Word counts for every HSK level under the old six-level HSK 2.0, the nine-level HSK 3.0 standard of 2021 and the reported 2025 revision, with a converter from one to another. Free, instant, no account.
HSK 4 in this standard needs 1,200 words in total.
HSK 3.0, 2021 standard (GF 0025-2021): 1,200 words covers up to HSK 1 and falls inside HSK 2 (which needs 1,272).
HSK 3.0, 2025 revision (reported): 1,200 words covers up to HSK 3 and falls inside HSK 4 (which needs 2,000).
This compares vocabulary size only. It is not an exam equivalence: the exams differ in format and content.
Words you need to know in total to finish each level, as each standard publishes them. The last column is the number of entries at that level in HSK Studio's own dictionary, which counts differently.
| Level | HSK 2.0 | HSK 3.0 (2021) | HSK 3.0 2025 (reported) | HSK Studio dictionary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HSK 1 | 150 | 500 | 300 | 368 |
| HSK 2 | 300 | 1,272 | 500 | 675 |
| HSK 3 | 600 | 2,245 | 1,000 | 1,245 |
| HSK 4 | 1,200 | 3,245 | 2,000 | 2,364 |
| HSK 5 | 2,500 | 4,316 | 3,600 | 4,152 |
| HSK 6 | 5,000 | 5,456 | 5,400 | 6,461 |
| HSK 7-9 | no such level | 11,092 | 11,000 | 11,623 |
| Level | HSK 2.0 | HSK 3.0 (2021) | HSK 3.0 2025 (reported) |
|---|---|---|---|
| HSK 1 | 150 | 500 | 300 |
| HSK 2 | 150 | 772 | 200 |
| HSK 3 | 300 | 973 | 500 |
| HSK 4 | 600 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| HSK 5 | 1,300 | 1,071 | 1,600 |
| HSK 6 | 2,500 | 1,140 | 1,800 |
| HSK 7-9 | no such level | 5,636 | 5,600 |
Characters to recognise, cumulative, from the same published tables. The 2025 revision's character counts were not found in a source HSK Studio could check, so they are left out.
| Level | HSK 2.0 | HSK 3.0 (2021) |
|---|---|---|
| HSK 1 | 174 | 300 |
| HSK 2 | 348 | 600 |
| HSK 3 | 618 | 900 |
| HSK 4 | 1,064 | 1,200 |
| HSK 5 | 1,685 | 1,500 |
| HSK 6 | 2,663 | 1,800 |
| HSK 7-9 | no such level | 3,000 |
HSK Studio's own character counts per level are on the HSK character count page.
Last verified . The 2021 figures are those of the Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards for International Chinese Language Education (GF 0025-2021), in force from 1 July 2021, as tabulated on Wikipedia's HSK article. The Ministry of Education confirms the standard's total of 11,092 words in its official Q&A; the per-level figures could not be checked against an official source. The HSK 2.0 figures are from the old Hanban word lists, from the same article. The 2025 figures are reported by that article and by That's Mandarin; they were not checked against the official document. Exam dates and formats change, so confirm them with your test centre or the official HSK site (chinesetest.cn).
Study with the lists: HSK vocabulary lists by level, or see what a level takes at your pace with the HSK study plan calculator.
HSK 2.0 had six levels and 5,000 words in total (150, 300, 600, 1,200, 2,500 and 5,000 cumulatively). The HSK 3.0 standard published in 2021 has nine levels: 5,456 words for HSK 1 to 6 and 11,092 once HSK 7-9 is included.
No. HSK 4 under 2.0 needed 1,200 words in total, while HSK 4 under the 2021 3.0 standard lists 3,245. By vocabulary size, 1,200 words sits inside the 2021 HSK 2, which needs 1,272. This compares word counts only; the exams also differ in format.
It is reported to have been released on 15 November 2025 and to lower the cumulative words for HSK 1 to 6 to 300, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 3,600 and 5,400, with 11,000 in total. HSK Studio confirmed these figures only from secondary sources, not from the official document, so check the official HSK site before relying on them.
Use the version your exam centre says it will test. Reported status as of late 2026: the 2021 standard has been published and its HSK 7-9 exam has run since 2022, a global trial of the revised HSK 1 to 6 exam was reported for 31 January 2026, and full rollout had not been confirmed. Confirm the format and dates with your test centre.
HSK Studio's dictionary has 368 entries at HSK 1 and 6,461 up to HSK 6, because it counts dictionary entries (with variants and multi-character expressions handled its own way) rather than the syllabus's published totals. Use the official figures in this table to compare standards and the HSK Studio lists to study.
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Open the readerWord lists by level: HSK 1, HSK 2, HSK 3, HSK 4, HSK 5, HSK 6. All levels.
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