HSK4 Vocabulary List with PinyinHSK 3.0

What the HSK levels actually measure

The HSK is the standardised Chinese proficiency test recognised by Chinese universities and by employers, and its levels are defined by vocabulary before anything else. Each level adds a fixed set of words to the one below it, and the exam draws on that set, which is why the word list is not a study aid for the test but very nearly the test itself.

The lists grow steeply, and the shape of that growth is worth knowing before you plan anything. The first two levels are small enough to learn in weeks and cover greetings, numbers, family, food and the most common verbs. The middle levels are where a learner starts being able to read: the vocabulary stops being about the classroom and starts being about work, health, travel and opinion. The last two are larger than everything below them put together, and they are the reason the jump to the highest level takes years rather than months.

A word of caution about which list you are looking at. The HSK was revised in 2021 into a nine-level scheme, and both versions are still in use: universities and language schools have moved at different speeds, and much published material still describes the six-level version. The lists here follow the 2021 standard, so a level will not always match an older textbook that carries the same number.

Every word links to its dictionary entry, where you will find the full definition, the traditional form, the audio pronunciation and example sentences. Reading a list is how you find out what you do not know; the dictionary and the flashcards are what turn that into knowing it.