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HSK 5 Vocabulary

HSK 5 Vocabulary List: 2,500 Words

HSK 5 assumes 2,500 cumulative words — 1300 of them new at this level. They cover news, business, academic and literary register — the vocabulary of newspapers, lectures, and film dialogue.

By Haoshan HongNative Mandarin speakerUpdated July 2026

Hear HSK 5 words in a real story

黄石公园热泉区清出280多顶帽子

Yellowstone Finds 280 Hats in Hot-Spring Areas

1 min

What is on the HSK 5 word list?

The HSK word lists are published and cumulative, which is what makes the exam a finite target. HSK 5 assumes 2,500 words in total — 1,300 of them introduced at this level.

They cover news, business, academic and literary register — the vocabulary of newspapers, lectures, and film dialogue.

HSK proficiency ladderThe six HSK levels with cumulative vocabulary requirements: HSK 1 requires 150 words, HSK 2 requires 300, HSK 3 requires 600, HSK 4 requires 1,200, HSK 5 requires 2,500, and HSK 6 requires 5,000 words. Word counts follow the official Hanban HSK 2.0 standard.HSK levels by cumulative vocabularyHSK 1beginner150 wordsHSK 2elementary300 wordsHSK 3pre-intermediate600 wordsHSK 4intermediate1,200 wordsHSK 5upper-intermediate2,500 wordsHSK 6advanced5,000 wordsSource: Hanban HSK 2.0 standard
Cumulative vocabulary required at each HSK level — bar width is proportional to the word count.

HSK 5 word list

All 2,491 entries below, straight from the official Hanban HSK 2.0 list. The 1,298 words new at HSK 5 come first, then earlier levels.

Pinyin and definitions come from CC-CEDICT. Tap any word to see its other senses without leaving the list. Words with a full Fluentide entry — character breakdown, usage notes, example sentences — link out from there.

Showing 151–200 of 2,491 · page 4 of 50

辞职cízhíHSK 5

to resign

  • to resign
磁带cídàiHSK 5

magnetic tape

  • magnetic tape
  • CL:盘,盒
此外cǐwàiHSK 5

besides

  • besides
  • in addition
  • moreover
  • furthermore
次要cìyàoHSK 5

secondary

  • secondary
刺激cìjīHSK 5

to provoke

  • to provoke
  • to irritate
  • to upset
  • to stimulate
  • to excite
  • irritant
匆忙cōngmángHSK 5

hasty

  • hasty
  • hurried
从此cóngcǐHSK 5

from now on

  • from now on
  • since then
  • henceforth
从而cóngérHSK 5

thus

  • thus
  • thereby
从前cóngqiánHSK 5

previously

  • previously
  • formerly
  • once upon a time
从事cóngshìHSK 5

to go for

  • to go for
  • to engage in
  • to undertake
  • to deal with
  • to handle
  • to do
促进cùjìnHSK 5

to promote (an idea or cause)

  • to promote (an idea or cause)
  • to advance
  • boost
促使cùshǐHSK 5

to prompt

  • to prompt
  • to induce
  • to spur
醋cùHSK 5

vinegar

  • vinegar
  • jealousy (in love rivalry)
催cuīHSK 5

to urge

  • to urge
  • to press
  • to prompt
  • to rush sb
  • to hasten sth
  • to expedite
存cúnHSK 5

to exist

  • to exist
  • to deposit
  • to store
  • to keep
  • to survive
存在cúnzàiHSK 5

to exist

  • to exist
  • to be
  • existence
措施cuòshīHSK 5

measure

  • measure
  • step
  • CL:个
错误cuòwùHSK 5

mistaken

  • mistaken
  • false
  • wrong
  • error
  • mistake
  • CL:个
达到dádàoHSK 5

to reach

  • to reach
  • to achieve
  • to attain
答应dāyingHSK 5

to answer

  • to answer
  • to respond
  • to answer positively
  • to agree
  • to accept
  • to promise
打工dǎgōngHSK 5

to work a temporary or casual job

  • to work a temporary or casual job
  • (of students) to have a job outside of class time, or during vacation
打交道dǎjiāodàoHSK 5

to come into contact with

  • to come into contact with
  • to have dealings
打喷嚏dǎpēntìHSK 5

to sneeze

  • to sneeze
打听dǎtingHSK 5

to ask about

  • to ask about
  • to make some inquiries
  • to ask around
打招呼dǎzhāohuHSK 5

to greet sb by word or action

  • to greet sb by word or action
  • to give prior notice
大方dàfāngHSK 5

expert

  • expert
  • scholar
  • mother earth
  • a type of green tea
大象dàxiàngHSK 5

elephant

  • elephant
  • CL:头
大型dàxíngHSK 5

large

  • large
  • large-scale
呆dāiHSK 5

foolish

  • foolish
  • stupid
  • expressionless
  • blank
  • foolish
  • stupid (variant of 呆)
  • expressionless
  • blank (variant of 呆)
  • variant of 待
待遇dàiyùHSK 5

