Where the map comes from

The word lists

The map follows the official HSK 3.0 syllabus: all 11,147 words across its seven bands, each with pinyin and part of speech read from the official list files. The older HSK 2.0 levels are kept alongside as a second track, so if your textbook or exam date still runs on the old lists, you can study those too.

English glosses start from the CC-CEDICT dictionary (Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0) and are edited by hand for classroom fit. Spot a gloss that reads oddly? Tell us and we fix it.

HearMandarin is an independent study aid. We are not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the organizers of the HSK exam.

Sentences and stories

Every example sentence, reader, and survival scene is written in-house, then machine-checked against the official word lists for its level. If a page says Band 2, every word on it is Band 2. That check is a gate, not a vibe, which is why the readers carry a machine-checked badge.

The audio

All audio on the site is synthesized here, with our own cloned voice, and then reviewed by human ears before it ships. Slow playback is a built in player feature on the site; offline files are normal speed studio recordings.

Corrections

Official lists get revised, and we re-read them when they do; every check is dated on the HSK 3.0 status page. Spotted something wrong? Tell [email protected] and we will fix it and say so.