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 401–450 of 1,978 · page 9 of 40
警察jǐngcháHSK 4police
- police
- police officer
竞争jìngzhēngHSK 4to compete
- to compete
- competition
竟然jìngránHSK 4unexpectedly
- unexpectedly
- to one's surprise
- in spite of everything
- in that crazy way
- actually
- to go as far as to
镜子jìngziHSK 4mirror
- mirror
- CL:面,个
究竟jiūjìngHSK 4after all
- after all
- actually
- to go to the bottom of a matter
- after all
- when all is said and done
- (in an interrogative sentence) finally
- outcome
- result
就是jiùshìHSK 4exactly
- exactly
- precisely
- only
- simply
- just
- (used correlatively with 也) even
- even if
举jǔHSK 4to lift
- to lift
- to hold up
- to cite
- to enumerate
- to act
- to raise
- to choose
- to elect
- act
- move
- deed
- variant of 举
举办jǔbànHSK 4to conduct
- to conduct
- to hold (an event)
举例jǔlìHSK 4to give an example
- to give an example
举行jǔxíngHSK 4to hold (a meeting, ceremony etc)
- to hold (a meeting, ceremony etc)
拒绝jùjuéHSK 4to refuse
- to refuse
- to decline
- to reject
剧院jùyuànHSK 4theater
- theater
- CL:家,座
距离jùlíHSK 4distance
- distance
- separation (in space or time)
- to be ... away from
- to be ... from
聚jùHSK 4to assemble
- to assemble
- to gather (transitive or intransitive)
- (chemistry) poly-
聚餐jùcānHSK 4to get together for a meal
- to get together for a meal
- to dine together
聚会jùhuìHSK 4party
- party
- gathering
- to meet
- to get together
开玩笑kāi wánxiàoHSK 4to play a joke
- to play a joke
- to make fun of
- to joke
看法kànfǎHSK 4way of looking at a thing
- way of looking at a thing
- view
- opinion
- CL:个
考虑kǎolǜHSK 4to think over
- to think over
- to consider
- consideration
考生kǎoshēngHSK 4exam candidate
- exam candidate
- student whose name has been put forward for an exam
烤kǎoHSK 4to roast
- to roast
- to grill
- to broil
- to bake
- to toast (bread)
- to warm oneself by a fire
科技kējìHSK 4science and technology
- science and technology
科学kēxuéHSK 4science
- science
- scientific knowledge
- scientific
- rational
- CL:门,个,种
棵kēHSK 4classifier for trees, cabbages, plants etc
- classifier for trees, cabbages, plants etc
可惜kěxīHSK 4it is a pity
- it is a pity
- what a pity
- unfortunately
克kèHSK 4to be able to
- to be able to
- to subdue
- to restrain
- to overcome
- gram
- Tibetan unit of land area, about 6 ares
- to subdue
- to overthrow
- to restrain
- (Tw) abbr. for 克罗埃西亚, Croatia
- Ke (c. 2000 BC), seventh of the legendary Flame Emperors, 炎帝 descended from Shennong 神农 Farmer God
- variant of 克
- abbr. for 克罗地亚, Croatia
- variant of 克
客气kèqiHSK 4polite
- polite
- courteous
- formal
- modest
客厅kètīngHSK 4living room
- living room
- sitting room
- CL:间
课程kèchéngHSK 4course
- course
- academic program
- CL:堂,节,门
课堂kètángHSK 4classroom (CL:间)
- classroom (CL:间)
- class session
肯定kěndìngHSK 4to be certain
- to be certain
- to be positive
- assuredly
- definitely
- to give recognition
- to affirm
- affirmative (answer)
空kōng / kòngHSK 4empty
- empty
- air
- sky
- in vain
- to empty
- vacant
- unoccupied
- space
- leisure
- free time
空气kōngqìHSK 4air
- air
- atmosphere
恐怕kǒngpàHSK 4fear
- fear
- to dread
- I'm afraid that...
- perhaps
- maybe
口语kǒuyǔHSK 4colloquial speech
- colloquial speech
- spoken language
- vernacular language
- slander
- gossip
- CL:门
苦kǔHSK 4bitter
- bitter
- hardship
- pain
- to suffer
- to bring suffering to
- painstakingly
快餐kuàicānHSK 4fast food
- fast food
- snack
- quick meal
快递kuàidìHSK 4express delivery
- express delivery
快速kuàisùHSK 4fast
- fast
- high-speed
- rapid
困kùnHSK 4to trap
- to trap
- to surround
- hard-pressed
- stranded
- destitute
- sleepy
- tired
困难kùnnanHSK 4difficult
- difficult
- challenging
- straitened circumstances
- difficult situation
垃圾lājīHSK 4trash
- trash
- refuse
- garbage
- (coll.) of poor quality
- Taiwan pr.
拉lāHSK 4to pull
- to pull
- to play (a bowed instrument)
- to drag
- to draw
- to chat
- (coll.) to empty one's bowels
- to make a cut in (sth)
- to slit
- to gash
- to slash
- used in 拉拉蛄
- variant of 落
辣làHSK 4hot (spicy)
- hot (spicy)
- pungent
- (of chili pepper, raw onions etc) to sting
- to burn
- old variant of 辣
来不及láibujíHSK 4there's not enough time (to do sth)
- there's not enough time (to do sth)
- it's too late
来得及láidejíHSK 4to have enough time
- to have enough time
- can do it in time
- can still make it
懒lǎnHSK 4lazy
- lazy
- variant of 懒
浪费làngfèiHSK 4to waste
- to waste
- to squander
浪漫làngmànHSK 4romantic
- romantic
老虎lǎohǔHSK 4tiger
- tiger
- CL:只
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.