HSK 6 Vocabulary List: 2,500 Words with Pinyin, Tones & Audio
Every word on the HSK 6 list with pinyin, English meaning and audio you can play. Filter by tone pattern, search any character, and export the list to CSV, Anki or PDF.
Word list based on the HSK 2.0 standard.
How many words are in HSK 6?
Under the original HSK 2.0 standard, HSK 6 adds 2,500 new words, for a cumulative 5,000 counting every level below it. The 2021 HSK 3.0 standard is bigger: 1,140 new words at HSK 6, or 5,456 cumulative. This page lists 2,500 unique entries with pinyin, English meanings and audio — the de-duplicated HSK 2.0 list, so the figure can differ by a word or two from the headline number.
151 are single-syllable words, 2,174 are two-syllable and 175 are longer — 5,141 syllables to pronounce in total.
This page shows the first 100 of 2,500 words. The rest continue in the parts below; search and the exports cover the whole list.
| # | Character | Pinyin | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 哦 | é | to chant | |
| 2 | 啦 | lā | (onom.) sound of singing, cheering etc; (phonetic); (dialect) to chat | |
| 3 | 组組 | Zǔ | surname Zu | |
| 4 | 嘛 | má | used in 吽; (Tw) (coll.) what? | |
| 5 | 现场現場 | xiàn chǎng | the scene (of a crime, accident etc); (on) the spot; (at) the site | |
| 6 | 拥有擁有 | yōng yǒu | to have; to possess | |
| 7 | 哇 | wā | Wow!; sound of a child's crying; sound of vomiting | |
| 8 | 数數 | shǔ | to count; to count as; to regard as; to enumerate; to list | |
| 9 | 交易 | jiāo yì | to deal; to trade; to transact; transaction; deal | |
| 10 | 死亡 | sǐ wáng | to die; death | |
| 11 | 事件 | shì jiàn | event; happening; incident | |
| 12 | 啥 | shá | dialectal equivalent of 什么; also pr. [shà] | |
| 13 | 选手選手 | xuǎn shǒu | athlete; contestant | |
| 14 | 投票 | tóu piào | to vote; vote | |
| 15 | 客户客戶 | kè hù | client; customer | |
| 16 | 或许或許 | huò xǔ | perhaps; maybe | |
| 17 | 同志 | tóng zhì | comrade; (slang) homosexual | |
| 18 | 媒体媒體 | méi tǐ | media, esp. news media | |
| 19 | 意识意識 | yì shí | consciousness; awareness; to be aware | |
| 20 | 机构機構 | jī gòu | mechanism; structure; organization | |
| 21 | 副 | fù | secondary; auxiliary; deputy | |
| 22 | 事业事業 | shì yè | undertaking; project; activity | |
| 23 | 左右 | zuǒ yòu | left and right; nearby; approximately | |
| 24 | 而已 | ér yǐ | that's all; nothing more | |
| 25 | 嗯 | ēn | (a groaning sound) | |
| 26 | 成员成員 | chéng yuán | member | |
| 27 | 梦想夢想 | mèng xiǎng | (fig.) to dream of; dream | |
| 28 | 网络網絡 | Wǎng luò | Internet | |
| 29 | 队伍隊伍 | duì wǔ | ranks; troops; queue | |
| 30 | 事故 | shì gù | accident | |
| 31 | 协议協議 | xié yì | agreement; pact; protocol | |
| 32 | 攻击攻擊 | gōng jī | to attack; to accuse; to charge | |
| 33 | 超级超級 | chāo jí | super-; ultra-; hyper- | |
| 34 | 意味着意味著 | yì wèi zhe | to signify; to mean; to imply | |
| 35 | 案件 | àn jiàn | case; instance | |
| 36 | 确保確保 | què bǎo | to ensure; to guarantee | |
| 37 | 区域區域 | qū yù | area; region; district | |
| 38 | 家伙傢伙 | jiā huo | variant of 伙 | |
| 39 | 爆炸 | bào zhà | explosion; to explode; to blow up | |
| 40 | 展示 | zhǎn shì | to reveal; to display; to show; to exhibit | |
| 41 | 基地 | jī dì | base (of operations); industrial or military base; al-Qaeda | |
| 42 | 战斗戰鬥 | zhàn dòu | to fight; to engage in combat; struggle | |
| 43 | 人家 | rén jiā | household; dwelling; family | |
| 44 | 军队軍隊 | jūn duì | armed forces; troops | |
