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 1001–1050 of 1,978 · page 21 of 40
办法bànfǎHSK 3way of handling sth
- way of handling sth
- means
- measure
- (practical) solution to a problem
- CL:条
办公室bàngōngshìHSK 3office
- office
- business premises
半天bàntiānHSK 3half of the day
- half of the day
- a long time
- quite a while
- midair
- CL:个
帮助bāngzhùHSK 3assistance
- assistance
- aid
- to help
- to assist
饱bǎoHSK 3to eat till full
- to eat till full
- satisfied
报纸bàozhǐHSK 3newspaper
- newspaper
- newsprint
- CL:份,期,张
北běiHSK 3north
- north
- (classical) to be defeated
北方běifāngHSK 3north
- north
- the northern part a country
- China north of the Yellow River
被bèiHSK 3by (marks the passive)
- by (marks the passive)
- quilt
- to cover (with)
- used to indicate passive voice (placed before the doer of the action like "by" in English passive-voice sentences, or, if the doer is not mentioned, before the verb)
- (since c. 2009) (sarcastic or jocular) used to indicate that the following word should be regarded as being in air quotes (as in 被旅游 to "go on a trip")
- (literary) to suffer (a misfortune)
比较bǐjiàoHSK 3to compare
- to compare
- to contrast
- comparatively
- relatively
- quite
- comparison
比如bǐrúHSK 3for example
- for example
- for instance
- such as
比赛bǐsàiHSK 3competition (sports etc)
- competition (sports etc)
- match
- CL:场,次
- to compete
笔记bǐjìHSK 3to take down (in writing)
- to take down (in writing)
- notes
- a type of literature consisting mainly of short sketches
- CL:本
笔记本bǐjìběnHSK 3notebook (stationery) (CL:本)
- notebook (stationery) (CL:本)
- (computing) laptop
- notebook (abbr. for 笔记本电脑)
必须bìxūHSK 3must
- must
- to have to
变biànHSK 3to change
- to change
- to become different
- to transform
- to vary
- rebellion
变成biànchéngHSK 3to change into
- to change into
- to turn into
- to become
变化biànhuàHSK 3(intransitive) to change
- (intransitive) to change
- to vary
- change
- variation
遍biànHSK 3everywhere
- everywhere
- all over
- classifier for actions: one time
- variant of 遍
表演biǎoyǎnHSK 3play
- play
- show
- performance
- exhibition
- to perform
- to act
- to demonstrate
- CL:场
别的biédeHSK 3else
- else
- other
别人biérénHSK 3other people
- other people
- others
- other person
宾馆bīnguǎnHSK 3guesthouse
- guesthouse
- lodge
- hotel
- CL:个,家
冰bīngHSK 3ice
- ice
- CL:块
- to chill sth
- (of an object or substance) to feel cold
- (of a person) cold
- unfriendly
- (slang) methamphetamine
- variant of 冰
冰激凌bīngjīlíngHSK 3ice cream
- ice cream
冰箱bīngxiāngHSK 3refrigerator
- refrigerator
- (old) icebox
病人bìngrénHSK 3sick person
- sick person
- patient
- invalid
- CL:个
不但búdànHSK 3not only (... but also ...)
- not only (... but also ...)
不见bújiànHSK 3not to see
- not to see
- not to meet
- to have disappeared
- to be missing
不久bùjiǔHSK 3not long (after)
- not long (after)
- before too long
- soon
- soon after
不同bù tóngHSK 3different
- different
- distinct
- not the same
- not alike
不行bùxíngHSK 3won't do
- won't do
- be out of the question
- be no good
- not work
- not be capable
不用búyòngHSK 3need not
- need not
才cáiHSK 3only then
- only then
- just
- only
- ability
- talent
- sb of a certain type
- a capable individual
- then and only then
- just now
- (before an expression of quantity) only
- (emphatic, esp. in contrast or correction) really
- actually
- (variant of 才) just now
- (variant of 才) (before an expression of quantity) only
菜单càidānHSK 3menu
参加cānjiāHSK 3to participate
- to participate
- to take part
- to join
草cǎoHSK 3grass
- grass
- straw
- manuscript
- draft (of a document)
- careless
- rough
- CL:棵,撮,株,根
- variant of 草
- variant of 肏
草地cǎodìHSK 3lawn
- lawn
- meadow
- sod
- turf
- CL:片
层céngHSK 3to pile on top of one another
- to pile on top of one another
- layer
- stratum
- floor (of a building)
- story
- (math.) sheaf
- classifier for layers
查cháHSK 3to research
- to research
- to check
- to investigate
- to examine
- to refer to
- to look up (e.g. a word in a dictionary)
- surname Zha
- variant of 楂
差chàHSK 3poor
- poor
- bad
- short of
- different
- wrong
- mistaken
- to fall short
- to lack
- not up to standard
- inferior
- Taiwan pr.
- difference
- discrepancy
- (math.) difference (amount remaining after a subtraction)
- (literary) a little
- somewhat
- slightly
- to send (on an errand)
- job
- official post
- (archaic) person sent on such an errand
- used in 参差
差不多chàbuduōHSK 3almost
- almost
- nearly
- more or less
- about the same
- good enough
- not bad
尝chángHSK 3to taste
- to taste
- to try (food)
- to experience
- (literary) ever
- once
- to taste
- to experience (variant of 尝)
- old variant of 尝
常chángHSK 3always
- always
- ever
- often
- frequently
- common
- general
- constant
- surname Chang
常常chángchángHSK 3frequently
- frequently
- often
常见cháng jiànHSK 3commonly seen
- commonly seen
- common
- to see sth frequently
常用cháng yòngHSK 3in common usage
- in common usage
衬衫chènshānHSK 3shirt
- shirt
- blouse
- CL:件
成绩chéngjìHSK 3achievement
- achievement
- performance records
- grades
- CL:项,个
城市chéngshìHSK 3city
- city
- town
- CL:座
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.