Chinese Words and Vocabulary
HSK 3.0 sets the words for each level: 300 for HSK 1, 500 for HSK 2, 1,000 for HSK 3, 2,000 for HSK 4, 3,599 for HSK 5 and 5,399 for HSK 6. Fluentide has 644 words from its episodes, each with pinyin, English and the stories where you hear it.
Founder of Fluentide · Native Mandarin speaker · Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua University
Updated October 2026
On this page
The method in practice
Learn Chinese words inside stories you can follow
Fluentide starts you at the HSK level you mostly understand, then adds new words through real-news episodes. Each one comes with pinyin, an English gloss and the episode you heard it in.
What is Chinese vocabulary?
Chinese vocabulary is the set of words you need to read, listen to and speak Mandarin at a given level. Each word is three things to learn together: its characters, its pinyin with tones, and, for nouns, the measure word it counts with.
People online use words no HSK list has; see the Chinese slang dictionary. For dictionaries, flashcards and courses, see Chinese learning resources.
How many words does each HSK level cover?
The official HSK 3.0 exam syllabus sets a cumulative word count per level (HSK 7-9 is about 11,000), and the lists below follow it. The new HSK 1-6 papers replace HSK 2.0 on 13 December 2026. If you speak Mandarin from home but can't read it, you already know many of these words by ear; see how heritage speakers turn them into reading.
Browse Chinese vocabulary by HSK level
HSK 1 Vocabulary
300 absolute-beginner words: greetings, numbers, family, basic daily life.
Browse listHSK 2 Vocabulary
Adds 200 elementary words for everyday situations: travel, hobbies, weather, opinions.
Browse listHSK 3-4 Vocabulary
Intermediate range expanding to 2,000 words. Current events, abstract topics, news vocabulary.
Browse listHSK 5-6 Vocabulary
Upper levels, up to about 5,400 words. Idioms (chengyu), formal register, academic vocabulary.
Browse listFrequently asked questions
Most-used Mandarin words in Fluentide episodes
The 30 words that appear in the most Fluentide episodes. Learn these first.
All 841 Chinese words with full entries
Every word with a full entry (pinyin, translation, character breakdown, example audio), ordered by HSK level. Page 11 of 17.
Save words in context
Create a free account to save vocabulary in the episodes where you hear it
A free account saves your level and keeps each word tied to the episode where you heard it.
- Save your level
- Revisit words in context
- Keep episode-linked vocabulary progress