HSK 3: what the level covers and what it asks of you

A Saturday in the Park

A father tells the story of one Saturday: the family cycles to the park, the old men sing under the trees, his six-year-old wants to know the name of a bird nobody can identify, and they picnic in the shade. At three the wind gets up and the sky greys over — but his wife, as usual, has packed an umbrella. Eighteen sentences within HSK 1–3.

Opening a Bank Account

Amine walks into a bank to get a card. He hands over his passport, learns that his name should be written exactly as it appears in it, waits ten minutes on a chair by the window, and checks that the card will work for shopping online. Eighteen turns of a real errand, inside HSK 1–3.

The Doctor Said I Need Rest

A student studies until midnight every night in the run-up to exams and wakes one Wednesday with a splitting head and a fever. A classmate notices, takes him to the hospital near campus, and the doctor sends him to bed for two days. His teacher tells him not to worry about the exam. He recovers — and starts exercising every morning. Seventeen sentences within HSK 1–3.

A Misunderstanding at the Post Office

Amine posts a birthday parcel to his mother in Morocco. Everything goes smoothly until the clerk says how long it will take: he hears 四十天 where she said 十四天, and panics about missing the birthday. She smiles, writes “14” on her phone, and the whole thing dissolves into laughter — and into a resolution about numbers. Twenty-two sentences inside HSK 1–3.

Planning a Trip with Friends

Four free days next month, three friends and one budget. Mountains are ruled out as too cold, Shanghai wins, the plane loses to the train on price, and a night departure saves a hotel night. By the end of the conversation the rooms are booked, the jobs are shared out, and Amine has to go and ask about missing Friday’s class. Twenty-two turns inside HSK 1–3.

Renting a Room

Amine wants to move out of the dormitory. A landlord shows him the fourth-floor room: south-facing, air conditioning, a small fridge, his own bathroom. They talk price — two thousand five hundred asked, two thousand three hundred agreed — and he checks what matters to a student: wi-fi, five minutes to the metro, a supermarket downstairs. Twenty-two turns inside HSK 1–3.

Campus News: The New Library Opens on Monday

Short campus-paper copy on the library that opens next Monday: five floors, two hundred thousand books, what is on each floor, borrowing by phone, opening hours at the weekend, a word from the head of the university and one from a third-year student who used to arrive early just to find a seat. Twenty sentences inside HSK 1–3.

The New Neighbour

A grandmother in her seventies moves in next door, and the six o’clock music she exercises to is not welcome news to a student who goes to bed late. One morning they finally meet; she turns the volume down, he starts sleeping earlier — and the day he locks himself out in the rain, it is her door that opens. Twenty-two sentences inside HSK 1–3.

Weather Report: A Cold Front Is on Its Way

A city weather bulletin: cold air arrives from the north tonight, Saturday turns grey after midday with a strong wind from three, rain in the evening and snow further north, and Sunday morning is the coldest point of the week. Advice for cyclists, drivers, air travellers and the elderly, then a return to clear skies from Monday. Twenty sentences inside HSK 1–3.