HSK 3.0 Level 1: The Beginner Paper

On the documents that specify it, Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) 3.0 Level 1 is the beginner written paper. The sample is listening and reading only: 40 items, about 40 minutes, including 5 minutes to fill in personal information. The 2025 syllabus gives this level 300 new words, numbered 1 through 300, from 爱 (ài) to 做饭 (zuò fàn), and 246 characters to recognize. The live English Level 1 page still describes a 40-item listening-and-reading paper, and the table on that page times the two sections differently from the sample cover.

The competency file names the exam in one sentence: 中文水平考试/HSK 是一项国家级标准化考试，重点考查中文作为第二语言的考生在生活、学习和工作中运用中文进行交际的能力。 In plain words, it checks communicative ability in Chinese as a second language, in life, study, and work. The counts below come from the syllabus and the sample files.

The syllabus cover names the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC) and says 发布. The competency file names no compiler. CTI Co., Ltd. publishes the HSK overview that links those downloads. The overview calls the revision "Three Stages, Nine Levels," elementary through advanced, and it assigns no digits to those stages. It prints no Level 1 word count, item count, or minutes. The full ladder of covers is in HSK 3.0 Exam Format. This page is only Level 1.

One numbered list. The total at each rung is the last sequence number of that slice. Level 1 is entries 1 to 300.

What still ranks for this level

On 20 October 2026 the pages compared for "new hsk 1" were Mandarin Zone's Level 1 guide, Coco Chinese's HSK 1 study plan, PrepEdu's HSK 1 explainer, PrepEdu's HSK 1 vocabulary page, and HSKStory's HSK 1 syllabus page, plus the live English HSK (Level 1) page. This post sets the sample cover beside that live table: both use 40 items in four groups of five, the sample gives listening about 12 minutes and reading 20, and the table gives listening about 15 and reading 17, with a table total of about 35. The 300 entries, in order, are the Level 1 word list.

Mandarin Zone walks the eight parts and prints about 12 and 20, not the table's about 15 and 17. It also says recordings play twice, that Level 1 takes effect on 1 July 2026, and that study takes about 100 to 150 hours. The sample has no "played twice" line. 2026-07 实施 is an implementation date. The launch notice sets 13 December 2026. No file here gives a study-hour total.

Coco Chinese and PrepEdu print 120 out of 200 as a pass mark. PrepEdu leads with 150 against 300, gives A1 to both tests, and its vocabulary page prints both word tables plus a carry-over count this page does not recompute. HSKStory's 34 grammar points and 30 topics are that page's counts. It says the words run from 你好 to 再见. 你好 is syllabus number 147 and 再见 is 272. The slice runs from 爱 to 做饭.

A page that still opens "HSK 1" on 150 words is using the older list. The 2009 introduction, dated 2009-10-14, prints 150 in the HSK-Level 1 cell, with Grade One and A1. This site calls that six-level test HSK 2.0. The live English page does not, and its exam text does not print 150 words. No file here maps HSK 3.0 Level 1 to a CEFR letter.

The competency line

The same one-page file states Level 1 in one sentence: HSK（一级）能用中文就生活场景进行简单交流。 A close English gloss, not an official translation, is: can use Chinese for simple communication in everyday life scenes. The file does not attach a score or a study-time estimate to that sentence. The Level 2 line on the same file adds study and work. That next paper is in HSK 3.0 Level 2: The Paper That Adds Writing.

The competency line is 生活场景, one sentence, with no score. The English page says beginners. The 2009 page is dated 2009-10-14.

The live English page calls the audience beginners who already have fundamental listening and reading skills. The 2009 introduction describes learners who can use some simple Chinese characters and sentences, and who are preparing to continue. Three documents, three audience lines.

The HSK overview says the new test is guided by the Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards for International Chinese Language Education. This site refers to that 2021 standard as GF 0025-2021. The three-column word-list comparison is in Chinese Vocabulary Size vs HSK Level.

300 words, beside the 150-word cell

The vocabulary outline is one numbered list from 1 to 11,000. Level 1 is the slice tagged 1: 300 new entries, and the cumulative figure is number 300. Number 1 is 爱, with the pinyin column printing "ài", tagged 动, a verb. Pinyin is the official romanization used in China, Singapore, and the United Nations. Number 300 is 做饭, pinyin "zuò fàn". Number 301 is 啊, tagged 2, a particle, pinyin "a". That row starts Level 2.

Number 7, 半, is tagged 1（4）, pinyin "bàn". It stays inside 1-300 and is not counted again. Number 299 is 做 (zuò) and number 298 is 坐 (zuò). Same pronunciation, two rows.

