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 1151–1200 of 1,978 · page 24 of 40
好像hǎoxiàngHSK 3as if
- as if
- to seem like
号码hàomǎHSK 3number
- number
- CL:堆,个
合适héshìHSK 3suitable
- suitable
- fitting
- appropriate
河héHSK 3river (CL:条,道)
- river (CL:条,道)
- (bound form) the Yellow River
- (bound form) the Milky Way
- (bound form) (on restaurant menus) rice noodles 河粉
黑板hēibǎnHSK 3blackboard
- blackboard
- CL:块,个
红绿灯hóng-lǜdēngHSK 3traffic light
- traffic light
- traffic signal
后来hòuláiHSK 3afterwards
- afterwards
- later
- newly arrived
后年hòuniánHSK 3the year after next
- the year after next
后天hòutiānHSK 3the day after tomorrow
- the day after tomorrow
- life after birth (the period in which one develops through experiences, contrasted with 先天)
- acquired (not innate or congenital)
- a posteriori
护照hùzhàoHSK 3passport
- passport
- CL:本,个
花园huāyuánHSK 3garden (for flowers, ornamental plants etc)
- garden (for flowers, ornamental plants etc)
- (landscaped) park
- yard with decorative plants
- CL:座
画家huàjiāHSK 3painter
- painter
- CL:个
欢迎huānyíngHSK 3to welcome
- to welcome
- welcome
环境huánjìngHSK 3environment
- environment
- circumstances
- surroundings
- CL:个
- ambient
换huànHSK 3to exchange
- to exchange
- to change (clothes etc)
- to substitute
- to switch
- to convert (currency)
黄色huángsèHSK 3yellow
- yellow
- vulgar
- lewd
- pornographic
回答huídáHSK 3to reply
- to reply
- to answer
- reply
- answer
会议huìyìHSK 3meeting
- meeting
- conference
- CL:场,届
或huòHSK 3maybe
- maybe
- perhaps
- might
- possibly
- or
或者huòzhěHSK 3or
- or
- possibly
- maybe
- perhaps
机会jīhuìHSK 3opportunity
- opportunity
- chance
- occasion
- CL:个
鸡jīHSK 3fowl
- fowl
- chicken
- CL:只
- (slang) prostitute
- variant of 鸡
极jíHSK 3extremely
- extremely
- pole (geography, physics)
- utmost
- top
急jíHSK 3urgent
- urgent
- pressing
- rapid
- hurried
- worried
- to make (sb) anxious
几乎jīhūHSK 3almost
- almost
- nearly
- practically
记jìHSK 3to record
- to record
- to note
- to memorize
- to remember
- mark
- sign
- classifier for blows, kicks, shots
季jìHSK 3season
- season
- the last month of a season
- fourth or youngest amongst brothers
- classifier for seasonal crop yields
- surname Ji
季节jìjiéHSK 3time
- time
- season
- period
- CL:个
加jiāHSK 3to add
- to add
- (math.) plus
- to increase
- to augment
- (used before a disyllabic verb, often after an adverb like 不, 大, 稍 etc, to indicate that the action applies to sth previously mentioned, as in 稍加改良 "make some minor improvements to (it)")
- Canada (abbr. for 加拿大)
- surname Jia
假期jiàqīHSK 3holiday period
- holiday period
- vacation
坚持jiānchíHSK 3to persevere with
- to persevere with
- to persist in
- to insist on
检查jiǎncháHSK 3inspection
- inspection
- to examine
- to inspect
- CL:次
检票jiǎnpiàoHSK 3to inspect a ticket
- to inspect a ticket
- to examine a ballot
简单jiǎndānHSK 3simple
- simple
- not complicated
见面jiànmiànHSK 3to meet
- to meet
- to see each other
- CL:次
健康jiànkāngHSK 3health
- health
- healthy
讲jiǎngHSK 3to speak
- to speak
- to explain
- to negotiate
- to emphasize
- to be particular about
- as far as sth is concerned
- speech
- lecture
角jiǎoHSK 3angle
- angle
- corner
- horn
- horn-shaped
- unit of money equal to 0.1 yuan, or 10 cents (a dime)
- CL:个
- role (theater)
- to compete
- ancient three legged wine vessel
- third note of pentatonic scale
- surname Jue
脚jiǎoHSK 3foot
- foot
- leg (of an animal or an object)
- base (of an object)
- CL:双,只
- classifier for kicks
- role (variant of 角)
接jiēHSK 3to receive
- to receive
- to answer (the phone)
- to meet or welcome sb
- to connect
- to catch
- to join
- to extend
- to take one's turn on duty
- to take over for sb
街jiēHSK 3street
- street
- CL:条
节jiéHSK 3joint
- joint
- node
- (bound form) section
- segment
- solar term (one of the 24 divisions of the year in the traditional Chinese calendar)
- seasonal festival
- (bound form) to economize
- to save
- (bound form) moral integrity
- chastity
- classifier for segments: lessons, train wagons, biblical verses etc
- knot (nautical miles per hour)
- see 节骨眼
节目jiémùHSK 3(TV or radio) program
- (TV or radio) program
- show
- item
- act
- segment
- number (on the program of a concert, variety show or cultural event)
- a planned activity (in one's schedule)
- CL:场,项,台,套,档
节日jiérìHSK 3holiday
- holiday
- festival
- CL:个
结婚jiéhūnHSK 3to marry
- to marry
- to get married
结束jiéshùHSK 3to end
- to end
- to finish
- to conclude
姐妹jiěmèiHSK 3sisters
- sisters
- siblings
- sister (school, city etc)
解决jiějuéHSK 3to solve
- to solve
- to resolve
- to settle (a problem)
- to eliminate
- to wipe out (an enemy, bandits etc)
借jièHSK 3to borrow
- to borrow
- (used in combination with 给 or 出 etc) to lend
- to make use of
- to avail oneself of
- (sometimes followed by 着) by
- with
- variant of 借
斤jīnHSK 3catty
- catty
- (PRC) weight equal to 500 g
- (Tw) weight equal to 600 g
- (HK, Malaysia, Singapore) slightly over 604 g
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.