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Mandarin HSK 3 — Core Words, Part 4 flashcards

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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.

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Learn deck · part of HSK 1–3 (Mandarin) · 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.

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室 (shì) (n.)
我们的办公室很小，只能坐四个人。 (Wǒmen de bàngōngshì hěn xiǎo, zhǐnéng zuò sì ge rén.)

room (mostly inside compound words)

Our office is small — it only seats four people.

Note: 室 rarely stands alone in speech; you meet it in 教室 (jiàoshì), classroom, and 办公室 (bàngōngshì), office.
Places & Directions
极 (極) (jí) (adv.)
这家店的面条好吃极了，我已经来了五次了。 (Zhè jiā diàn de miàntiáo hǎochī jí le, wǒ yǐjīng láile wǔ cì le.)

extremely

The noodles at this place are absolutely delicious — I've already been here five times.

Note: In speech it usually follows the adjective, with 了: 好极了, 累极了. Placed before an adjective (极好) it sounds written.
Particles & Adverbs
咱们 (咱們) (zánmen) (pron.)
你别走，咱们再聊一会儿。 (Nǐ bié zǒu, zánmen zài liáo yīhuìr.)

we; us (including the person you are talking to)

Don't go yet — let's chat a bit longer.

Watch out: Normally use 咱们 only when the listener belongs to the group; telling a waiter what your own table wants, say 我们.
People & Pronouns
小心 (xiǎoxīn) (v./adj.)
下雨了，开车要小心。 (Xià yǔ le, kāichē yào xiǎoxīn.)

to be careful; to watch out (for); careful

It's raining, so drive carefully.

Note: With an object it means 'watch out for': 小心车！ Watch out for the cars!
Verbs
怎么办 (怎麼辦) (zěnme bàn) (expr.)
下大雨了，我没带伞，怎么办？ (Xià dà yǔ le, wǒ méi dài sǎn, zěnme bàn?)

what should I do?; what can be done?

It's pouring and I didn't bring an umbrella — what am I going to do?

Note: It can also be asked of someone else: 你说怎么办？ What do you think we should do?
Expressions
水平 (shuǐpíng) (n.)
这个学校的老师水平都很高。 (Zhège xuéxiào de lǎoshī shuǐpíng dōu hěn gāo.)

level; standard (of skill or quality)

The teachers at this school are all of a high standard.

Note: The letters HSK come from 汉语水平考试 (Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì); today's syllabus and papers call the test 中文水平考试 (Zhōngwén Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì), the Chinese Proficiency Test.
Work & Study
季 (jì) (n.)
广州一年四季都不太冷。 (Guǎngzhōu yī nián sìjì dōu bù tài lěng.)

season

Guangzhou is never very cold, whatever the season.

Note: The everyday two-syllable word is 季节 (jìjié): 我喜欢这个季节.
Time
文化 (wénhuà) (n.)
老师在历史课上讲了很多中国文化的故事。 (Lǎoshī zài lìshǐkè shang jiǎngle hěn duō Zhōngguó wénhuà de gùshi.)

culture; (level of) education

In history class the teacher told lots of stories about Chinese culture.

Note: In 文化水平 (level of education) it means schooling.
Ideas & Activities
出发 (出發) (chūfā) (v.)
我们从北京出发，坐火车去上海。 (Wǒmen cóng Běijīng chūfā, zuò huǒchē qù Shànghǎi.)

to set off; to depart

We'll set off from Beijing and take the train to Shanghai.

Watch out: 出发 takes no object: 从北京出发 (set off from Beijing), not 出发北京.
Travel & Transport
糖 (táng) (n.)
奶奶给了我两块糖。 (Nǎinai gěile wǒ liǎng kuài táng.)

sugar; sweets (candy)

Measure word: 块 (kuài) for a sweet: 一块糖

Grandma gave me two sweets.
Food & Drink

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More HSK 1–3 (Mandarin) decks

Core Words, Part 1 Core Words, Part 2 Core Words, Part 3 Core Words, Part 1 Core Words, Part 2 Core Words, Part 3 In Context: Core Words Core Words, Part 1 Core Words, Part 2 Core Words, Part 3 Core Words, Part 5 Core Words, Part 6 Grammar Patterns In Context: Core Words, Part 1 In Context: Core Words, Part 2 Practice Questions

← All HSK 1–3 (Mandarin) decks, with the study guide and topic outline.

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. 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.

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