HSK 3.0 Handwriting: The 100 Characters You Must Write for Levels 1–2
The official HSK Syllabus (CLEC, 2025) has two character lists: characters you must recognise, and a much smaller list you must write. For Levels 1 and 2 the writing list is exactly 100 characters, and they are all below.
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When is handwriting tested?
The syllabus publishes one combined writing list for Levels 1–2 (100 characters).
The published sample papers show no writing section at Level 1 (listening and reading only). The writing section starts at Level 2.
At Level 2 you see a sentence where the missing word is given in pinyin only, and you write the character from memory. There is no copying task. Example: 你想喝（ chá ）还是喝咖啡？ Answer: 茶.
So if you are working on Level 1 now, starting these 100 characters early is a head start, not a requirement.
Most are short, high-frequency characters (人, 口, 大, 小, 中, 日, 月), and many reappear as components in thousands of others. For stroke-order basics see Chinese characters for beginners, or watch animated stroke order in the free Hanzi trial.
How the writing list grows
Level
Characters added
Cumulative
Levels 1–2 (shared list)
100
100
Level 3
150
250
Level 4
150
400
Level 5
150
550
Level 6
150
700
Levels 7–9 (shared list)
500
1200
Even at Levels 7–9 the writing list stops at 1,200 characters, far fewer than you must recognise.
A 20-day plan (15 minutes a day)
Days 1–5: 5 characters a day, stroke order first (horizontal before vertical, top to bottom, left to right, outside before inside).
Days 6–15: 7 characters a day, then write yesterday's characters from memory using only pinyin prompts.
Days 16–20: gap-fill drills only, exactly like the exam: pinyin in, character out.
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Character list: official HSK Syllabus (CLEC, published November 2025), section HSK Levels 1–2 writing characters. Exam format: published HSK 3.0 sample papers. ACA Chinese is independent and not affiliated with the test organiser.
