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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 251–300 of 2,491 · page 6 of 50

发挥fāhuīHSK 5

to 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

to invent

  • to invent
  • an invention
  • CL:个
发票fāpiàoHSK 5

invoice

  • invoice
  • receipt
  • bill
  • uniform invoice (abbr. for 统一发票)
发言fāyánHSK 5

to make a speech

  • to make a speech
  • statement
  • utterance
  • CL:个
罚款fákuǎnHSK 5

to fine

  • to fine
  • penalty
  • fine (monetary)
法院fǎyuànHSK 5

court of law

  • court of law
  • court
翻fānHSK 5

to turn over

  • to turn over
  • to flip over
  • to overturn
  • to rummage through
  • to translate
  • to decode
  • to double
  • to climb over or into
  • to cross
  • variant of 翻
凡是fánshìHSK 5

each and every

  • each and every
  • every
  • all
  • any
繁荣fánróngHSK 5

prosperous

  • prosperous
  • booming
反而fǎnérHSK 5

on the contrary

  • on the contrary
  • instead
反复fǎnfùHSK 5

repeatedly

  • repeatedly
  • over and over
  • to upend
  • unstable
  • to come and go
  • (of an illness) to return
反应fǎnyìngHSK 5

to react

  • to react
  • to respond
  • reaction
  • response
  • reply
  • chemical reaction
  • CL:个
反正fǎnzhèngHSK 5

anyway

  • anyway
  • in any case
  • to come over from the enemy's side
方fāngHSK 5

square

  • square
  • power or involution (math.)
  • upright
  • honest
  • fair and square
  • direction
  • side
  • party (to a contract, dispute etc)
  • place
  • method
  • prescription (medicine)
  • just when
  • only or just
  • classifier for square things
  • surname Fang
  • abbr. for square or cubic meter
方案fāngànHSK 5

plan

  • plan
  • program (for action etc)
  • proposal
  • proposed bill
  • CL:个,套
方式fāngshìHSK 5

way

  • way
  • method
  • manner
  • mode
  • pattern (of behavior etc)
  • CL:种
妨碍fángàiHSK 5

to hinder

  • to hinder
  • to obstruct
房东fángdōngHSK 5

landlord

  • landlord
仿佛fǎngfúHSK 5

to seem

  • to seem
  • as if
  • seemingly
  • alike
  • similar
放松fàngsōngHSK 5

to relax

  • to relax
  • to slacken
  • to loosen
非fēiHSK 5

to not be

  • to not be
  • not
  • wrong
  • incorrect
  • non-
  • un-
  • in-
  • de-
  • to reproach
  • to blame
  • (coll.) to insist on
  • simply must
  • abbr. for 非洲, Africa
肥皂féizàoHSK 5

soap

  • soap
  • CL:块,条
废话fèihuàHSK 5

nonsense

  • nonsense
  • rubbish
  • superfluous words
  • You don't say!
  • No kidding! (gently sarcastic)
肺fèiHSK 5

lung

  • lung
  • CL:个
费用fèiyòngHSK 5

cost

  • cost
  • expenditure
  • expense
  • CL:笔,个
分别fēnbiéHSK 5

to part

  • to part
  • to leave each other
  • to distinguish
  • to tell apart
  • difference
  • distinction
  • in different ways
  • differently
  • separately
  • individually
  • respectively
分布fēnbùHSK 5

to scatter

  • to scatter
  • to distribute
  • to be distributed (over an area etc)
  • (statistical, geographic) distribution
分配fēnpèiHSK 5

to distribute

  • to distribute
  • to assign
  • to allocate
  • to partition (a hard drive)
分析fēnxīHSK 5

to analyze

  • to analyze
  • analysis
  • CL:个
纷纷fēnfēnHSK 5

one after another

  • one after another
  • in succession
  • one by one
  • continuously
  • diverse
  • in profusion
  • numerous and confused
  • pell-mell
奋斗fèndòuHSK 5

to strive

  • to strive
  • to struggle
愤怒fènnùHSK 5

angry

  • angry
  • indignant
  • wrath
  • ire
风格fēnggéHSK 5

style

  • style
风俗fēngsúHSK 5

social custom

  • social custom
  • CL:个
风险fēngxiǎnHSK 5

risk

  • risk
  • hazard
疯狂fēngkuángHSK 5

crazy

  • crazy
  • frenzied
  • wild
讽刺fěngcìHSK 5

to satirize

  • to satirize
  • to mock
  • irony
  • satire
  • sarcasm
否定fǒudìngHSK 5

to negate

  • to negate
  • to deny
  • to reject
  • negative (answer)
  • negation
否认fǒurènHSK 5

to declare to be untrue

  • to declare to be untrue
  • to deny
扶fúHSK 5

to support with the hand

  • to support with the hand
  • to help sb up
  • to support oneself by holding onto something
  • to help
服从fúcóngHSK 5

to obey (an order)

  • to obey (an order)
  • to comply
  • to defer
服装fúzhuāngHSK 5

dress

  • dress
  • clothing
  • costume
  • clothes
  • CL:身
幅fúHSK 5

width

  • width
  • roll
  • classifier for textiles or pictures
辅导fǔdǎoHSK 5

to guide

  • to guide
  • to mentor
  • to counsel
  • to coach
  • to tutor
付款fùkuǎnHSK 5

to pay a sum of money

  • to pay a sum of money
  • payment
妇女fùnu:3HSK 5

woman

  • woman
复制fùzhìHSK 5

to duplicate

  • to duplicate
  • to make a copy of
  • to copy
  • to reproduce
  • to clone
改革gǎigéHSK 5

reform

  • reform
  • CL:次,种,项
  • to reform
改进gǎijìnHSK 5

to improve

  • to improve
  • to make better
  • improvement
改善gǎishànHSK 5

to make better

  • to make better
  • to improve

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