The 150-word cell and the A1 label are the 2009 introduction. The 300 words, 246 认读字, and shared 100 书写字 are the 2025 syllabus.

The syllabus cover prints 2025-11 发布 and 2026-07 实施. The Level 1 word list prints the 300 entries in this order.

The overview lists five syllabus components: tasks, topics, vocabulary, grammar, and characters. Level 1 tasks are 15 headings, from 一、问答个人基本信息 through 十五、问答中国传统饮食, including 六、日常言语交往 (examples 你好, 谢谢, 对不起, 再见). The sample does not number items with those headings. The grammar outline headers are 类别, 类别名称, 细目, and 语法内容. The outline prints no point total.

246 characters, and a handwriting list this paper does not use

Each recognition list restarts at 1, separate from the word list. A Chinese character (字, zì) is one written sign. A word (词, cí) can be one character or several. Chinese Characters vs Words keeps that distinction. Three hundred vocabulary entries are not 300 characters.

The recognition list, 认读字 (rèndúzì), runs from 1. 爱 to 246. 做. Number 244 is 作. Handwriting is one shared list, HSK（一级）~（二级）书写字, 100 characters from 1. 爱 to 100. 作. There is no separate Level 1 list. 做, recognition 246 and vocabulary 299, is absent from those 100.

The sample cover and the live English page

The written sample is HSK/HSK（一级）样卷.pdf, compiled by CLEC, in the set linked from the HSK overview. Listening, 听力 (tīnglì), is 20 items and about 12 minutes. Reading, 阅读 (yuèdú), is 20 items and 20 minutes. After listening, 3 minutes fill the answer sheet. The exam is about 40 minutes, including 5 for personal information. The cover does not place those 5 minutes. About 12 + 20 + 3 + 5 = 40, and 约 means the listening block and the total are approximate. How to sit the file is in the official HSK 3.0 sample papers. This page does not rehost it.

Same 40 items. The table total is about 35 minutes. The cover total is about 40 minutes and includes the 5 minutes for personal information.

The English Level 1 page, fetched again on 20 October 2026, still uses another timing and does not call that paper HSK 2.0. Prose: 40 questions, about 40 minutes including 5 for personal information. Table: about 35 minutes. Local start: 13:30. The 5-minute prose-to-table gap is the personal-information block. It leaves listening at about 15 versus about 12, and reading at 17 versus 20, unexplained.

That page's score paragraph belongs to the paper it describes: listening, reading, and total, full score 200, 120 or above as a passing mark, valid two years from the exam date. The sample, its answer key, and the launch notice print no 120, no 200, and no validity line. No 3.0 pass mark was in the files read here, and nothing says the 13 December 2026 sitting will follow the cover or the English page.

Eight parts, five items each

Listening is four 部分, 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 = 20. Reading is 21-25, 26-30, 31-35, and 36-40. The English table uses the same split. Pinyin sits above the characters on listening parts 2 and 4 and on the reading sentences. Items 1-5 and 11-15 are pictures. They print no prompt, except the worked example in 11-15.

Items 1-5 are three pictures, A, B, and C. The example marks C, and the page prints no recorded sentence. Items 6-10 print three choices and no question. Only the example prints 今天天气怎么样？ and marks C 非常热. Items 11-15 are six pictures, A through F. Only the example has a dialogue, 女：你好！ and 男：你好！很高兴认识你。, marked C. The five items are blank. Items 16-20 print three choices and no statement. Only the example prints 下午我去超市，我想买一些水果。, asks 说话人下午去哪里？, and marks A 超市.

Listening is items 1-20, about 12 minutes. Reading is items 21-40, 20 minutes. Each box is five items.

A divider says 下面是阅读部分 and 请在阅读考试开始后作答. Items 21-25 match a sentence to six pictures. 我很喜欢这本书。 marks E. Items 26-30 match a prompt to six replies. 你喝水吗？ marks F. Items 31-35 fill a blank from A 上午, B 漂亮, C 休息, D 叫, E 事, F 很. 你（D）什么名字？ uses 叫. Items 36-40 are a short text and three choices. 请问现在几点了？ asks 说话人想知道什么？ and marks A 时间. The paper ends at item 40. The answer key is letters only, with no full score and no pass mark.

No writing section, and no speaking file

There is no 书写 or 写作 heading after item 40. The 100-character list stays in the syllabus and is not a timed block here. The Level 2 sample is where handwriting is tested.

The sample set has no Level 1 speaking PDF and no Level 1 speaking audio. Who takes speaking is in HSK 3.0 Speaking Test. The HSK Speaking Test (HSKK) page says that test assesses oral Chinese, has elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels, and is an audio recording. Fetched on 20 October 2026, it states no item counts and no minutes. It is not a Level 1 file in this set.

