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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 46514700 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
  • necessarily
  • fixed
  • a certain (extent etc)
  • given
  • particular
  • must
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 →
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

有名yǒumíngHSK 3

famous

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

yuèHSK 3

generic word for peoples or states of south China or south Asia at different historical periods

  • 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 →
yúnHSK 3

(classical) to say

  • (classical) to say
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 →
zhīHSK 3

variant of 只

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 →
zhǒngHSK 3

seed

  • seed
  • species
  • kind
  • type
  • classifier for types, kinds, sorts
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 →
zhùHSK 3

surname Zhu

  • 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
HSK 2

bar (loanword) (serving drinks, or providing Internet access etc)

  • bar (loanword) (serving drinks, or providing Internet access etc)
  • to puff (on a pipe etc)
  • (onom.) bang
  • abbr. for 贴吧
Character breakdown, usage notes and examples →
báiHSK 2

surname Bai

bǎiHSK 2

surname Bai

帮助bāngzhùHSK 2

assistance

报纸bàozhǐHSK 2

newspaper

HSK 2

Belgium

  • 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.

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