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Illustration in teal tones representing the HSK 5 Mandarin vocabulary list.
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 201–250 of 2,491 · page 5 of 50

地道dìdàoHSK 5

tunnel

  • tunnel
  • causeway
地理dìlǐHSK 5

geography

  • geography
地区dìqūHSK 5

region

  • region
  • area (informal or geographical term)
  • prefecture (in China's administrative system)
地毯dìtǎnHSK 5

carpet

  • carpet
  • rug
地位dìwèiHSK 5

position

  • position
  • status
  • place
  • CL:个
地震dìzhènHSK 5

earthquake

  • earthquake
的确díquèHSK 5

really

  • really
  • indeed
登机牌dēngjīpáiHSK 5

boarding pass

  • boarding pass
登记dēngjìHSK 5

to register (one's name)

  • to register (one's name)
等待děngdàiHSK 5

to wait

  • to wait
  • to wait for
等候děnghòuHSK 5

to wait

  • to wait
  • to wait for
等于děngyúHSK 5

to equal

  • to equal
  • to be tantamount to
滴dīHSK 5

to drip

  • to drip
  • to let drip
  • to apply (eye drops etc)
  • (bound form) a drop (of liquid)
  • classifier for drops of liquid
敌人dírénHSK 5

enemy

  • enemy
  • CL:个
递dìHSK 5

to hand over

  • to hand over
  • to pass on
  • to deliver
  • (bound form) progressively
  • in the proper order
点头diǎntóuHSK 5

to nod

  • to nod
点心diǎnxinHSK 5

light refreshments

  • light refreshments
  • pastry
  • dim sum (in Cantonese cooking)
  • dessert
电池diànchíHSK 5

battery

  • battery
  • electric cell
  • CL:节,组
电台diàntáiHSK 5

transmitter-receiver

  • transmitter-receiver
  • broadcasting station
  • radio station
  • CL:个,家
钓diàoHSK 5

to fish with a hook and line

  • to fish with a hook and line
  • to angle
调皮tiáopíHSK 5

naughty

  • naughty
  • mischievous
  • unruly
调整tiáozhěngHSK 5

to adjust

  • to adjust
  • to revise
  • to reorganize
丁dīngHSK 5

male adult

  • male adult
  • the 4th of the 10 Heavenly Stems 天干
  • fourth (used like "4" or "D")
  • small cube of meat or vegetable
  • (literary) to encounter
  • (archaic) ancient Chinese compass point: 195°
  • (chemistry) butyl
  • surname Ding
  • used in 丁丁
顶dǐngHSK 5

apex

  • apex
  • crown of the head
  • top
  • roof
  • most
  • to carry on the head
  • to push to the top
  • to go against
  • to replace
  • to substitute
  • to be subjected to (an aerial bombing, hailstorm etc)
  • (slang) to "bump" a forum thread to raise its profile
  • classifier for headwear, hats, veils etc
动画片dònghuàpiànHSK 5

animated film

  • animated film
冻dòngHSK 5

to freeze

  • to freeze
  • to feel very cold
  • aspic or jelly
洞dòngHSK 5

cave

  • cave
  • hole
  • zero (unambiguous spoken form when spelling out numbers)
  • CL:个
  • used in 洪洞 (the name of a place in Shanxi)
豆腐dòufuHSK 5

tofu

  • tofu
  • bean curd
逗dòuHSK 5

to tease (playfully)

  • to tease (playfully)
  • to entice
  • (coll.) to joke
  • (coll.) funny
  • amusing
  • to stay
  • to sojourn
  • brief pause at the end of a phrase (variant of 读)
独立dúlìHSK 5

independent

  • independent
  • independence
  • to stand alone
独特dútèHSK 5

unique

  • unique
  • distinctive
度过dùguòHSK 5

to pass

  • to pass
  • to spend (time)
  • to survive
  • to get through
短信duǎnxìnHSK 5

text message

  • text message
  • SMS
堆duīHSK 5

to pile up

  • to pile up
  • to heap up
  • a mass
  • pile
  • heap
  • stack
  • large amount
对比duìbǐHSK 5

to contrast

  • to contrast
  • contrast
  • ratio
  • CL:个
对待duìdàiHSK 5

to treat

  • to treat
  • treatment
对方duìfāngHSK 5

the other person

  • the other person
  • the other side
  • the other party
对手duìshǒuHSK 5

opponent

  • opponent
  • rival
  • competitor
  • (well-matched) adversary
  • match
对象duìxiàngHSK 5

target

  • target
  • object
  • partner
  • boyfriend
  • girlfriend
  • CL:个
对于duìyúHSK 5

regarding

  • regarding
  • as far as (sth) is concerned
  • with regard to
吨dūnHSK 5

ton (loanword)

  • ton (loanword)
  • Taiwan pr.
蹲dūnHSK 5

to crouch

  • to crouch
  • to squat
  • to stay (somewhere)
  • (dialect) to sprain one's foot or leg due to a sudden impact or landing
多亏duōkuīHSK 5

thanks to

  • thanks to
  • luckily
多余duōyúHSK 5

superfluous

  • superfluous
  • unnecessary
  • surplus
躲藏duǒcángHSK 5

to conceal oneself

  • to conceal oneself
  • to go into hiding
  • to take cover
恶劣èlièHSK 5

vile

  • vile
  • nasty
  • of very poor quality
发表fābiǎoHSK 5

to issue

  • to issue
  • to publish
发愁fāchóuHSK 5

to worry

  • to worry
  • to fret
  • to be anxious
  • to become sad
发达fādáHSK 5

well-developed

  • well-developed
  • flourishing
  • to develop
  • to promote
  • to expand
  • (literary) to achieve fame and fortune
  • to prosper
发抖fādǒuHSK 5

to tremble

  • to tremble
  • to shake
  • to shiver

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