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 51–100 of 1,978 · page 2 of 40
不论búlùnHSK 4whatever
- whatever
- no matter what (who, how etc)
- regardless of
- not to discuss
不满bùmǎnHSK 4dissatisfied
- dissatisfied
- discontented
- resentful
- (before a number) to be less than
不如bùrúHSK 4not equal to
- not equal to
- not as good as
- inferior to
- it would be better to
步bùHSK 4a step
- a step
- a pace
- walk
- march
- stages in a process
- situation
- surname Bu
部bùHSK 4classifier for films and books
- classifier for films and books
- part
- ministry
- ministry
- department
- section
- part
- division
- troops
- board
- classifier for works of literature, films, machines etc
部分bùfenHSK 4part
- part
- portion
- piece
- Taiwan pr.
部门bùménHSK 4department
- department
- branch
- section
- division
- CL:个
擦cāHSK 4to rub
- to rub
- to scratch
- to wipe
- to polish
- to apply (lipstick, lotion etc)
- to brush (past)
- to shred (a vegetable etc)
猜cāiHSK 4to guess
材料cáiliàoHSK 4(raw) material
- (raw) material
- data
- (fig.) person who has the potential to do the job
参观cānguānHSK 4to visit (a place, e.g. museum or factory)
- to visit (a place, e.g. museum or factory)
- to tour
- to look around
参赛cānsàiHSK 4to compete
- to compete
- to take part in a competition
餐厅cāntīngHSK 4dining hall
- dining hall
- dining room
- restaurant
- CL:间,家
操场cāochǎngHSK 4playground
- playground
- sports field
- drill ground
- CL:个
厕所cèsuǒHSK 4toilet
- toilet
- lavatory
- CL:间,处
查看chákànHSK 4to look over
- to look over
- to examine
- to check up
- to ferret out
查找cházhǎoHSK 4to search for
- to search for
- to look up
茶叶cháyèHSK 4tea
- tea
- tea leaves
- CL:盒,罐,包,片
差点儿chàdiǎnrHSK 4almost
- almost
- nearly
产生chǎnshēngHSK 4to arise
- to arise
- to come into being
- to come about
- to give rise to
- to bring into being
- to bring about
- to produce
- to engender
- to generate
厂chǎngHSK 4factory
- factory
- yard
- depot
- workhouse
- works
- (industrial) plant
- "cliff" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 27), occurring in 原, 历, 压 etc
场chǎngHSK 4large place used for a specific purpose
- large place used for a specific purpose
- stage
- scene (of a play)
- classifier for sporting or recreational activities
- classifier for number of exams
- threshing floor
- classifier for events and happenings: spell, episode, bout
- variant of 场
- variant of 场
超过chāoguòHSK 4to surpass
- to surpass
- to exceed
- to outstrip
车速chēsùHSK 4vehicle speed
- vehicle speed
车位chēwèiHSK 4parking spot
- parking spot
- unloading point
- garage place
- stand for taxi
成功chénggōngHSK 4to succeed
- to succeed
- success
- successful
- fruitful
成为chéngwéiHSK 4to become
- to become
- to turn into
诚实chéngshíHSK 4honest
城chéngHSK 4city walls
- city walls
- city
- town
- CL:座,道,个
乘chéngHSK 4to ride
- to ride
- to mount
- to make use of
- to avail oneself of
- to take advantage of
- to multiply (math.)
- Buddhist sect or creed
- surname Cheng
- generic term for history books
- (archaic) four horse military chariot
- (archaic) four
- old variant of 乘
乘客chéngkèHSK 4passenger
- passenger
乘坐chéngzuòHSK 4to take (a ship, plane etc)
- to take (a ship, plane etc)
- to ride (in a train or other vehicle)
吃惊chījīngHSK 4to be startled
- to be startled
- to be shocked
- to be amazed
迟chíHSK 4late
- late
- delayed
- slow
- surname Chi
出差chūchāiHSK 4to go on an official or business trip
- to go on an official or business trip
出口chūkǒuHSK 4an exit
- an exit
- CL:个
- to speak
- to export
- (of a ship) to leave port
出现chūxiànHSK 4to appear
- to appear
- to arise
- to emerge
- to show up
出行chūxíngHSK 4to go out somewhere (relatively short trip)
- to go out somewhere (relatively short trip)
- to set off on a journey (longer trip)
出租chūzūHSK 4to rent
- to rent
厨房chúfángHSK 4kitchen
厨师chúshīHSK 4cook
- cook
- chef
窗chuāngHSK 4window
- window
- CL:扇
- old variant of 窗
- variant of 窗
- variant of 窗
- variant of 窗
窗户chuānghuHSK 4window
- window
- CL:个,扇
吹chuīHSK 4to blow
- to blow
- to play a wind instrument
- to blast
- to puff
- to boast
- to brag
- to end in failure
- to fall through
词语cíyǔHSK 4word (general term including monosyllables through to short phrases)
- word (general term including monosyllables through to short phrases)
- term (e.g. technical term)
- expression
此cǐHSK 4this
- this
- these
此次cǐ cìHSK 4this time
- this time
此外cǐwàiHSK 4besides
- besides
- in addition
- moreover
- furthermore
从此cóngcǐHSK 4from now on
- from now on
- since then
- henceforth
从来cóngláiHSK 4always
- always
- at all times
- never (if used in negative sentence)
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.