal; last; ultimate; finally; in the end |
| 最近 | zuìjìn | recently; nearestrecently; soon; nearest |
| 做客 | zuòkè | to be a guestto be a guest or visitor |
| 作业 | zuòyè | homework; assignmentschool assignment; homework; work; task |
All HSK 3.0 vocabulary lists (9 levels, 11,000 words) · Study HSK 3 with flashcards