HSK 1–3 (Mandarin) flashcards
17 decks · 1,372 cards · built into Willys · free samples below
Written against: Every word of HSK 1–3 under HSK 3.0, the HSK exam syllabus published in November 2025 (988 words, levels 1–3), with grammar patterns and in-context cloze; headword levels checked against its word list. Updated 2026-10-10.
In the app every card is read aloud: the Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Spanish or other language side in its own native voice and the English side in yours, with a hands-free Listen mode for whole decks.
What's in it
Every deck follows the course outline, with tags you can study or suspend topic by topic. Open a deck to study its free sample right here.
Learn · 13 decks · 1,050 cards
Concepts, mechanisms and the questions a course or exam asks about them.
Core Words, Part 1
100 words for HSK 1 (饭馆 is level 2) under HSK 3.0, the HSK exam syllabus of November 2025: pronouns, numbers, family, time words, core verbs, adjectives, question words and particles, each with tone-marked pinyin and an original example sentence, with some measure words on the back.
Core Words, Part 2
76 more HSK 1 words under HSK 3.0, the HSK exam syllabus of November 2025: pronouns, places and directions, time words and everyday verbs, each in an original example sentence with pinyin, with the gloss, translation and some measure words on the back.
Core Words, Part 3
76 more HSK 1 words under HSK 3.0, the HSK exam syllabus of November 2025: greetings and polite phrases, meals and food, school and work, weather and getting around, each in an original example sentence with pinyin, with the gloss, translation and some measure words on the back.
Core Words, Part 1
100 words for HSK 2 under HSK 3.0, the HSK exam syllabus of November 2025: family, time, everyday verbs, describing words, places and directions, food, and the adverbs and prepositions that build longer sentences, with tone-marked pinyin and an original example for each.
Core Words, Part 2
66 more HSK 2 words under HSK 3.0, the HSK exam syllabus of November 2025: the particles 着, 过, 得 and 地, direction verbs such as 出来 and 回去, linking words and everyday nouns, each in an original example sentence with pinyin, with the gloss, translation and some measure words on the back.
Core Words, Part 3
67 more HSK 2 words under HSK 3.0, the HSK exam syllabus of November 2025: directions, colours, sports and hobbies, tea, and getting around town, each in an original example sentence with pinyin, with the gloss, translation and some measure words on the back.
Core Words, Part 1
100 words for HSK 3 under HSK 3.0, the HSK exam syllabus of November 2025: relatives and people, measure words, everyday verbs and adjectives, city places, clothing, health and the linking words of longer sentences, with tone-marked pinyin and original examples.
Core Words, Part 2
81 more HSK 3 words under HSK 3.0, the HSK exam syllabus of November 2025: the 把 and 被 patterns, linking words such as 而且, 只要 and 只有, adverbs like 才, 又 and 刚, and everyday verbs, each in an original example sentence with pinyin, with the gloss, translation and some measure words on the back.
Core Words, Part 3
81 more HSK 3 words under HSK 3.0, the HSK exam syllabus of November 2025: feelings and attitudes, body and health, places and directions, news, music and shows, each in an original example sentence with pinyin, with the gloss, translation and some measure words on the back.
Core Words, Part 4
81 more HSK 3 words under HSK 3.0, the HSK exam syllabus of November 2025: directions and seasons, feelings, school and work, nature and everyday things, each in an original example sentence with pinyin, with the gloss, translation and some measure words on the back.
Core Words, Part 5
81 more HSK 3 words under HSK 3.0, the HSK exam syllabus of November 2025: seasons and holidays, home and family, school life, travel and getting around, each in an original example sentence with pinyin, with the gloss, translation and some measure words on the back.
Core Words, Part 6
81 more HSK 3 words under HSK 3.0, the HSK exam syllabus of November 2025: compass directions, school and study, food and household things, trains and city life, each in an original example sentence with pinyin, with the gloss, translation and some measure words on the back.
