Is HelloChinese enough to pass HSK 3?
It depends which HSK 3 you are sitting. The old HSK 3 asks for 600 words in total, and level 3 of the New HSK (2025) syllabus asks for 991, counting levels 1 and 2. HelloChinese names no HSK level its course ends at and publishes no word count. App Store listing: HelloChinese helps you 'rapidly learn Mandarin Chinese from scratch to a conversational level' (source, checked Oct 2026). The only outside estimate of its size is a review's. FluentU, which sells a competing language app, in a review last modified January 2025: the app teaches 'around 1,000 words, which still only brings you to the lower intermediate level' (per fluentu.com, checked Oct 2026).
A course of about a thousand words is the right size for the old HSK 3 and close to the size of the new one. Size is not the whole test, though. Nobody has published which words HelloChinese teaches, so nobody can say how many of them are on the HSK 3 list, and HSK 3 is the level where the paper stops printing pinyin. The way to find out is to sit a free test.
Which HSK 3 are you sitting?
| Old HSK 3 (HSK 2.0) | New HSK (2025) level 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Words in total | 600 | 991 |
| New at this level | 300 | 491 |
| Character list | Words only | 655 characters by level 3 |
| Word list | HSK 3 vocabulary | New HSK 3 vocabulary |
The new figures are counted from the New HSK (2025) syllabus, the 2025 revision of the HSK 3.0 standard (GF0025-2021), which is shorter than the 2021 lists most sites quote. The format you sit is the one named on your booking, and test centres moved to HSK 3.0 at different speeds; HSK 3.0 against HSK 2.0 has the differences, including the speaking paper the new standard adds from level 3.
What HSK 3 actually tests
- Characters without pinyin. From HSK 3 up there is no pinyin anywhere on the paper. A learner who has read with pinyin switched on meets the characters alone for the first time in the exam room.
- Listening played once. At HSK 1 and 2 every item plays twice. At HSK 3 it plays once.
- Writing. A writing section appears: putting scrambled words into a correct sentence, and writing a character when you are given its pinyin. Recognising a character in a multiple-choice question is not the same skill.
The full paper, section by section, is in the HSK exam format, and a plan for this level is in how to pass HSK 3.
Check yourself, free
- The HSK 3 test: 20 questions on HSK 3.0 level 3 words, scored on the page. No account.
- The HSK placement test, if you are not sure HSK 3 is the right target. A free 28-question HSK placement test, no signup (source, checked Oct 2026)
Take it with pinyin out of reach. If you pass comfortably, HelloChinese plus exam practice is probably enough for you. If you miss questions on words you know you have studied, the gap is reading characters, not vocabulary.
What HelloChinese gives you
- 'Handwriting specially designed to learn Chinese characters at a faster rate.' (source, checked Oct 2026)
- 'Speech recognition corrects your pronunciation.' No AI tutor is mentioned on the listing or homepage (source, checked Oct 2026)
- Homepage lists a 'Spaced Repetition System' for vocabulary (source, checked Oct 2026)
- '1000+ graded stories' and 'Over 2,000 videos' featuring native speakers (source, checked Oct 2026)
What to add if HelloChinese is your base
- The exam's word list. Go through the HSK 3 list or the HSK 3.0 list, whichever you are sitting, and mark the words you cannot read as characters. That list is the only definition of what the exam can ask.
- Reading with pinyin off. Review with the pinyin hidden or covered from now on, and read short passages written at the level without it.
- Writing by hand from pinyin. Cover the character, read the pinyin, write it. That is exactly what the writing section asks.
- The grammar of the level. The HSK 3 grammar points are free, each with the pattern and worked examples. The sentence-ordering questions test these patterns directly.
- Timed past papers. Two full papers under time in the last fortnight, with the audio played once.
Where GraphChinese fits
GraphChinese is a full course and starts from zero. One course from HSK 0 (tones, pinyin, stroke order, radicals) through HSK 6 (source, checked Oct 2026). Its 829 topics are joined by prerequisite links, and the course serves each one after the topics it rests on, so the reading, the grammar and the characters for HSK 3 arrive after what they need. You can jump ahead or claim a topic you already know, and reviews then check the claim. HSK 6 is the exception: most of its vocabulary topics are alphabetical slices of the word list rather than a dependency order.
If you are coming from HelloChinese you do not start over. An adaptive placement test starts you at your frontier (source, checked Oct 2026). Writing is part of the course. Stroke-order writing practice, on by default for learners who start from zero and switchable for everyone else (source, checked Oct 2026).
On price, a year of HelloChinese Premium: $69.99 per 12 months, US list price, before tax. Premium: $69.99 for twelve months on the US App Store (source, checked Oct 2026). GraphChinese is $49 once for lifetime access ($49 one-time, US list price, before tax). The full side-by-side is GraphChinese vs HelloChinese, and every app is on one comparison page.
Keep HelloChinese if the free test goes well and you like the app: add the exam list, pinyin-off reading and handwriting, and sit the exam. Switch if the test shows a gap you cannot see the shape of, because that is the problem an ordered course solves.
Written by GraphChinese, the product being compared. Every HelloChinese fact above links its source and the month it was checked, and outside estimates are named. HSK counts are read from the word and character lists this site publishes. The research sheet is public at /data/compare/.
Frequently asked questions
Is HelloChinese enough to pass HSK 3?
It depends which HSK 3 you are sitting. The old HSK 3 asks for 600 words in total and level 3 of the New HSK (2025) syllabus asks for 991, and HelloChinese names no HSK level its course ends at and publishes no word count. The exam also removes pinyin and adds a writing section, so the reliable check is a free timed test: the HSK 3 test.
How many words does HelloChinese teach?
HelloChinese does not publish a number. The only outside estimate is a review's. FluentU, which sells a competing language app, in a review last modified January 2025: the app teaches 'around 1,000 words, which still only brings you to the lower intermediate level' (per fluentu.com, checked Oct 2026).
Does HelloChinese teach you to write characters?
It has handwriting practice. 'Handwriting specially designed to learn Chinese characters at a faster rate.' (source, checked Oct 2026). The HSK 3 writing section asks you to put scrambled words into a sentence and to write a character from its pinyin, so practise both away from the app as well.
How much does HelloChinese cost for a year?
Twelve months of Premium: $69.99 per 12 months, US list price, before tax. Premium: $69.99 for twelve months on the US App Store (source, checked Oct 2026).
How do I know if I am ready for HSK 3?
Take the free HSK 3 test, 20 questions on HSK 3.0 level 3 words, scored on the page, or the placement test if you are not sure which level you are at. Neither needs an account.
Start at your real level: the placement test finds what you already know and the course starts at the next topic. The whole course, HSK 0 through HSK 6, is $49 once for lifetime access.
Start at your true level