HSK 3 cheat sheet

HSK 3 listening has 40 questions in 4 parts, about 35 minutes, played once only; audio is standard Mandarin at near-native slow-normal speed.

Part 1 (questions 1-10): true/false on a picture. The statement must match both the object and the action/quantity shown; one mismatched detail makes it false (错).

Part 2 (11-20): short dialogue with three picture options; the correct picture is named by a synonym, not the exact word heard.

Part 3 (21-30): dialogue followed by a question on the recording; the answer is usually stated by the second speaker, so track who says 但是, 不过, 其实.

Part 4 (31-40): short monologue or conversation of 3-5 sentences; questions test main idea, reason, and implied next action.

Numbers, times, and prices are frequently corrected mid-sentence: the second number stated is normally the true one (我本来想…后来…).

Negation and contrast markers flip meaning: 不, 没, 别, 差点儿, 除了…以外, 虽然…但是; a statement repeating the audio without the negation is a trap.

Common question stems: 他们在哪儿说话？ 男的是什么意思？ 女的接下来要做什么？ - pre-read options during the pause to predict the topic.

HSK 3 itself has no separate speaking paper; spoken production is assessed in HSK 3 oral (HSKK 初级), which uses 27 items in 3 parts, about 17 minutes, recorded.

HSKK 初级 Part 1 (questions 1-15): repeat a sentence after hearing it once; scoring rewards complete repetition over partial paraphrase.

HSKK 初级 Part 2 (16-20): listen to a short dialogue, then answer a question about it aloud in one or two sentences.

HSKK 初级 Part 3 (21-27): read a 60-80 character passage aloud; accuracy of tones and 儿化/轻声 matters more than speed.

HSK 3 grammar targets for speech: 把-sentences, 被-sentences, 越来越, 一边…一边, 如果…就, 不但…而且, 又…又, 才 vs 就.

Aspect markers carry tense in speech: 了 (completed), 过 (experience), 在/正在 (ongoing), 要/快…了 (imminent); omitting them is the most common error.

Measure words must be produced with the noun: 个, 本, 张, 件, 条, 只, 双, 位, 次, 遍; wrong measure word is a scored error even if the noun is right.

Duration and frequency phrases follow the verb: 我学汉语学了两年 / 我去过三次; placing them before the verb is ungrammatical.

HSK 3 reading has 30 questions in 3 parts, about 30 minutes; Part 1 (1-10) is sentence-to-picture matching, 5 options for 10 items so each picture is reused.

Part 2 (11-20): fill the blank in a short sentence with one of three words; the distractors differ by part of speech, collocation, or grammatical function.

Part 3 (21-30): two short passages of about 120-150 characters each, with 5 questions per passage on detail, inference, and the writer's attitude.

Collocation decides Part 2 answers: 提高水平, 养成习惯, 积累经验, 解决问题, 举办活动, 发生事故 - wrong pairings are the standard trap.

Function-word contrasts tested at this level: 因为…所以, 虽然…但是, 不但…而且, 只要…就, 只有…才, 即使…也; the second half must match the first logically.

Scan for time and sequence words (先, 然后, 最后, 以前, 后来) to answer order questions; the passage order usually equals the chronological order.

For attitude questions, 觉得, 认为, 希望, 担心 signal the author's view; 可惜 and 竟然 mark surprise or regret, not neutral fact.

Unknown characters should be skipped: HSK 3 passages are designed so that the answer sentence is comprehensible from surrounding known words.

HSK 3 writing has 15 questions in 2 parts, about 15 minutes; Part 1 (1-5) is sentence assembly from jumbled words, Part 2 (6-15) is filling 10 blanks with given characters.

Sentence assembly follows the fixed order: subject + time + place + manner/adverb + verb + 得/补语 + object; 了/过 attach after the verb, 的 before the noun.

把-sentence order: subject + 把 + object + verb + other element (了/给/在/到/完); the verb cannot stand alone after 把.

被-sentence order: receiver + 被 + (agent) + verb + result; 被 marks adversity in traditional usage, so a neutral sentence rarely takes it.

Comparisons: A 比 B + adjective (+ 一点儿/得多/多了); 不如 replaces 比 for 'not as good as'; 没有…那么 also expresses inferiority.

Punctuation and character count are scored in Part 1: write the assembled sentence in the box with a full stop; a missing 了 or wrong character order loses the point.

Part 2 gives a character bank larger than the number of blanks; check part of speech first (noun vs verb) to eliminate candidates.

Common fixed patterns to assemble: 越来越 + adj, 一边…一边 + verb, 又…又 + adj, 如果…就…, 除了…以外, 连…都/也….

HSK 3 has no translation section; the first translation tasks appear at HSK 4 (Part 3: 5 English sentences into Chinese) and expand at HSK 5-6, so HSK 3 learners should build sentence-level translation now.

Translate meaning, not word order: English 'I have studied Chinese for two years' becomes 我学汉语学了两年, keeping 了 after the verb and repeating the verb.

Do not translate articles a/an/the; Chinese marks definiteness with 这个/那个 or word order, not with a separate word.

English tense maps to aspect particles, not to verb inflection: past → 了/过, progressive → 在/正在, future → 会/要/将.

Passive English 'was built by' becomes 是…建的 or 由…建造, not necessarily 被; 被 is reserved for adverse or strongly affected subjects.

Relative clauses go before the noun with 的: 'the book I bought yesterday' → 我昨天买的那本书.

Numbers, dates, and addresses convert to Chinese order: year-month-day, country-city-street-number; 万 and 亿 group by four digits, not three.

Proper nouns are transliterated by sound (音译) with common established forms: 纽约, 伦敦, 咖啡, 沙发; do not invent new characters for well-known names.