HSK 3 is where it starts to feel like real Mandarin. 300 new words covering school, hobbies, opinions, future plans, and past events — enough to hold a real (if simple) conversation with a native speaker and to read short stories with help.
Practicing flashcards once won't stick. Bóyǎ schedules each word for spaced repetition so you review it exactly when you're about to forget. Free on every Bóyǎ plan.
Start studying free →HSK 3 maps to roughly CEFR A2/B1 and adds about 300 words. It builds directly on HSK 2 (daily-life Mandarin: time, places, simple opinions.), so work through that first if you haven't. Once it sticks, HSK 4 continues with mandarin you'd actually need in a Chinese-speaking workplace.
The fastest route through this list is spaced repetition: Bóyǎ schedules every word for the moment you are about to forget it rather than re-drilling words you already know. Tones are taught explicitly on every card, and each session ends with you producing the language out loud, not just recognising it.
At about 15 minutes a day, most learners clear HSK 3 in roughly 12 weeks — consistency matters more than long sessions.
HSK 3 is organised around 5 themes: School, Hobbies, Opinions, Past & future, Travel. Studying by theme keeps related words together so they reinforce each other.