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 801–850 of 1,978 · page 17 of 40
项xiàngHSK 4item
- item
- classifier for tasks and projects
- back of neck
- item
- thing
- term (in a mathematical formula)
- sum (of money)
- classifier for principles, items, clauses, tasks, research projects etc
- surname Xiang
消息xiāoxiHSK 4(piece of) news
- (piece of) news
- information
- message
- CL:条
小吃xiǎochīHSK 4street food
- street food
- snack
小伙子xiǎohuǒziHSK 4(coll.) young man
- (coll.) young man
- young fellow
- lad
小说xiǎoshuōHSK 4novel
- novel
- fiction
- CL:本,部
小组xiǎozǔHSK 4group
- group
效果xiàoguǒHSK 4result
- result
- effect
- efficacy
- (theater) sound or visual effects
笑话xiàohuaHSK 4joke
- joke
- jest
- to laugh at
- to mock
- ridiculous
- absurd
心xīnHSK 4heart
- heart
- mind
- intention
- center
- core
- CL:颗,个
心情xīnqíngHSK 4mood
- mood
- frame of mind
辛苦xīnkǔHSK 4exhausting
- exhausting
- hard
- tough
- arduous
- to work hard
- to go to a lot of trouble
- hardship(s)
信号xìnhàoHSK 4signal
- signal
信息xìnxīHSK 4information
- information
- news
- message
信心xìnxīnHSK 4confidence
- confidence
- faith (in sb or sth)
- CL:个
星星xīngxingHSK 4(coll.) a star
- (coll.) a star
- the stars in the sky
醒xǐngHSK 4to wake up
- to wake up
- to be awake
- to become aware
- to sober up
- to come to
兴奋xīngfènHSK 4excited
- excited
- excitement
- (physiology) excitation
幸福xìngfúHSK 4happiness
- happiness
- happy
- blessed
性xìngHSK 4nature
- nature
- character
- property
- quality
- attribute
- sexuality
- sex
- gender
- suffix forming adjective from verb
- suffix forming noun from adjective, corresponding to -ness or -ity
- essence
- CL:个
性别xìngbiéHSK 4sex
- sex
- gender
性格xìnggéHSK 4nature
- nature
- disposition
- temperament
- character
- CL:个
兄弟xiōngdìHSK 4brothers
- brothers
- younger brother
- CL:个
- I, me (humble term used by men in public speech)
- brotherly
- fraternal
熊xióngHSK 4bear
- bear
- (coll.) to scold
- to rebuke
- (coll.) weak
- incapable
- surname Xiong
修xiūHSK 4to decorate
- to decorate
- to embellish
- to repair
- to build
- to write
- to cultivate
- to study
- to take (a class)
- surname Xiu
- variant of 修
修理xiūlǐHSK 4to repair
- to repair
- to fix
- to prune
- to trim
- (coll.) to sort sb out
- to fix sb
许多xǔduōHSK 4many
- many
- a lot of
- much
学费xuéfèiHSK 4tuition fee
- tuition fee
- tuition
- CL:个
学院xuéyuànHSK 4college
- college
- educational institute
- school
- faculty
- CL:所
血xiěHSK 4blood (CL:滴)
- blood (CL:滴)
- colloquial pr. or
压yāHSK 4to press
- to press
- to push down
- to keep under (control)
- pressure
- used in 压根儿
- used in 压马路
- used in 压板
压力yālìHSK 4pressure
- pressure
牙膏yágāoHSK 4toothpaste
- toothpaste
- CL:管
亚洲YàzhōuHSK 4Asia (abbr. for 亚细亚洲)
- Asia (abbr. for 亚细亚洲)
烟yānHSK 4cigarette or pipe tobacco
- cigarette or pipe tobacco
- CL:根
- smoke
- mist
- vapour
- CL:缕
- tobacco plant
- (of the eyes) to be irritated by smoke
- tobacco (variant of 烟)
严格yángéHSK 4strict
- strict
- stringent
- tight
- rigorous
严重yánzhòngHSK 4grave
- grave
- serious
- severe
- critical
研究yánjiūHSK 4research
- research
- a study
- CL:项
- to research
- to look into
研究生yánjiūshēngHSK 4graduate student
- graduate student
- postgraduate student
- research student
盐yánHSK 4salt
- salt
- CL:粒
眼镜yǎnjìngHSK 4spectacles
- spectacles
- eyeglasses
- CL:副
眼前yǎnqiánHSK 4before one's eyes
- before one's eyes
- now
- at present
演yǎnHSK 4to perform (a play etc)
- to perform (a play etc)
- to stage (a show)
- (bound form) to develop
- to play out
- to carry out (a task)
演唱yǎnchàngHSK 4to sing (for an audience)
- to sing (for an audience)
- vocal performance
演出yǎnchūHSK 4to act (in a play)
- to act (in a play)
- to perform
- to put on (a performance)
- performance
- concert
- show
- CL:场,次
演员yǎnyuánHSK 4actor
- actor
- actress
- performer
阳光yángguāngHSK 4sunshine
- sunshine
- (of personality) upbeat
- energetic
- transparent (open to public scrutiny)
养成yǎngchéngHSK 4to cultivate
- to cultivate
- to raise
- to form (a habit)
- to acquire
样子yàngziHSK 4appearance
- appearance
- manner
- pattern
- model
邀请yāoqǐngHSK 4to invite
- to invite
- invitation
- CL:个
要是yàoshiHSK 4(coll.) if
- (coll.) if
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.