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
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 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 251–300 of 2,491 · page 6 of 50
发挥fāhuīHSK 5to display
- to display
- to exhibit
- to bring out implicit or innate qualities
- to express (a thought or moral)
- to develop (an idea)
- to elaborate (on a theme)
发明fāmíngHSK 5
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.
Read the list once, do not memorise it
You are looking for which words feel unfamiliar, not trying to learn them here.
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.
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.
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.
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.