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HSK 4 Vocabulary

HSK 4 Vocabulary List: 1,200 Words

HSK 4 assumes 1,200 cumulative words — 600 of them new at this level. They cover opinion, comparison, and evaluation — the abstract vocabulary you need to say what you think, not just what happened.

By Haoshan HongNative Mandarin speakerUpdated July 2026

What is on the HSK 4 word list?

The HSK word lists are published and cumulative, which is what makes the exam a finite target. HSK 4 assumes 1,200 words in total — 600 of them introduced at this level.

They cover opinion, comparison, and evaluation — the abstract vocabulary you need to say what you think, not just what happened.

HSK proficiency ladderThe six HSK levels with cumulative vocabulary requirements: HSK 1 requires 150 words, HSK 2 requires 300, HSK 3 requires 600, HSK 4 requires 1,200, HSK 5 requires 2,500, and HSK 6 requires 5,000 words. Word counts follow the official Hanban HSK 2.0 standard.HSK levels by cumulative vocabularyHSK 1beginner150 wordsHSK 2elementary300 wordsHSK 3pre-intermediate600 wordsHSK 4intermediate1,200 wordsHSK 5upper-intermediate2,500 wordsHSK 6advanced5,000 wordsSource: Hanban HSK 2.0 standard
Cumulative vocabulary required at each HSK level — bar width is proportional to the word count.

HSK 4 word list

All 1,193 entries below, straight from the official Hanban HSK 2.0 list. The 598 words new at HSK 4 come first, then earlier levels.

Pinyin and definitions come from CC-CEDICT. Tap any word to see its other senses without leaving the list. Words with a full Fluentide entry — character breakdown, usage notes, example sentences — link out from there.

Showing 751800 of 1,193 · page 16 of 24

liàngHSK 3

classifier for vehicles

邻居línjūHSK 3

neighbor

lóuHSK 3

surname Lou

绿HSK 3

used in names

HSK 3

surname Ma

  • surname Ma
  • abbr. for Malaysia 马来西亚
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
马上mǎshàngHSK 3

at once

  • at once
  • right away
  • immediately
  • on horseback (i.e. by military force)
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
满意mǎnyìHSK 3

satisfied

  • satisfied
  • pleased
  • to one's satisfaction
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
帽子màoziHSK 3

hat

HSK 3

surname Mi

面包miànbāoHSK 3

bread

面条miàntiáoHSK 3

noodles

明白míngbaiHSK 3

clear

  • clear
  • obvious
  • unequivocal
  • sensible
  • reasonable
  • to understand
  • to realize
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
HSK 3

old variant of 拿

奶奶nǎinaiHSK 3

(informal) grandma (paternal grandmother)

  • (informal) grandma (paternal grandmother)
  • (respectful) mistress of the house
  • CL:位
  • (coll.) boobies
  • breasts
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
nánHSK 3

surname Nan

nánHSK 3

difficult (to...)

  • difficult (to...)
  • problem
  • difficulty
  • difficult
  • not good
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
难过nánguòHSK 3

to feel sad

  • to feel sad
  • to feel unwell
  • (of life) to be difficult
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
年级niánjíHSK 3

grade

  • grade
  • year (in school, college etc)
  • CL:个
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
年轻niánqīngHSK 3

young

diǎoHSK 3

penis

努力nǔlìHSK 3

to make an effort

  • to make an effort
  • to try hard
  • to strive
  • hard-working
  • conscientious
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
爬山páshānHSK 3

to go for a hike (esp. in the hills or mountains)

  • to go for a hike (esp. in the hills or mountains)
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
盘子pánziHSK 3

tray

pánHSK 3

healthy

啤酒píjiǔHSK 3

beer (loanword)

  • beer (loanword)
  • CL:杯,瓶,罐,桶,缸
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
葡萄pútaoHSK 3

grape

普通话pǔtōnghuàHSK 3

Mandarin (common language)

  • Mandarin (common language)
  • Putonghua (common speech of the Chinese language)
  • ordinary speech
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
其实qíshíHSK 3

actually

其他qítāHSK 3

other

奇怪qíguàiHSK 3

strange

HSK 3

(Tw) saddle horse

铅笔qiānbǐHSK 3

(lead) pencil

清楚qīngchuHSK 3

clear

  • clear
  • distinct
  • to understand thoroughly
  • to be clear about
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
qiūHSK 3

surname Qiu

裙子qúnziHSK 3

skirt

然后ránhòuHSK 3

then

热情rèqíngHSK 3

cordial

  • cordial
  • enthusiastic
  • passion
  • passionate
  • passionately
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
认为rènwéiHSK 3

to believe

  • to believe
  • to think
  • to consider
  • to feel
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
认真rènzhēnHSK 3

conscientious

  • conscientious
  • earnest
  • serious
  • to take seriously
  • to take to heart
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
容易róngyìHSK 3

easy

  • easy
  • straightforward
  • likely
  • liable to
  • apt to
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
如果rúguǒHSK 3

if

sǎnHSK 3

umbrella

上网shàngwǎngHSK 3

to go online

  • to go online
  • to connect to the Internet
  • (of a document etc) to be uploaded to the Internet
  • (tennis, volleyball etc) to move in close to the net
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
生气shēngqìHSK 3

to get angry

  • to get angry
  • to be furious
  • vitality
  • liveliness
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
声音shēngyīnHSK 3

voice

使shǐHSK 3

to make

  • to make
  • to cause
  • to enable
  • to use
  • to employ
  • to send
  • to instruct sb to do sth
  • envoy
  • messenger
世界shìjièHSK 3

world

shòuHSK 3

thin

  • thin
  • to lose weight
  • (of clothing) tight
  • (of meat) lean
  • (of land) unproductive
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
叔叔shūshuHSK 3

father's younger brother

  • father's younger brother
  • paternal uncle
  • form of address used by children for a male one generation older
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
舒服shūfuHSK 3

comfortable

How to actually learn HSK 4 vocabulary

A word list is a checklist, not a method. Recognising a word on a page is a different skill from catching it at speed in a sentence — and the HSK listening section only tests the second one.

1

Read the list once, do not memorise it

You are looking for which words feel unfamiliar, not trying to learn them here.

2

Listen at your level daily

Fluentide's HSK 4 episodes are written inside this vocabulary band, so the words arrive in sentences instead of flashcards.

3

Look a word up only after you have heard it

A word you have already met in audio sticks in one reading. A word you meet cold takes many.

4

Come back to this list monthly

Use it as a progress check, not a study plan. The gaps you find are what to listen for next.

The method in practice

Hear HSK 4 vocabulary in real Mandarin

Every HSK 4 episode is written inside this word band and read at HSK 4 speed, so words stick because you have heard them in a sentence. Full transcript, pinyin toggle, and line-by-line English on every episode. Five free episodes after a one-tap magic-link sign-in — no password, no payment.

More HSK 4