Grammar Patterns
60 grammar patterns for HSK 1–3 under HSK 3.0 (the November 2025 exam syllabus): 了, 过, 着, 是…的, 把 and 被, comparisons, complements of degree, result, direction and potential, linking pairs and word order, each with a one-line rule and an original example.
Drills · 3 decks · 272 cards
Short answers and cloze blanks for the facts you simply have to know cold.
In Context: Core Words
Ninety HSK 1 and HSK 2 sentences under HSK 3.0, the HSK exam syllabus of November 2025, each blanking one level-1 or level-2 word so you produce it from context, with the English gloss as the hint and the sentence's pinyin and translation shown.
In Context: Core Words, Part 1
Ninety HSK 3 sentences under HSK 3.0, the HSK exam syllabus of November 2025, on people, time, places, everyday things, health, study and travel, each blanking one level-3 word so you produce it from context, with the English gloss as the hint and the sentence's pinyin and translation shown.
In Context: Core Words, Part 2
Ninety-two HSK 3 sentences under HSK 3.0, the HSK exam syllabus of November 2025, each blanking one level-3 word so you produce it from context, with the English gloss as the hint and the sentence's pinyin and translation shown.
Practice · 1 deck · 50 questions
Multiple-choice practice questions, one best answer each, with the reasoning.
Cloze decks have one or more blanks per sentence; the app makes one card per blank.
Study guide
Topics covered
The decks follow the order of the course outline. Numbers are cards per topic.
- People & Pronouns 102
- Numbers & Measure Words 62
- Time 89
- Verbs 216
- Adjectives 113
- Question Words 14
- Places & Directions 118
- Food & Drink 61
- Things & Objects 98
- Particles & Adverbs 88
- Expressions 21
- Prepositions & Conjunctions 45
- Body & Health 42
- Ideas & Activities 66
- Work & Study 92
- Travel & Transport 46
- Feelings & Character 25
- Questions 6
- Negation 3
- Aspect 10
- Word Order 5
- Comparisons 7
- Linking Pairs 8
- Complements 13
- Special Constructions 6
- Modal Verbs 5
- Measure Words & Numbers 5
- 的 地 得 4
- Tone Changes 2
A study plan
- 49 new cards a day covers everything in a month, leaving the last weeks for review.
- 25 new cards a day covers everything in two months, leaving the last weeks for review.
- 17 new cards a day covers everything in three months, leaving the last weeks for review.
Willys schedules reviews for you (FSRS spaced repetition), so the daily number above is only for new cards; reviews of what you have learned come back on their own. Study a topic's cards right after you meet it in class, suspend topics you have not reached yet, and use the app's quiz mode in the final two weeks.
How to get these decks
- Install Willys on your iPhone, iPad or Mac — App Store. 14-day free trial, then $14.99 a year.
- In Willys, tap Exam Library at the top of your Decks (or Browse Exam Library… under the + button), find the exam on its shelf or by search, tick it and tap Add.
- Study. The exam comes in as its own collapsible folder, every card scheduled by FSRS spaced repetition. Nothing you already have is changed.
Every deck is built into Willys
All 17 HSK 1–3 (Mandarin) decks (1,372 cards), with FSRS spaced repetition, quizzes and mock tests, on iPhone, iPad and Mac. 14-day free trial, then $14.99 a year.
In Willys, tap Exam Library at the top of your Decks (or Browse Exam Library… under the + button), find the exam on its shelf or by search, tick it and tap Add.
About these cards
Review status: Second-reader reviewed, with corrections applied.
Checked against:
- Pinyin, tones, measure words and meanings checked against CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0) and the Taiwan Ministry of Education's dictionaries (the Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary and the Cross-Strait Dictionary 兩岸常用詞典, via moedict.tw) (reference only). Levels follow HSK 3.0: the HSK examination syllabus (HSK 考试大纲) published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation in November 2025, a separate document from the 2021 standard GF 0025-2021, which it cites among its references. Of the 100 headwords, 99 are level 1 (没 is listed as 没有) and 饭馆 is level 2, as its card notes. Headword levels checked against two transcriptions of the syllabus word list (harukicoder/hsk30, drkameleon/complete-hsk-vocabulary). All example sentences are original.