| 45 | 基金 | jī jīn | fund | |
| 46 | 社区社區 | shè qū | community; neighborhood | |
| 47 | 即将即將 | jí jiāng | on the eve of; to be about to; to be on the verge of | |
| 48 | 欧洲歐洲 | Oū zhōu | Europe (abbr. for 欧罗巴洲) | |
| 49 | 中央 | zhōng yāng | central; middle; center | |
| 50 | 州 | zhōu | prefecture; (old) province; (old) administrative division | |
| 51 | 显著顯著 | xiǎn zhù | outstanding; notable; remarkable | |
| 52 | 袭击襲擊 | xí jī | attack (esp. surprise attack); raid; to attack | |
| 53 | 承诺承諾 | chéng nuò | to promise; to undertake to do something; commitment | |
| 54 | 尽快儘快 | jǐn kuài | as quickly as possible; as soon as possible | |
| 55 | 感染 | gǎn rǎn | to infect; infection; (fig.) to influence | |
| 56 | 砸 | zá | to smash; to pound; to fail | |
| 57 | 党黨 | Dǎng | surname Dang | |
| 58 | 打击打擊 | dǎ jī | to hit; to strike; to attack | |
| 59 | 转移轉移 | zhuǎn yí | to shift; to relocate; to transfer; (fig.) to shift (attention); to change (the subject etc); (medicine) to metastasize | |
| 60 | 生物 | shēng wù | organism; living creature; life form | |
| 61 | 主题主題 | zhǔ tí | theme; subject | |
| 62 | 人士 | rén shì | person; figure; public figure | |
| 63 | 集团集團 | jí tuán | group; bloc; corporation | |
| 64 | 进展進展 | jìn zhǎn | to make headway; to make progress | |
| 65 | 试验試驗 | shì yàn | experiment; test; to experiment | |
| 66 | 性感 | xìng gǎn | sex appeal; eroticism; sexuality | |
| 67 | 系列 | xì liè | series; set | |
| 68 | 真相 | zhēn xiàng | the truth about sth; the actual facts | |
| 69 | 搭 | dā | to put up; to build (scaffolding); to hang (clothes on a pole) | |
| 70 | 夫人 | fū ren | lady; madam; Mrs. | |
| 71 | 毫无毫無 | háo wú | not in the least; to completely lack | |
| 72 | 尝试嘗試 | cháng shì | to try; to attempt | |
| 73 | 疾病 | jí bìng | disease; sickness; ailment | |
| 74 | 类似類似 | lèi sì | similar; analogous | |
| 75 | 联盟聯盟 | lián méng | alliance; union; coalition | |
| 76 | 评论評論 | píng lùn | to comment on; to discuss; comment | |
| 77 | 仪式儀式 | yí shì | ceremony | |
| 78 | 进攻進攻 | jìn gōng | to attack; to assault; to go on the offensive | |
| 79 | 来源來源 | lái yuán | source (of information etc); origin | |
| 80 | 生存 | shēng cún | to exist; to survive | |
| 81 | 并非並非 | bìng fēi | really isn't | |
| 82 | 非法 | fēi fǎ | illegal | |
| 83 | 本身 | běn shēn | itself; in itself; per se | |
| 84 | 端 | duān | end; extremity; item | |
| 85 | 时光時光 | shí guāng | time; era; period of time | |
| 86 | 实力實力 | shí lì | strength | |
| 87 | 证实證實 | zhèng shí | to confirm (sth to be true); to verify | |
| 88 | 恶心噁心 | ě xīn | variant of 恶心 | |
| 89 | 盯 | dīng | to watch attentively; to fix one's attention on; to stare at | |
| 90 | 将军將軍 | Jiāng jūn | (common place name) | |
| 91 | 尸体屍體 | shī tǐ | dead body; corpse; carcass | |
| 92 | 分手 | fēn shǒu | to part company; to split up; to break up | |
| 93 | 模式 | mó shì | mode; method; pattern | |
| 94 | 异常異常 | yì cháng | unusual; abnormal; extremely; exceptionally | |
| 95 | 档案檔案 | dàng àn | file; record; archive | |
| 96 | 维持維持 | wéi chí | to keep; to maintain; to preserve | |
| 97 | 协会協會 | xié huì | an association; a society | |
| 98 | 细胞細胞 | xì bāo | cell (biology) | |
| 99 | 症状症狀 | zhèng zhuàng | symptom (of an illness) | |
| 100 | 试图試圖 | shì tú | to attempt; to try |
Tones in HSK 6
Vocabulary lists tell you what to memorize. Tone counts tell you what to practise. Here is how the 5,141 syllables of HSK 6 break down.
