HSK 4 Vocabulary List: 2,000 Words (HSK 3.0)
HSK 4 has 2,000 words in HSK 3.0, 1,000 of them new at this level (the old HSK 2.0 list had 1,200). Fluentide has 302 free stories at the Intermediate (HSK 4) level that use them, with transcript and pinyin.
By Haoshan Hong · Native Mandarin speaker · Updated October 2026
Hear HSK 4 words in a real story
胡迪尼的大象与好奇心
Economist Bartleby Column: Andrew Palmer on the Hidden Costs of Workplace Curiosity
2 min
What is on the HSK 4 word list?
The other 1,000 come from HSK 1–3. They cover opinion, comparison, and evaluation: the words you need to say what you think, not just what happened.
Scroll
HSK 4 word list
All 1,978 words from the official HSK 3.0 syllabus, the 990 new at HSK 4 first. The syllabus counts 2,000 because a few words are listed once per reading; here each appears once.
Pinyin from the syllabus, definitions from CC-CEDICT. Tap a word for its other senses.
Showing 451–500 of 1,978 · page 10 of 40
老家lǎojiāHSK 4native place
- native place
- place of origin
- home state or region
老年lǎoniánHSK 4elderly
- elderly
- old age
- autumn of one's years
老是lǎoshìHSK 4always
- always
冷静lěngjìngHSK 4calm
- calm
- cool-headed
- dispassionate
- (of a place) deserted
- quiet
礼貌lǐmàoHSK 4courtesy
- courtesy
- politeness
- manners
- courteous
- polite
理发lǐfàHSK 4to get a haircut
- to get a haircut
- to have one's hair done
- to cut (sb's) hair
- to give (sb) a haircut
理解lǐjiěHSK 4to comprehend
- to comprehend
- to understand
理想lǐxiǎngHSK 4an ideal
- an ideal
- a dream
- ideal
- perfect
力气lìqiHSK 4physical strength
- physical strength
厉害lìhaiHSK 4(used to describe sb or sth that makes a very strong impression, whether favorable or unfavorable) terrible
- (used to describe sb or sth that makes a very strong impression, whether favorable or unfavorable) terrible
- intense
- severe
- devastating
- amazing
- awesome
- outstanding
- (of a person) stern
- strict
- harsh
- shrewd
- tough
- (of an animal) fierce
- (of a resemblance) striking
- (of liquor or chili pepper) strong
- (of bacteria) virulent
例如lìrúHSK 4for example
- for example
- for instance
- such as
例子lìziHSK 4case
- case
- (for) instance
- example
- CL:个
俩liǎHSK 4two (colloquial equivalent of 两个)
- two (colloquial equivalent of 两个)
- both
- some
- used in 伎俩
连liánHSK 4even
- even
- to link
- to link
- to join
- to connect
- continuously
- in succession
- including
- (used with 也, 都 etc) even
- company (military)
- surname Lian
联系liánxìHSK 4connection
- connection
- contact
- relation
- to get in touch with
- to integrate
- to link
- to touch
凉liángHSK 4cool
- cool
- cold
- to let sth cool down
- the five Liang of the Sixteen Kingdoms, namely: Former Liang 前凉 (314-376), Later Liang 后凉 (386-403), Northern Liang 北凉 (398-439), Southern Liang 南凉 (397-414), Western Liang 西凉 (400-421)
亮liàngHSK 4bright
- bright
- light
- to shine
- to flash
- loud and clear
- to show (one's passport etc)
- to make public (one's views etc)
量liáng / liàngHSK 4amount
- amount
- quantity
- capacity
- quantity
- amount
- to estimate
- measure word
- to measure
- abbr. for 量词, classifier (in Chinese grammar)
列lièHSK 4to arrange
- to arrange
- to line up
- file
- series
- (in data tables) column
- (Tw) row
零花钱línghuāqiánHSK 4pocket money
- pocket money
- allowance
零钱língqiánHSK 4change (of money)
- change (of money)
- small change
- pocket money
零食língshíHSK 4snack
- snack
- nibbles
