HSK exam countdown planner: your plan to the exam date

Enter the exam date, where you are, the HSK 3.0 level you are aiming for and the minutes you have each day. You get a week-by-week plan of the new words, writing characters and grammar points from the new syllabus, practice tests in the last two weeks, and an honest check of whether it all fits.

The first sitting of the new HSK is Dec 13, 2026. Any date works.
Where are you now? (HSK 3.0 levels)
Not sure? The HSK 3.0 level checker shows which level a text you can read sits at.
Which level are you aiming for?

Example plan — change the settings above for yours

HSK 1 from zero by Dec 13, 2026: 4 weeks, 60 minutes a day

300new words
0writing characters
70grammar points
4weeks

This plan needs about 115 minutes a day, and you set 60. That is more material than these weeks allow at that pace. Two ways to make it fit:

No nearer level fits these weeks at 60 minutes a day. More minutes, or a later sitting, would.

Keep HSK 1 and study about 115 minutes a day.

The full plan is below either way, so you can see the load.

  1. 1

    Week 1 Nov 9 – Nov 15 HSK 1

    150 new words, 35 grammar points · about 115 minutes a day

    This week's 150 words

    爱 八 爸爸 吧 白天 百 半 包子 杯子 本 边 病 不 不客气 不要 菜 茶 唱 超市 车 吃 出租车 穿 打电话 大 大家 大学 大学生 到 的 弟弟 第 点 电话 电脑 电视 电影 电影院 店 东西 都 读 读书 对 对不起 多 多少 儿子 二 饭 饭店 房间 飞机 非常 分 分钟 高兴 哥哥 歌 个 给 工作 公司 狗 贵 国 还 孩子 汉语 汉字 好 好吃 好看 好听 好玩儿 号 喝 和 很 后 回 会 火车 鸡蛋 几 家 家人 见 件 饺子 叫 姐姐 今年 今天 九 觉得 开 开车 看 看病 看见 可以 课 口 块 来 老师 了 冷 里 两 零 六 妈妈 吗 买 卖 忙 猫 没关系 没事 没有 妹妹 们 米饭 面包 面条儿 名字 明年 明天 哪 哪个 哪里 哪儿 哪些 那 那边 那个 那里 那儿 那些 男 男朋友 呢 能 你 你好 你们 年 您

    This week's 35 grammar points
    • Prefixes 小—、第—
    • Suffixes —们、—边
    • Position and direction 上、下、里、外、前、后
    • Modal verbs 会、能
    • Modal verbs 想、要
    • Modal verbs 可以
    • Separable verbs 看病、睡觉、说话、上课、下课、上班、下班、生病
    • Question words 多、多少、几、哪、哪儿、哪里、哪些、什么、谁、怎么、怎么样
    • Personal pronouns 我、你、您、他、她、我们、你们、他们、她们、它、它们、大家
    • Pointing words (this, that) 这、那、这儿、那儿、这里、那里、这些、那些、有的、这个、那个、有些
    • Numbers 一、二/两、三、四、五、六、七、八、九、零、十、百、半、千
    • Measure words for nouns 本、个、家、口、块、件、只、元
    • Nouns used as measure words 杯
    • Units of time 日、号、岁、点、分、年、天
    • Degree 非常、很、太、真、有(一)点儿
    • Scope 都
    • Time 在、正在
    • Frequency 再
    • Linking 还、也
    • Negation 不、没(有)、不要
    • Time and place 在
    • The person or thing involved 和、对
    • Joining words and phrases 和
    • Structural particles 的
    • Aspect particles 了
    • Sentence-final particles 吧、了、吗、呢
    • Interjections 喂
    • Basic phrase types Coordinate phrases: two or more parts of equal rank joined together
    • Basic phrase types Modifier–head phrases: a describing word before the word it describes
    • Basic phrase types Verb–object phrases
    • Basic phrase types Subject–predicate phrases
    • More phrase types Number + measure word phrases
    • More phrase types Preposition + object phrases
    • More phrase types Place phrases: a noun followed by a position word
    • Subject A noun, pronoun or noun phrase as the subject
  2. 2