Tone distribution
Fourth tone is the workhorse of Mandarin, and HSK 6 is no exception: tone 4 covers 38% of the syllables on this list.
Most common tone pairs
2,174 of these words are two syllables long, and a handful of tone pairs account for most of them. Tap a pattern to filter the list.
- 4–4322 wordse.g. 事件 shì jiàn
- 1–4267 wordse.g. 交易 jiāo yì
- 2–4240 wordse.g. 投票 tóu piào
- 3–4194 wordse.g. 左右 zuǒ yòu
- 1–2147 wordse.g. 超级 chāo jí
- 2–2130 wordse.g. 成员 chéng yuán
- 4–2121 wordse.g. 意识 yì shí
- 1–1106 wordse.g. 攻击 gōng jī
0 = neutral tone
Pronunciation traps in this list
Counted straight from the pinyin above — these are the words worth recording yourself on.
HSK 2.0 vs HSK 3.0 at level 6
Two vocabulary standards are in circulation, which is why you will see wildly different word counts for the same level.
| Standard | New words | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|
| HSK 2.0 (2009) | 2,500 | 5,000 |
| HSK 3.0 (2021) | 1,140 | 5,456 |
HSK 2.0 (2009) is the six-level standard nearly every textbook, course and exam-prep book on the market still teaches. HSK 3.0 — officially the Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards, published in 2021 — keeps the level names but roughly doubles the vocabulary and adds a 7–9 band for advanced learners. Exam centres are still migrating, so unless your course explicitly says HSK 3.0, the 2.0 list is the one you are being tested on.
This page follows the HSK 2.0 list, the version most HSK 6 courses and exam papers still use.
How many words are in HSK 6?
HSK 6 adds 2,500 new words under the HSK 2.0 standard (5,000 cumulative from HSK 1), or 1,140 under HSK 3.0 (5,456 cumulative). This page lists 2,500 unique entries with pinyin, meaning and audio.
What is HSK?
HSK (汉语水平考试) is the official Chinese proficiency test. Each level has a set vocabulary list you are expected to know, and the test assumes you can both read and say every word on it.
Can I download the HSK 6 word list?
Yes, three ways and none of them need an account: Download CSV opens in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers; Anki deck gives you a tab-separated file you can import straight into Anki or Quizlet; Print / PDF produces a clean printable list with no site furniture.
What is the difference between HSK 2.0 and HSK 3.0 for HSK 6?
HSK 2.0 (2009) sets HSK 6 at 2,500 new words. The 2021 HSK 3.0 standard raises it to 1,140 and adds an advanced 7–9 band. Most courses and exam papers still follow the 2.0 list, which is the one on this page.
Does the HSK 6 list include pinyin?
Every entry shows pinyin with tone marks next to the simplified and traditional characters and the English meaning, and the speaker icon plays the word out loud.
Which tones matter most in HSK 6?
Tone 4 is the most frequent, covering 38% of the 5,141 syllables on this list. 63 of the words contain two third tones in a row, where third-tone sandhi applies.
How long does it take to learn the HSK 6 vocabulary?
At ten new words a day, 2,500 words is roughly 36 weeks of study — but recognising a word is not the same as saying it. Learners who record themselves from day one hit the speaking sections far more comfortably.
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