HSK 4 vocabulary list

• 挑tiāoto carry on a shoulder pole; to choose; to pick; to nitpick
• 老公lǎo gōng(coll.) husband
• 吸xīto breathe; to suck in; to absorb; to inhale
• 箱xiāngbox; trunk; chest
• 下降xià jiàngto decline; to drop; to fall; to go down; to decrease
• 大会dà huìgeneral assembly; general meeting; convention
• 兵bīngsoldiers; a force; an army; weapons; arms; military; warlike
• 回复huí fùto reply; to recover; to return (to a previous condition); Re: in reply to (email)
• 牙yátooth; ivory
• 工程gōng chéngengineering; an engineering project; project; undertaking
• 肥féifat; fertile; loose-fitting or large; to fertilize; to become rich by illegal means; fertilizer; manure
• 湿shīvariant of 湿
• 守shǒuto guard; to defend; to keep watch; to abide by the law; to observe (rules or ritual); nearby; adjoining
• 获huò(literary) to catch; to capture; (literary) to get; to obtain; to win
• 法官fǎ guānjudge (in court)
• 松sōngsurname Song
• 登dēngto scale (a height); to ascend; to mount; to publish or record; to enter (e.g. in a register); to press down with the foot; to step or tread on; to put on (shoes or trousers) (dialect); to be gathered and taken to the threshing ground (old)
• 遇yùsurname Yu
• 引yǐnto draw (e.g. a bow); to pull; to stretch sth; to extend; to lengthen; to involve or implicate in; to attract; to lead; to guide; to leave; to provide evidence or justification for; old unit of distance equal to 10 丈, one-thirtieth of a km or 33.33 meters
• 降jiàngto drop; to fall; to come down; to descend
• 睡着shuì zháoto fall asleep
• 地下dì xiàunderground; subterranean; covert
• 闪shǎnsurname Shan
• 袋dàipouch; bag; sack; pocket
• 散sànvariant of 散
• 购买gòu mǎito purchase; to buy
• 战士zhàn shìfighter; soldier; warrior
• 针zhēnneedle; pin; injection; stitch
• 装置zhuāng zhìto install; installation; equipment; system; unit; device
• 移yíto move; to shift; to change; to alter; to remove
• 测cèto survey; to measure; to conjecture
• 医学yī xuémedicine; medical science; study of medicine
• 刷shuāto brush; to paint; to daub; to paste up; to skip class (of students); to fire from a job
• 作出zuò chūto put out; to come up with; to make (a choice, decision, proposal, response, comment etc); to issue (a permit, statement, explanation, apology, reassurance to the public etc); to draw (conclusion); to deliver (speech, judgment); to devise (explanation); to extract
• 预测yù cèto forecast; to predict
• 运动员yùn dòng yuánathlete
• 姐妹jiě mèisisters; siblings; sister (school, city etc)
• 外套wài tàocoat; jacket
• 描述miáo shùto describe; description
• 聚jùto congregate; to assemble; to mass; to gather together; to amass; to polymerize
• 黑暗hēi àndark; darkly; darkness
• 含hánto keep in the mouth; to contain
• 地面dì miànfloor; ground; surface
• 纯chúnpure; simple; unmixed; genuine
• 稳wěnsettled; steady; stable
• 遇见yù jiànto meet
• 夫妻fū qīhusband and wife; married couple
• 眼泪yǎn lèitears; crying
• 隔géto separate; to partition; to stand or lie between; at a distance from; after or at an interval of
• 供应gōng yìngto supply; to provide; to offer
• 战胜zhàn shèngto prevail over; to defeat; to surmount
• 密mìsurname Mi; name of an ancient state
• 独自dú zìalone
• 大哥dà gēeldest brother; big brother (polite address for a man of about the same age as oneself); gang leader; boss
• 大众dà zhòngVolkswagen (automobile manufacturer)
• 减jiǎnto lower; to decrease; to reduce; to subtract; to diminish
• 末mòtip; end; final stage; latter part; inessential detail; powder; dust; opera role of old man
• 细xìthin or slender; finely particulate; thin and soft; fine; delicate; trifling; (of a sound) quiet; frugal
• 出售chū shòuto sell; to offer for sale; to put on the market
• 堵dǔto block up (a road, pipe etc); to stop up (a hole); (fig.) (of a person) choked up with anxiety or stress; wall (literary); (classifier for walls)

Frequently asked questions

How many words do you need for HSK 4?

On the current exam (HSK 2.0), HSK 4 requires 1,200 words in total, counted from HSK 1. Under the new HSK 3.0 standard, level 4 covers 3,245 words in total.

What is in this HSK 4 vocabulary list?

935 Chinese words that the HSK Ace dictionary places at HSK 4, sorted by frequency. Each one has pinyin, an English meaning, audio and a stroke-order animation. The set draws on both HSK 2.0 and HSK 3.0, so its size differs from the official counts.

Practice HSK 4

See how many of these words you can use under exam conditions, or learn to write them stroke by stroke.