treatment

  • treatment
  • pay
  • salary
  • status
  • rank
贷款dàikuǎnHSK 5

a loan

  • a loan
  • CL:笔
  • to provide a loan (e.g. bank)
  • to raise a loan (from e.g. a bank)
单纯dānchúnHSK 5

simple

  • simple
  • pure
  • unsophisticated
  • merely
  • purely
单调dāndiàoHSK 5

monotonous

  • monotonous
单独dāndúHSK 5

alone

  • alone
  • by oneself
  • on one's own
单位dānwèiHSK 5

unit (of measure)

  • unit (of measure)
  • unit (group of people as a whole)
  • work unit (place of employment, esp. in the PRC prior to economic reform)
  • CL:个
单元dānyuánHSK 5

unit (forming an entity)

  • unit (forming an entity)
  • element
  • (in a residential building) entrance or staircase
担任dānrènHSK 5

to hold a governmental office or post

  • to hold a governmental office or post
  • to assume office of
  • to take charge of
  • to serve as
耽误dānwuHSK 5

to delay

  • to delay
  • to hold up
  • to waste time
  • to interfere with
胆小鬼dǎnxiǎoguǐHSK 5

coward

  • coward
淡dànHSK 5

insipid

  • insipid
  • diluted
  • weak
  • mild
  • light in color
  • tasteless
  • indifferent
  • (variant of 氮) nitrogen
当代dāngdàiHSK 5

the present age

  • the present age
  • the contemporary era
挡dǎngHSK 5

to resist

  • to resist
  • to obstruct
  • to hinder
  • to keep off
  • to block (a blow)
  • to get in the way of
  • cover
  • gear (e.g. in a car's transmission)
  • to arrange
  • to put in order
  • variant of 挡
导演dǎoyǎnHSK 5

to direct

  • to direct
  • director (film etc)
导致dǎozhìHSK 5

to lead to

  • to lead to
  • to create
  • to cause
  • to bring about
岛dǎoHSK 5

island

  • island
  • CL:个,座
  • variant of 岛
到达dàodáHSK 5

to reach

  • to reach
  • to arrive
倒dǎoHSK 5

to fall

  • to fall
  • to collapse
  • to lie horizontally
  • to fail
  • to go bankrupt
  • to overthrow
  • to change (trains or buses)
  • to move around
  • to resell at a profit
  • to invert
  • to place upside down or frontside back
  • to pour out
  • to tip out
  • to dump
  • inverted
  • upside down
  • reversed
  • to go backward
  • contrary to what one might expect
  • but
  • yet
倒霉dǎoméiHSK 5

to have bad luck

  • to have bad luck
  • to be out of luck
道德dàodéHSK 5

virtue

  • virtue
  • morality
  • ethics
  • CL:种
道理dàoliHSK 5

reason

  • reason
  • argument
  • sense
  • principle
  • basis
  • justification
  • CL:个

How to actually learn HSK 5 vocabulary

A word list is a checklist, not a method. Recognising a word on a page is a different skill from catching it at speed in a sentence — and the HSK listening section only tests the second one.

1

Read the list once, do not memorise it

You are looking for which words feel unfamiliar, not trying to learn them here.

2

Listen at your level daily

Fluentide's HSK 5 episodes are written inside this vocabulary band, so the words arrive in sentences instead of flashcards.

3

Look a word up only after you have heard it

A word you have already met in audio sticks in one reading. A word you meet cold takes many.

4

Come back to this list monthly

Use it as a progress check, not a study plan. The gaps you find are what to listen for next.

HSK 5 episodes to hear these words in

Every episode below is written inside the HSK 5 word band and read at HSK 5 speed. Press play — no account needed for the first few.

HSK 5–6 Chinese listening episodes

Showing 12 of 231

The method in practice

Hear HSK 5 vocabulary in real Mandarin

Every HSK 5 episode is written inside this word band and read at HSK 5 speed, so words stick because you have heard them in a sentence. Full transcript, pinyin toggle, and line-by-line English on every episode. Five free episodes after a one-tap magic-link sign-in — no password, no payment.

More HSK 5

HSK 5 listening practice, test format and timeline · HSK 5 grammar points · All six HSK levels compared