零下líng xiàHSK 4below zero (esp. temperature)
- below zero (esp. temperature)
另lìngHSK 4other
- other
- another
- separate
- separately
另外lìngwàiHSK 4additional
- additional
- in addition
- besides
- separate
- other
- moreover
- furthermore
流liúHSK 4to flow
- to flow
- to disseminate
- to circulate or spread
- to move or drift
- to degenerate
- to banish or send into exile
- stream of water or sth resembling one
- class, rate or grade
流利liúlìHSK 4fluent
- fluent
流行liúxíngHSK 4(of a contagious disease etc) to spread
- (of a contagious disease etc) to spread
- to propagate
- (of a style of clothing, song etc) popular
- fashionable
留liúHSK 4to leave (a message etc)
- to leave (a message etc)
- to retain
- to stay
- to remain
- to keep
- to preserve
- old variant of 留
- old variant of 留
留下liúxiaHSK 4to leave behind
- to leave behind
- to stay behind
- to remain
- to keep
- not to let (sb) go
路过lùguòHSK 4to pass by
- to pass by
- to pass through
旅馆lǚguǎnHSK 4hotel
- hotel
- CL:家
旅客lǚkèHSK 4traveler
- traveler
- tourist
旅行lǚxíngHSK 4to travel
- to travel
- journey
- trip
- CL:趟,次
律师lǜshīHSK 4lawyer
- lawyer
乱luànHSK 4in confusion or disorder
- in confusion or disorder
- in a confused state of mind
- disorder
- upheaval
- riot
- illicit sexual relations
- to throw into disorder
- to mix up
- indiscriminate
- random
- arbitrary
落luò / làHSK 4to fall or drop
- to fall or drop
- (of the sun) to set
- (of a tide) to go out
- to lower
- to decline or sink
- to lag or fall behind
- to fall onto
- to rest with
- to get or receive
- to write down
- whereabouts
- settlement
- to leave out
- to be missing
- to leave behind or forget to bring
- to lag or fall behind
- colloquial reading for 落 in certain compounds
麻烦máfanHSK 4trouble
- trouble
- inconvenience
- inconvenient
- troublesome
- annoying
- to bother sb
- to put sb to trouble
馒头mántouHSK 4steamed bun
- steamed bun
满mǎnHSK 4to fill
- to fill
- full
- filled
- packed
- fully
- completely
- quite
- to reach the limit
- to satisfy
- satisfied
- contented
- Manchu ethnic group
毛巾máojīnHSK 4towel
- towel
- CL:条
毛衣máoyīHSK 4(wool) sweater
- (wool) sweater
- CL:件
帽子màoziHSK 4hat
- hat
- cap
- (fig.) label
- bad name
- CL:顶
美měiHSK 4beautiful
- beautiful
- very satisfactory
- good
- to beautify
- to be pleased with oneself
- (bound form) the Americas (abbr. for 美洲)
- (bound form) USA (abbr. for 美国)
美好měihǎoHSK 4beautiful
- beautiful
- fine
美景měijǐngHSK 4beautiful scenery
- beautiful scenery
美丽měilìHSK 4beautiful
- beautiful
美食měishíHSK 4culinary delicacy
- culinary delicacy
- fine food
- gourmet food
梦mèngHSK 4dream (CL:场)
- dream (CL:场)
- (bound form) to dream
梦想mèngxiǎngHSK 4(fig.) to dream of
- (fig.) to dream of
- dream
Stories that use these HSK 4 words
Each one is a Fluentide Intermediate (HSK 4) story, written inside that word band. Press play; the first few need no account.
HSK 2 Chinese listening episodes
HSK 3 Chinese listening episodes
HSK 4 Chinese listening episodes
HSK 5+ Chinese listening episodes
How to actually learn HSK 4 vocabulary
Reading a word on a page and catching it at speed in a sentence are different skills. The HSK listening section tests the second.
Scroll
The method in practice
Hear HSK 4 vocabulary in real Mandarin
Each HSK 4 episode uses this word band, with the transcript, pinyin and line-by-line English. Five free episodes after a one-tap magic-link sign-in — no password, no payment.