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.
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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 651–700 of 1,978 · page 14 of 40
十字路口shízì lùkǒuHSK 4crossroads
- crossroads
- intersection
时间表shíjiānbiǎoHSK 4schedule
- schedule
- timetable
实际shíjìHSK 4reality
- reality
- practice
- practical
- realistic
- real
- actual
实际上shíjìshàngHSK 4in fact
- in fact
- in reality
- as a matter of fact
- in practice
实在shízàiHSK 4really
- really
- actually
- indeed
- true
- real
- honest
- dependable
- (philosophy) reality
食品shípǐnHSK 4foodstuff
- foodstuff
- food
- provisions
食堂shítángHSK 4dining hall
- dining hall
- cafeteria
- CL:个,间
食物shíwùHSK 4food
- food
使shǐHSK 4to make
- to make
- to cause
- to enable
- to use
- to employ
- to send
- to instruct sb to do sth
- envoy
- messenger
使馆shǐguǎnHSK 4consulate
- consulate
- diplomatic mission
使用shǐyòngHSK 4to use
- to use
- to employ
- to apply
- to make use of
世纪shìjìHSK 4century
- century
市场shìchǎngHSK 4marketplace
- marketplace
- market
- bazaar
- (economics) market
市区shìqūHSK 4urban district
- urban district
- downtown
- city center
视频shìpínHSK 4video
- video
试题shìtíHSK 4exam question
- exam question
- test topic
是否shìfǒuHSK 4whether (or not)
- whether (or not)
- if
- is or isn't
适合shìhéHSK 4to fit
- to fit
- to suit
适应shìyìngHSK 4to adapt
- to adapt
- to fit
- to suit
收费shōufèiHSK 4to charge a fee
- to charge a fee
收入shōurùHSK 4to take in
- to take in
- income
- revenue
- CL:笔,个
收拾shōushiHSK 4to put in order
- to put in order
- to tidy up
- to pack
- to repair
- (coll.) to sort sb out
- to fix sb
收听shōutīngHSK 4to listen to (a radio broadcast)
- to listen to (a radio broadcast)
首shǒuHSK 4classifier for songs and poems
- classifier for songs and poems
- head
- first
- head
- chief
- first (occasion, thing etc)
- classifier for poems, songs etc
首都shǒudūHSK 4capital (city)
- capital (city)
- CL:个
首先shǒuxiānHSK 4first of all
- first of all
- in the first place
受不了shòubuliǎoHSK 4unbearable
- unbearable
- unable to endure
- can't stand
受伤shòushāngHSK 4to sustain injuries
- to sustain injuries
- wounded (in an accident etc)
- harmed
售票员shòupiàoyuánHSK 4ticket seller
- ticket seller
输shūHSK 4to lose
- to lose
- to be beaten
- (bound form) to transport
- (coll.) to enter (a password)
- (literary) to donate
- to contribute
熟shú/shóuHSK 4ripe
- ripe
- mature
- thoroughly cooked
- done
- familiar
- acquainted
- experienced
- skilled
- (of sleep etc) deep
- profound
- also pr.
熟悉shúxiHSK 4to be familiar with
- to be familiar with
- to know well
暑假shǔjiàHSK 4summer vacation
- summer vacation
- CL:个
树林shùlínHSK 4woods
- woods
- grove
- forest
数shù / shǔHSK 4number
- number
- figure
- several
- a few
- to count
- to count as
- to regard as
- to enumerate
- to list
- (literary) frequently
- repeatedly
数量shùliàngHSK 4amount
- amount
- quantity
- quantitative
- (math.) scalar quantity
数字shùzìHSK 4numeral
- numeral
- digit
- number
- figure
- amount
- digital (electronics etc)
- CL:个
帅shuàiHSK 4(bound form) commander-in-chief
- (bound form) commander-in-chief
- (bound form) to lead
- to command
- handsome
- graceful
- dashing
- elegant
- (coll.) cool!
- sweet!
- (Chinese chess) general (on the red side, equivalent to a king in Western chess)
- surname Shuai
顺便shùnbiànHSK 4conveniently
- conveniently
- in passing
- without much extra effort
顺利shùnlìHSK 4smoothly
- smoothly
- without a hitch
顺序shùnxùHSK 4sequence
- sequence
- order
说法shuōfǎHSK 4way of speaking
- way of speaking
- wording
- formulation
- one's version (of events)
- statement
- theory
- hypothesis
- interpretation
说明shuōmíngHSK 4to explain
- to explain
- to illustrate
- to indicate
- to show
- to prove
- explanation
- directions
- caption
- CL:个
说明书shuōmíngshūHSK 4(technical) manual
- (technical) manual
- (book of) directions
- synopsis (of a play or film)
- specification (patent)
- CL:本
硕士shuòshìHSK 4master's degree
- master's degree
- person who has a master's degree
- learned person
死sǐHSK 4to die
- to die
- impassable
- uncrossable
- inflexible
- rigid
- extremely
- damned
速度sùdùHSK 4speed
- speed
- rate
- velocity
- (music) tempo
塑料sùliàoHSK 4plastic
- plastic
- plastics (general term for synthetic polymer materials)
酸suānHSK 4sour
- sour
- tart
- sick at heart
- grieved
- sore
- aching
- pedantic
- impractical
- to make sarcastic remarks about sb
- an acid
酸奶suānnǎiHSK 4yogurt
- yogurt
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.
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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.