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Illustration in teal tones representing the HSK 6 Mandarin vocabulary list.
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

Hear HSK 6 words in a real story

黄石公园热泉区清出280多顶帽子

Yellowstone Finds Over 280 Hats in Hot-Spring Areas

1 min

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 4651–4700 of 4,991 · page 94 of 100

爷爷yéyeHSK 3

(coll.) paternal grandfather

  • (coll.) paternal grandfather
  • grandpa
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
一般yībānHSK 3

same

  • same
  • ordinary
  • so-so
  • common
  • general
  • generally
  • in general
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
一边yībiānHSK 3

one side

  • one side
  • either side
  • on the one hand
  • on the other hand
  • doing while
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
一定yīdìngHSK 3

surely

  • surely
  • certainly
  • definitely
  • fixed
  • settled
  • a certain ...
  • a given ...
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
一共yīgòngHSK 3

in total

一会儿yīhuìrHSK 3

a moment

  • a moment
  • a while
  • in a moment
  • now...now...
  • also pr.
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
一样yīyàngHSK 3

same

  • same
  • like
  • equal to
  • the same as
  • just like
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
一直yīzhíHSK 3

straight (in a straight line)

  • straight (in a straight line)
  • continuously
  • always
  • all the way through
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
以后yǐhòuHSK 3

after

  • after
  • later
  • afterwards
  • following
  • later on
  • in the future
以前yǐqiánHSK 3

before

以为yǐwéiHSK 3

to think

  • to think
  • to believe (often with the implication that the belief is mistaken – unless referring to one's own current belief)
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
音乐yīnyuèHSK 3

music

银行yínhángHSK 3

bank

应该yīnggāiHSK 3

ought to

影响yǐngxiǎngHSK 3

influence

  • influence
  • effect
  • to influence
  • to affect (usually adversely)
  • to disturb
  • CL:股
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
用yòngHSK 3

to use

  • to use
  • to make use of
  • to employ
  • (coverb) with
  • using
  • to need
  • to have to (usu. used in the negative or in questions)
  • usefulness
  • utility
  • (bound form) expense
  • outlay
  • (courteous) to eat
  • to drink
  • (literary) hence
  • therefore
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
游戏yóuxìHSK 3

game (CL:场)

有名yǒumíngHSK 3

famous

又yòuHSK 3

(once) again

  • (once) again
  • also
  • both... and...
  • and yet
  • (used for emphasis) anyway
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
遇到yùdàoHSK 3

to meet

愿意yuànyìHSK 3

to wish

  • to wish
  • to want
  • ready
  • willing (to do sth)
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
月亮yuèliangHSK 3

the moon

越yuèHSK 3

to exceed

  • to exceed
  • to climb over
  • to surpass
  • the more... the more
  • generic word for peoples or states of south China or south Asia at different historical periods
  • abbr. for Vietnam 越南
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
云yúnHSK 3

(classical) to say

  • (classical) to say
  • cloud
  • CL:朵
  • surname Yun
  • short name for Yunnan 云南
站zhànHSK 3

station

  • station
  • to stand
  • to halt
  • to stop
  • branch of a company or organization
  • website
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
照顾zhàoguHSK 3

to take care of

  • to take care of
  • to show consideration
  • to attend to
  • to look after
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
照片zhàopiànHSK 3

photograph

照相机zhàoxiàngjīHSK 3

camera

着急zháojíHSK 3

to worry

  • to worry
  • to feel anxious
  • to feel a sense of urgency
  • to be in a hurry
  • Taiwan pr.
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
只zhīHSK 3

grain that has begun to ripen

  • grain that has begun to ripen
  • classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc
  • only
  • merely
  • just
  • variant of 只
  • variant of 只
  • variant of 只
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
中间zhōngjiānHSK 3

the middle

  • the middle
  • the inside
  • in the middle
  • within
  • between
  • among
  • during
  • in the meantime
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
终于zhōngyúHSK 3

at last

  • at last
  • in the end
  • finally
  • eventually
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
种zhǒngHSK 3

seed

  • seed
  • species
  • kind
  • type
  • classifier for types, kinds, sorts
  • to plant
  • to grow
  • to cultivate
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
重要zhòngyàoHSK 3

important

周末zhōumòHSK 3

weekend

主要zhǔyàoHSK 3

main

注意zhùyìHSK 3

to take note of

  • to take note of
  • to pay attention to
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
祝zhùHSK 3

to pray for

  • to pray for
  • to wish (sb bon voyage, happy birthday etc)
  • person who invokes the spirits during sacrificial ceremonies
  • surname Zhu
字典zìdiǎnHSK 3

Chinese character dictionary (containing entries for single characters, contrasted with a 词典, which has entries for words of one or more characters)

  • Chinese character dictionary (containing entries for single characters, contrasted with a 词典, which has entries for words of one or more characters)
  • (coll.) dictionary
  • CL:本
自己zìjǐHSK 3

oneself

总是zǒngshìHSK 3

always

最近zuìjìnHSK 3

recently

作业zuòyèHSK 3

school assignment

  • school assignment
  • homework
  • work
  • task
  • operation
  • CL:个
  • to operate
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
作用zuòyòngHSK 3

to act on

  • to act on
  • to affect
  • action
  • function
  • activity
  • impact
  • result
  • effect
  • purpose
  • intent
  • (suffix) -ation, -tion etc, as in 抑制作用, inhibition
吧baHSK 2

(modal particle indicating suggestion or surmise)

  • (modal particle indicating suggestion or surmise)
  • ...right?
  • ...OK?
  • ...I presume.
  • bar (loanword) (serving drinks, or providing Internet access etc)
  • to puff (on a pipe etc)
  • (onom.) bang
  • (onom.) smack!
  • abbr. for 贴吧
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
白báiHSK 2

white

  • white
  • in vain
  • free of charge
  • (bound form) (of facts, the truth, a situation) clear
  • evident (e.g. 真相大白)
  • (bound form) plain
  • without additions (e.g. 白饭)
  • (bound form) to explain
  • to state (e.g. 辩白)
  • (bound form) to give a disdainful look (e.g. 白了他一眼)
  • (bound form) vernacular (e.g. 白话)
  • (bound form) spoken lines in opera (e.g. 念白)
  • (bound form) reactionary
  • anti-communist (e.g. 白区)
  • surname Bai
  • Bai ethnic group
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
百bǎiHSK 2

hundred

  • hundred
  • numerous
  • all kinds of
  • surname Bai
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
帮助bāngzhùHSK 2

assistance

报纸bàozhǐHSK 2

newspaper

比bǐHSK 2

to compare

  • to compare
  • (followed by a noun and adjective) more {adj.} than {noun}
  • ratio
  • to gesture
  • (Taiwan pr. in some compounds derived from Classical Chinese)
  • euphemistic variant of 屄
  • Belgium
  • Belgian
  • abbr. for 比利时
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →

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.

HSK 6 episodes to hear these words in

Every episode below is written inside the HSK 6 word band and read at HSK 6 speed. Press play — no account needed for the first few.

HSK 5–6 Chinese listening episodes

Showing 12 of 246

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