- Pinyin, tones, measure words and meanings checked against CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0) and the Taiwan Ministry of Education's dictionaries (the Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary and the Cross-Strait Dictionary 兩岸常用詞典, via moedict.tw) (reference only). Levels follow HSK 3.0: the HSK examination syllabus (HSK 考试大纲) published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation in November 2025, a separate document from the 2021 standard GF 0025-2021, which it cites among its references. The headwords are level-1 words of the syllabus that the folder's earlier parts do not card, in frequency order (frequency ranks from drkameleon/complete-hsk-vocabulary); levels checked against two transcriptions of the syllabus word list (harukicoder/hsk30, drkameleon/complete-hsk-vocabulary). All example sentences are original.
- Pinyin, tones, measure words and meanings checked against CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0) and the Taiwan Ministry of Education's dictionaries (the Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary and the Cross-Strait Dictionary 兩岸常用詞典, via moedict.tw) (reference only). Levels follow HSK 3.0: the HSK examination syllabus (HSK 考试大纲) published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation in November 2025, a separate document from the 2021 standard GF 0025-2021, which it cites among its references. Of the 100 headwords, 51 are level 2 and 44 are level-1 words the HSK 1 deck leaves out; 帮助, 欢迎 and 报纸 are level 3, 白 alone is level 5 (白色 is level 2), and 服务员 is not listed as a word (服务 is level 3). Their cards say so. Headword levels checked against two transcriptions of the syllabus word list (harukicoder/hsk30, drkameleon/complete-hsk-vocabulary). All example sentences are original.
- Pinyin, tones, measure words and meanings checked against CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0) and the Taiwan Ministry of Education's dictionaries (the Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary and the Cross-Strait Dictionary 兩岸常用詞典, via moedict.tw) (reference only). Levels follow HSK 3.0: the HSK examination syllabus (HSK 考试大纲) published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation in November 2025, a separate document from the 2021 standard GF 0025-2021, which it cites among its references. The headwords are level-2 words of the syllabus that the folder's earlier parts do not card, in frequency order (frequency ranks from drkameleon/complete-hsk-vocabulary); levels checked against a transcription of the syllabus word list (harukicoder/hsk30). All example sentences are original.
- Pinyin, tones, measure words and meanings checked against CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0) and the Taiwan Ministry of Education's dictionaries (the Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary and the Cross-Strait Dictionary 兩岸常用詞典, via moedict.tw) (reference only). Levels follow HSK 3.0: the HSK examination syllabus (HSK 考试大纲) published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation in November 2025, a separate document from the 2021 standard GF 0025-2021, which it cites among its references. The headwords are level-2 words of the syllabus that the folder's earlier parts do not card, in frequency order (frequency ranks from drkameleon/complete-hsk-vocabulary); levels checked against two transcriptions of the syllabus word list (harukicoder/hsk30, drkameleon/complete-hsk-vocabulary). All example sentences are original.
- Sentences reuse or follow the folder's vocabulary decks; levels follow HSK 3.0, the HSK examination syllabus (HSK 考试大纲) published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation in November 2025. Pinyin and meanings checked against CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0) and the Taiwan Ministry of Education's dictionaries (the Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary and the Cross-Strait Dictionary 兩岸常用詞典, via moedict.tw) (reference only). All sentences are original.