The September trial clock is not the December sitting

The notice at chinesetest.cn/notice, titled HSK3.0第二轮全球试行考试通知, is the second global trial on 20 September 2026. HSK（一级） sits at 14:00 local time, about 40 minutes, with no speaking row. The English page says 13:30. The sample cover prints no clock. The launch notice copies neither time.

The trial note says times are local and that a paper exam includes 5 minutes for personal information and 3 to 5 for the answer sheet. The cover says 3 minutes. Score reports from this trial are valid for two years. The launch notice does not copy that line onto 13 December 2026. Windows are in Should You Take HSK 2.0 or HSK 3.0 in 2026?. Fees for HSK（一级） and HSK（二级） are unchanged, with no currency. Levels 3 to 6 on that trial register with speaking.

How to check recognition

The list, the recognition test, and the sample answer different questions. How to Estimate Your HSK Level separates a recognition check, a timed paper, and graded reading.

The list is the 300 entries. The test is a recognition estimate. The sample is the 40-item paper, and it has no speaking file.

Chinese Copilot's free HSK 3.0 level test draws 119 words fresh each run from the 2025 HSK exam syllabus: 17 from each of Levels 1 to 6 and 17 from the combined Levels 7-9 list. You mark words you recognize. No account. Answers stay in the browser. It typically takes 5-10 minutes. The result is an approximate level from 1 to 6, or "HSK 7-9 range," plus Elementary (初等), Intermediate (中等), or Advanced (高等). It is a recognition estimate, not listening, speaking, handwriting, or a pass. Rules are on the methodology page.

For single words, the Chinese word dictionary has entries with pinyin, senses and example sentences. Level 1 words to start with: 一下, 一些 and 上.

More on the new exam, level by level, is in our HSK 3.0 guide.

Sources

• Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi, English Wikipedia. Secondary overview of the exam's name. Not a source for word counts, item counts, or minutes.
• HSK overview: About the New HSK, CTI Co., Ltd., chinesetest.cn, fetched 20 October 2026. Three stages and nine levels without a digit map, five syllabus components, and the link to the sample set. No Level 1 item count on this page.
• HSK 3.0 competency descriptions, one-page PDF linked from the HSK overview. The file names no compiler. The national-test sentence and the Level 1 competency line. English glosses in this post are not a second official text.
• Pinyin, English Wikipedia. Secondary overview of the romanization beside the syllabus entries 爱 and 做饭.
• Syllabus for the Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK), Center for Language Education and Cooperation, cover 2025-11 发布, 2026-07 实施. Vocabulary numbers 1-300, the Level 1 recognition list of 246, the shared Levels 1-2 handwriting list of 100, 15 Level 1 task headings, and the grammar column headers with no printed point total.
• Chinese characters, English Wikipedia. Secondary overview of 字, beside the character lists.
• HSK (Level 1), chinesetest.cn, fetched 20 October 2026. The beginner audience line, the 40-item prose of about 40 minutes, the table of about 35 minutes (listening about 15, reading 17), the 13:30 local start, and the 120/200 and two-year lines for the paper that page describes. The exam text does not print 150 words.
• Introduction to the New HSK (2009), chinesetest.cn, page date 2009-10-14. The six-level written test's vocabulary cell of 150 words for its Level 1, with Grade One and A1 on that page. Not the 2025 list, and not a mapping for HSK 3.0.
• HSK 3.0 will be officially launched worldwide on December 13, 2026, CTI notice. Test date and Beijing-time registration windows. No paper structure, pass mark, pairing rule, or score validity.
• HSK 3.0 second global trial notice, chinesetest.cn, in Chinese. The 20 September 2026 trial: Level 1 at 14:00 local time for about 40 minutes with no speaking row, unchanged fees for levels 1 and 2, and two-year validity for that trial's score reports.
• HSK Speaking Test (HSKK), chinesetest.cn, fetched 20 October 2026. Three levels and an audio recording. No item counts or minutes.
• Level 1 files inside the official sample set linked from the HSK overview: HSK/HSK（一级）样卷.pdf (40 items, about 40 minutes, and the eight parts above) and the Level 1 answer key (letters for items 1-40, no score). Read 20 October 2026. The set has no Level 1 speaking file. Not rehosted here.
• Third-party pages compared on 20 October 2026, and not used as the source of official counts: Mandarin Zone, HSK Level 1, Coco Chinese, HSK 1 study plan, PrepEdu, HSK 1, PrepEdu, HSK 1 vocabulary, HSKStory, HSK 1 syllabus.