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 1501–1550 of 1,978 · page 31 of 40
床chuángHSK 2bed
- bed
- couch (furniture that one can lie down on) (CL:张)
- bed
- bottom (of rivers, oceans, gardens etc)
- frame
- chassis
- classifier for blankets, quilts etc
- variant of 床
词cíHSK 2word
- word
- statement
- speech
- lyrics
- a form of lyric poetry, flourishing in the Song dynasty 宋朝 (CL:首)
- old variant of 词
次cìHSK 2time (occurrence)
- time (occurrence)
- next in sequence
- second
- the second (day, time etc)
- secondary
- vice-
- sub-
- infra-
- inferior quality
- substandard
- order
- sequence
- hypo- (chemistry)
- classifier for enumerated events: time
从cóngHSK 2from
- from
- through
- via
- (bound form) to follow
- (bound form) to obey
- (bound form) to engage in (an activity)
- (used before a negative) ever
- (bound form) (Taiwan pr. ) retainer
- attendant
- (bound form) (Taiwan pr. ) assistant
- auxiliary
- subordinate
- (bound form) (Taiwan pr. ) related by common paternal grandfather or earlier ancestor
- surname Cong
- variant of 从
从小cóngxiǎoHSK 2from childhood
- from childhood
- from a young age
错cuòHSK 2mistake
- mistake
- wrong
- bad
- interlocking
- complex
- to grind
- to polish
- to alternate
- to stagger
- to miss
- to let slip
- to evade
- to inlay with gold or silver
- surname Cuo
打dǎHSK 2to hit
- to hit
- to strike
- to fight
- (in many expressions) a semantically light transitive verb used with various objects to form expressions with a wide range of meanings, e.g. 打伞 "to hold an umbrella", 打电话 "to make a phone call", 打针 "to get an injection"
- (coll.) from
- since
- (loanword) dozen
- Taiwan pr.
打车dǎchēHSK 2to take a taxi (in town)
- to take a taxi (in town)
- to hitch a lift
打开dǎkāiHSK 2to open
- to open
- to show (a ticket)
- to turn on
- to switch on
但dànHSK 2but
- but
- yet
- however
- still
- merely
- only
- just
但是dànshìHSK 2but
得de / dé / děiHSK 2to obtain
- to obtain
- to get
- to gain
- to catch (a disease)
- proper
- suitable
- proud
- contented
- to allow
- to permit
- ready
- finished
- structural particle: used after a verb (or adjective as main verb), linking it to following phrase indicating effect, degree, possibility etc
- to have to
- must
- ought to
- to need to
- used in 得瑟
地de / dìHSK 2earth
- earth
- ground
- field
- place
- land
- CL:片
- -ly
- structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct
地铁dìtiěHSK 2underground railway
- underground railway
- subway
- subway train
等děngHSK 2to wait for
- to wait for
- to await
- by the time
- when
- till
- and so on
- etc.
- et al.
- (bound form) class
- rank
- grade
- (bound form) equal to
- same as
- (used to end an enumeration)
- (literary) (plural suffix attached to a personal pronoun or noun)
懂dǒngHSK 2to understand
- to understand
- to comprehend
动dòngHSK 2(of sth) to move
- (of sth) to move
- to set in movement
- to displace
- to touch
- to make use of
- to stir (emotions)
- to alter
- abbr. for 动词, verb
饭馆fànguǎnHSK 2restaurant
- restaurant
- CL:家
飞fēiHSK 2to fly
- to fly
高gāoHSK 2high
- high
- tall
- above average
- loud
- your (honorific)
- surname Gao
高中gāozhōngHSK 2senior high school (abbr. for 高级中学)
- senior high school (abbr. for 高级中学)
告诉gàosuHSK 2to tell
- to tell
- to inform
- to let know
个子gèziHSK 2stature
- stature
- height
- size (of a person or object)
- (agriculture) bundle of cereal stalks tied together
跟gēnHSK 2with
- with
- and
- to follow
- heel
- to follow closely
- to go with
- (of a woman) to marry sb
- with
- compared with
- to
- towards
- and (joining two nouns)
公交车gōngjiāochēHSK 2public transport vehicle
- public transport vehicle
- town bus
- CL:辆
过guò / guoHSK 2to cross
- to cross
- to go over
- to pass (time)
- to celebrate (a holiday)
- to live
- to get along
- excessively
- too-
- (experienced action marker)
- surname Guo
过来guòláiHSK 2to come over
- to come over
- to manage
- to handle
- to be able to take care of
过年guòniánHSK 2to celebrate the Chinese New Year
- to celebrate the Chinese New Year
过去guòqùHSK 2(in the) past
- (in the) past
- former
- previous
- to go over
- to pass by
还是háishiHSK 2still (as before)
- still (as before)
- had better
- unexpectedly
- or
黑色hēisèHSK 2black
- black
红茶hóngcháHSK 2black tea
- black tea
- CL:杯,壶
红色hóngsèHSK 2red (color)
- red (color)
- revolutionary
后面hòumiànHSK 2the back
- the back
- the rear
- the last bit
- behind
- near the end
- at the back
- later
- afterwards
花huāHSK 2flower
- flower
- blossom
- CL:朵,支,束,把,盆,簇
- fancy pattern
- florid
- to spend (money, time)
- (coll.) lecherous
- lustful
- flower
- blossom
- also pr.
- surname Hua
- variant of 花
- old variant of 花
画huàHSK 2to draw
- to draw
- to paint
- picture
- painting (CL:幅,张)
- to draw (a line) (variant of 划)
- stroke of a Chinese character (variant of 划)
- (calligraphy) horizontal stroke (variant of 划)
坏huàiHSK 2bad
- bad
- spoiled
- broken
- to break down
- (suffix) to the utmost
回来huíláiHSK 2to return
- to return
- to come back
回去huíqùHSK 2to return
- to return
- to go back
机场jīchǎngHSK 2airport
- airport
- airfield
- (slang) service provider for Shadowsocks or similar software for circumventing Internet censorship
- CL:家,处
机票jīpiàoHSK 2plane ticket
- plane ticket
- airline ticket
- CL:张
记得jìdeHSK 2to remember
间jiānHSK 2between
- between
- among
- within a definite time or space
- room
- section of a room or lateral space between two pairs of pillars
- classifier for rooms
- gap
- to separate
- to thin out (seedlings)
- to sow discontent
教jiāoHSK 2(bound form) to teach
- (bound form) to teach
- to instruct
- a religion
- to cause (sb to do sth)
- to tell (sb to do sth)
- to teach
- to instruct
- surname Jiao
教室jiàoshìHSK 2classroom
- classroom
- CL:间
介绍jièshàoHSK 2to introduce (sb to sb)
- to introduce (sb to sb)
- to give a presentation
- to present (sb for a job etc)
- introduction
近jìnHSK 2near
- near
- close to
- approximately
进jìnHSK 2to go forward
- to go forward
- to advance
- to go in
- to enter
- to put in
- to submit
- to take in
- to admit
- (math.) base of a number system
- classifier for sections in a building or residential compound
进来jìnláiHSK 2to come in
- to come in
进去jìnqùHSK 2to go in
- to go in
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.