HSK 4 Vocabulary List 2026: 1,000 New Words

First abstract emotional vocabulary

L4 introduces words for love (爱情), friendship (友情), family bonds (亲情), ideals (理想), and regret (后悔) — vocabulary that requires emotional and contextual understanding.

Economic and commercial vocabulary

Terms like e-commerce (电商), livestream (直播), promotion (促销), and brand (品牌) reflect China's digital economy. These appear in both reading passages and speaking tasks.

Cultural and historical terms appear for the first time

National heritage (国粹), etiquette (礼仪), proverb (俗语), historical site (名胜古迹), and ethnic group (民族) are entirely new domains that require cultural background knowledge.

Cluster by topic, not by list order

Learn 历史 (history), 名胜 (scenic site), 古迹 (ruins), 文物 (cultural relic) together as a semantic cluster. Topic-based learning builds the background knowledge needed for the 11 new task domains.

Prioritize the 300 highest-frequency new words first

Words like 经济, 技术, 影响, 观念, 传统, 现象 appear in multiple task domains. Master these cross-domain words before drilling niche vocabulary.

Learn collocations, not just definitions

At B2 level, knowing 消费 means 'consumption' is not enough. You need 消费观 (consumer values), 消费习惯 (consumption habits), 促进消费 (stimulate consumption). Build phrase knowledge.

Use reading to consolidate

Short news articles, travel blogs, and cultural introductions at your level expose you to HSK 4 vocabulary in natural context. Aim for 10–15 minutes of reading per day after building your base.