- Pinyin, tones, measure words and meanings checked against CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0) and the Taiwan Ministry of Education's dictionaries (the Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary and the Cross-Strait Dictionary 兩岸常用詞典, via moedict.tw) (reference only). Levels follow HSK 3.0: the HSK examination syllabus (HSK 考试大纲) published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation in November 2025, a separate document from the 2021 standard GF 0025-2021, which it cites among its references. Of the 100 headwords, 83 are level 3 and 15 are level 1–2 words the HSK 1 and 2 decks leave out; 帽子 and 鼻子 are level 4, as their cards note. Headword levels checked against two transcriptions of the syllabus word list (harukicoder/hsk30, drkameleon/complete-hsk-vocabulary). All example sentences are original.
- Pinyin, tones, measure words and meanings checked against CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0) and the Taiwan Ministry of Education's dictionaries (the Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary and the Cross-Strait Dictionary 兩岸常用詞典, via moedict.tw) (reference only). Levels follow HSK 3.0: the HSK examination syllabus (HSK 考试大纲) published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation in November 2025, a separate document from the 2021 standard GF 0025-2021, which it cites among its references. The headwords are level-3 words of the syllabus that the folder's earlier parts do not card, in frequency order (frequency ranks from drkameleon/complete-hsk-vocabulary); levels checked against two transcriptions of the syllabus word list (harukicoder/hsk30, drkameleon/complete-hsk-vocabulary). All example sentences are original.
- Pinyin, tones, measure words and meanings checked against CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0) and the Taiwan Ministry of Education's dictionaries (the Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary and the Cross-Strait Dictionary 兩岸常用詞典, via moedict.tw) (reference only). Levels follow HSK 3.0: the HSK examination syllabus (HSK 考试大纲) published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation in November 2025, a separate document from the 2021 standard GF 0025-2021, which it cites among its references. The headwords are level-3 words of the syllabus that the folder's earlier parts do not card, in frequency order (frequency ranks from drkameleon/complete-hsk-vocabulary, which does not list 冰激凌, 检票, 电子书 or 红绿灯; those four come just before the last two); levels checked against two transcriptions of the syllabus word list (harukicoder/hsk30 for all 81, drkameleon/complete-hsk-vocabulary for the 77 it lists). All example sentences are original.
- Pinyin, tones, measure words and meanings checked against CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0) and the Taiwan Ministry of Education's dictionaries (the Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary and the Cross-Strait Dictionary 兩岸常用詞典, via moedict.tw) (reference only). Levels follow HSK 3.0: the HSK examination syllabus (HSK 考试大纲) published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation in November 2025, a separate document from the 2021 standard GF 0025-2021, which it cites among its references. The patterns are those commonly taught at this level. Checked against the syllabus's grammar list (语法大纲, levels 1–3): 56 of the 60 patterns are listed there (20 at level 1, 21 at level 2, 15 at level 3); the other four (a place word inside a directional complement, dropping 的 after a pronoun, and the tone changes of 不 and 一) are not itemised in it. Grammar rules also checked against the examples in GF 0025-2021, Appendix A (语法等级大纲), the University of Oxford CTCFL grammar notes, Western Michigan University's open textbook Career Chinese, a PolyU seminar abstract by Chaofen Sun, Pan Haihua's CUHK lecture notes on 把, and published papers (Hole 2011, Lingua; Gasde 2001, ZAS Papers in Linguistics; Panmanee 2022; Liu and Wu 2015; a Kyushu University paper on negating 比 sentences, 言語文化論究 39; Sugimura Hirofumi on 被 sentences, Doshisha University; Astiya and Lin; Luo, Tamkang Studies of Foreign Languages and Literatures) (reference only). The examples use the folder's vocabulary. All example sentences are original.
- Pinyin, tones, measure words and meanings checked against CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0) and the Taiwan Ministry of Education's dictionaries (the Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary and the Cross-Strait Dictionary 兩岸常用詞典, via moedict.tw) (reference only). Levels follow HSK 3.0: the HSK examination syllabus (HSK 考试大纲) published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation in November 2025, a separate document from the 2021 standard GF 0025-2021, which it cites among its references. Questions are built on the folder's vocabulary and grammar decks, whose sources give the headword levels.
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