    Week 2 Nov 16 – Nov 22 HSK 1

    150 new words, 35 grammar points · about 115 minutes a day

    This week's 150 words

    牛奶 女 女儿 女朋友 女士 朋友 便宜 漂亮 苹果 七 起床 千 前 钱 请 请问 去 去年 热 人 认识 日 三 商店 上 上班 上课 上午 上学 少 谁 什么 生病 十 时候 时间 事 是 手机 书 书店 水 水果 睡 睡觉 说 说话 四 岁 他 他们 它 它们 她 她们 太 天 天气 听 听见 同学 外 外边 玩 晚 晚饭 晚上 喂 问 问题 我 我们 五 午饭 喜欢 下 下班 下课 下午 下雨 先生 现在 想 小 小朋友 小时 小学 小学生 些 写 谢谢 新 星期 星期日 星期天 休息 学 学生 学习 学校 雪 要 也 一 一半 一点儿 一下 一些 衣服 医生 医院 椅子 有 有的 有点儿 有些 雨 元 月 再 再见 在 早 早饭 早上 怎么 怎么样 找 这 这边 这个 这里 这儿 这些 真 正在 只 知道 中国 中文 中午 中学 中学生 住 桌子 字 昨天 坐 做 做饭

    This week's 35 grammar points
    • Predicate A noun, pronoun, number or amount as the predicate
    • Predicate A verb or verb phrase, or an adjective or adjective phrase, as the predicate
    • Object A noun, pronoun or noun phrase as the object
    • Attribute (describing a noun) A noun, an adjective phrase or an amount describing a noun
    • Adverbial (describing the verb) An adverb or adjective before the verb, and words of time or place before the verb
    • Amount Verb + Number of times
    • Simple sentences Subject + predicate, where the predicate is a verb
    • Simple sentences Subject + predicate, where the predicate is an adjective
    • Simple sentences Subject + predicate, where the predicate is a noun
    • Simple sentences Sentences that are not split into subject and predicate
    • Sentence types Statements
    • Questions Yes/no questions
    • Questions Questions with a question word
    • Questions Questions that put yes and no side by side (A-not-A)
    • Sentence types Commands and requests
    • Sentence types Exclamations
    • 是 sentences A is B: saying what something is or what kind it is
    • 有 sentences Having or owning something
    • Saying what is where Place + 是 + Noun
    • Saying what is where Place + 有 + Amount + Noun
    • Verbs in a row Two actions in order, the second being the purpose of the first
    • Verbs in a row The first action is the way the second is done
    • Two objects Subject + Verb + Object 1 + Object 2
    • No linking word Two clauses with no linking word
    • Side by side ……,也……
    • Side by side ……,还……
    • Completed A completed action, shown with 了
    • Change A change of situation, shown with 了 at the end of the sentence
    • In progress ……在/正在 + Verb
    • In progress ……在/正在 + Verb…… + 呢
    • In progress ……呢
    • Amounts Saying amounts of money
    • Order (first, second…) 第 + Number
    • Dates Saying the year, month, day and day of the week
    • Clock times Telling the time
  3. 3

    Week 3 Nov 23 – Nov 29

    Practice test week: no new material. Sit the test, then review what it shows you.

  4. 4

    Week 4 Nov 30 – Dec 12

    Practice test week: no new material. Sit the test, then review what it shows you.

How the plan is built

The words, writing characters and grammar points are the new HSK syllabus's own lists (新版HSK考试大纲, published November 2025 and used from July 2026), everything above your current level up to your target, one level at a time and in syllabus order. They are the same lists as the HSK 3.0 level pages. They are spread evenly over your weeks, so a week can straddle two levels, and that is why some weeks carry two level tags.

Week 1 starts on the day you make the plan, and the last week runs to the day before the exam. In a plan of four weeks or more the last two weeks have no new material: each has a practice test and time to review what it shows. A shorter plan has no room for that, so its tests sit beside the new words.

The minutes are our estimate, not the syllabus's: about three minutes for each new word, four for each writing character and ten for each grammar point, with the reviews that follow included. Everyone learns at a different speed, so treat it as a guide. When the material needs more time than you have, the page says so and shows the two simplest changes: a nearer level, or more minutes a day.

Questions people ask

Can I still get ready for the 13 December 2026 exam?

It depends on the level and the time you have each day. Put in the date, your level and your minutes, and the planner tells you plainly whether the material fits. If it does not, it shows the nearest level that does and how many minutes a day the one you picked would take.

Where do the numbers come from?

Every word, writing character and grammar point is counted from the new HSK syllabus (新版HSK考试大纲, published November 2025), the same lists as the HSK 3.0 level pages. The minutes are our estimate, not the syllabus's: about three minutes for each new word, four for each writing character and ten for each grammar point, review included.

Is learning the word list enough to pass?

No. The lists are what the exam draws on, but listening and reading are most of every paper. That is why the last two weeks are for practice tests, and why every word is worth hearing: each level page has audio and example sentences.

Does the planner save my plan?

Your plan and the weeks you tick off stay in your own browser and are never sent to us; coming back to this page shows it again. The calendar file is made in your browser too. Print the plan if you want it on paper.