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HSK 6 Vocabulary

HSK 6 Vocabulary List: 5,000 Words

HSK 6 assumes 5,000 cumulative words — 2500 of them new at this level. They cover chengyu, formal and classical register, and the layered vocabulary of serious written Chinese.

By Haoshan HongNative Mandarin speakerUpdated July 2026

What is on the HSK 6 word list?

The HSK word lists are published and cumulative, which is what makes the exam a finite target. HSK 6 assumes 5,000 words in total — 2,500 of them introduced at this level.

They cover chengyu, formal and classical register, and the layered vocabulary of serious written Chinese.

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 6 word list

All 4,991 entries below, straight from the official Hanban HSK 2.0 list. The 2,500 words new at HSK 6 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 44014450 of 4,991 · page 89 of 100

安静ānjìngHSK 3

quiet

HSK 3

to hold

  • to hold
  • to grasp
  • to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate
  • handlebar
  • classifier: handful, bundle, bunch
  • classifier for things with handles
  • (used to put the object before the verb: 把 + {noun} + {verb})
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
bānHSK 3

surname Ban

bānHSK 3

to move (i.e. relocate oneself)

  • to move (i.e. relocate oneself)
  • to move (sth relatively heavy or bulky)
  • to shift
  • to copy indiscriminately
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
办法bànfǎHSK 3

way of handling sth

  • way of handling sth
  • means
  • measure
  • (practical) solution to a problem
  • CL:条,个
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
办公室bàngōngshìHSK 3

office

bànHSK 3

half

  • half
  • semi-
  • incomplete
  • (after a number) and a half
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
帮忙bāngmángHSK 3

to help

  • to help
  • to lend a hand
  • to do a favor
  • to do a good turn
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
bāoHSK 3

surname Bao

bǎoHSK 3

to eat till full

北方běifāngHSK 3

north

  • north
  • the northern part a country
  • China north of the Yellow River
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
bèiHSK 3

quilt

  • quilt
  • to cover (with)
  • (literary) to suffer (a misfortune)
  • used to indicate passive voice (placed before the doer of the action like "by" in English passive-voice sentences, or, if the doer is not mentioned, before the verb)
  • (since c. 2009) (sarcastic or jocular) used to indicate that the following word should be regarded as being in air quotes (as in 被旅游 to "go on a trip")
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
鼻子bíziHSK 3

nose

比较bǐjiàoHSK 3

to compare

  • to compare
  • to contrast
  • comparatively
  • relatively
  • quite
  • comparison
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
比赛bǐsàiHSK 3

competition (sports etc)

  • competition (sports etc)
  • match
  • CL:场,次
  • to compete
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
必须bìxūHSK 3

to have to

  • to have to
  • must
  • compulsory
  • necessarily
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
变化biànhuàHSK 3

(intransitive) to change

  • (intransitive) to change
  • to vary
  • change
  • variation (CL:个)
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
表示biǎoshìHSK 3

(of sb) to express

  • (of sb) to express
  • to state
  • to show
  • (of sth) to indicate
  • to signify
  • to show
  • expression
  • manifestation
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
表演biǎoyǎnHSK 3

play

  • play
  • show
  • performance
  • exhibition
  • to perform
  • to act
  • to demonstrate
  • CL:场
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
别人biérenHSK 3

other people

宾馆bīnguǎnHSK 3

guesthouse

冰箱bīngxiāngHSK 3

refrigerator

cáiHSK 3

ability

  • ability
  • talent
  • sb of a certain type
  • a capable individual
  • then and only then
  • just now
  • (before an expression of quantity) only
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
菜单càidānHSK 3

menu

参加cānjiāHSK 3

to participate

  • to participate
  • to take part
  • to join
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
cǎoHSK 3

variant of 草

céngHSK 3

to pile on top of one another

  • to pile on top of one another
  • layer
  • stratum
  • floor (of a building)
  • story
  • (math.) sheaf
  • classifier for layers
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
chāHSK 3

difference

  • difference
  • discrepancy
  • (math.) difference (amount remaining after a subtraction)
  • (literary) a little
  • somewhat
  • slightly
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
超市chāoshìHSK 3

supermarket (abbr. for 超级市场)

  • supermarket (abbr. for 超级市场)
  • CL:家
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
衬衫chènshānHSK 3

shirt

成绩chéngjìHSK 3

achievement

  • achievement
  • performance records
  • grades
  • CL:项,个
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
城市chéngshìHSK 3

city

迟到chídàoHSK 3

to arrive late

出现chūxiànHSK 3

to appear

  • to appear
  • to arise
  • to emerge
  • to show up
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
除了chúleHSK 3

apart from

  • apart from
  • besides
  • in addition to (used to exclude, as in 除了他,除了他,谁也没来 "apart from him, nobody came", or to include, as in 除了英語,除了英语,他也会法语 "in addition to English, he also knows French")
  • (used to introduce one of two habitual alternatives in the pattern 除了 + A + 就是 + B, "either A or B")
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
厨房chúfángHSK 3

kitchen

chūnHSK 3

old variant of 春

词语cíyǔHSK 3

word (general term including monosyllables through to short phrases)

  • word (general term including monosyllables through to short phrases)
  • term (e.g. technical term)
  • expression
聪明cōngmingHSK 3

intelligent

  • intelligent
  • clever
  • bright
  • acute (of sight and hearing)
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
打扫dǎsǎoHSK 3

to clean

打算dǎsuànHSK 3

to plan

  • to plan
  • to intend
  • to calculate
  • plan
  • intention
  • calculation
  • CL:个
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
dàiHSK 3

band

  • band
  • belt
  • girdle
  • ribbon
  • tire
  • area
  • zone
  • region
  • CL:条
  • to wear
  • to carry
  • to take along
  • to bear (i.e. to have)
  • to lead
  • to bring
  • to look after
  • to raise
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
担心dānxīnHSK 3

anxious

  • anxious
  • worried
  • uneasy
  • to worry
  • to be anxious
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
蛋糕dàngāoHSK 3

cake

当然dāngránHSK 3

only natural

  • only natural
  • as it should be
  • certainly
  • of course
  • without doubt
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
deHSK 3

-ly

  • -ly
  • structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
地方dìfāngHSK 3

region

  • region
  • regional (away from the central administration)
  • local
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
地铁dìtiěHSK 3

underground railway

  • underground railway
  • subway
  • subway train
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
地图dìtúHSK 3

map

dēngHSK 3

lamp

How to actually learn HSK 6 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 6 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.

The method in practice

Hear HSK 6 vocabulary in real Mandarin

Every HSK 6 episode is written inside this word band and read at HSK 6 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 6