HSK 5 is advanced — roughly 120 words spanning formal language, professional topics, and nuanced emotional expression. At this level you can read Chinese newspapers, understand speeches, and discuss complex topics. Many Chinese universities require HSK 5 for admission to degree programs.
Grammar You'll Use at This Level
双重否定 (double negation)
我不能不去。→ I can't not go.
Two negatives make a stronger positive. 不能不 = must. 不得不 = have no choice but to. Feels more forceful than a simple positive.
以...为
他以教书为乐。→ He takes teaching as joy.
Formal pattern meaning 'to take A as B.' Used a lot in written Chinese and formal speech.
由...来
这件事由我来处理。→ I'll handle this matter.
Marks who's responsible for doing something. More formal than just saying 我来.
⚠️ Easily Confused at This Level
忍不住 (rěnbuzhù) vs. 受不了 (shòubùliǎo)
忍不住 = can't help doing (我忍不住笑了 = I couldn't help laughing). 受不了 = can't stand something (我受不了这个天气 = I can't stand this weather).
始终 (shǐzhōng) vs. 一直 (yìzhí)
Both = 'all along / the whole time.' 始终 is more formal and emphasizes the entire duration. 一直 is more common in speech and can also mean 'straight' for directions (一直走 = go straight).
| # | Character | Pinyin | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 爱护 | àihù | |
| 2 | 把握 | bǎwò | |
| 3 | 办理 | bànlǐ | |
| 4 | 保持 | bǎochí | |
| 5 | 保存 | bǎocún | |
| 6 | 悲观 | bēiguān | |
| 7 | 本质 | běnzhì | |
| 8 | 毕竟 | bìjìng | |
| 9 | 辩论 | biànlùn | |
| 10 | 标志 | biāozhì | |
| 11 | 博士后 | bóshìhòu | |
| 12 | 不屑一顾 | búxiè yígù | |
| 13 | 部门 | bùmén | |
| 14 | 财产 | cáichǎn | |
| 15 | 采访 | cǎifǎng | |
| 16 | 策略 | cèlüè | |
| 17 | 产生 | chǎnshēng | |
| 18 | 常识 | chángshí | |
| 19 | 朝代 | cháodài | |
| 20 | 成分 | chéngfèn | |
| 21 | 承担 | chéngdān | |
| 22 | 充分 | chōngfèn | |
| 23 | 抽象 | chōuxiàng | |
| 24 | 丑 | chǒu | |
| 25 | 传统 | chuántǒng | |
| 26 | 创造 | chuàngzào | |
| 27 | 从此 | cóngcǐ | |
| 28 | 匆忙 | cōngmáng | |
| 29 | 促进 | cùjìn | |
| 30 | 存在 | cúnzài | |
| 31 | 措施 | cuòshī | |
| 32 | 胆小鬼 | dǎnxiǎoguǐ | |
| 33 | 道德 | dàodé | |
| 34 | 导致 | dǎozhì | |
| 35 | 导演 | dǎoyǎn | |
| 36 | 等于 | děngyú | |
| 37 | 滴 | dī | |
| 38 | 独立 | dúlì | |
| 39 | 对比 | duìbǐ | |
| 40 | 反应 | fǎnyìng | |
| 41 | 废话 | fèihuà | |
| 42 | 分手 | fēnshǒu | |
| 43 | 奋斗 | fèndòu | |
| 44 | 风格 | fēnggé | |
| 45 | 封建 | fēngjiàn | |
| 46 | 否认 | fǒurèn | |
| 47 | 感慨 | gǎnkǎi | |
| 48 | 公平 | gōngpíng | |
| 49 | 贡献 | gòngxiàn | |
| 50 | 沟通 | gōutōng | |
| 51 | 古典 | gǔdiǎn | |
| 52 | 观点 | guāndiǎn | |
| 53 | 规矩 | guīju | |
| 54 | 和平 | hépíng | |
| 55 | 猴子 | hóuzi | |
| 56 | 忽视 | hūshì | |
| 57 | 滑冰 | huábīng | |
| 58 | 幻想 | huànxiǎng | |
| 59 | 挥霍 | huīhuò | |
| 60 | 记忆 | jìyì | |
| 61 | 价值 | jiàzhí | |
| 62 | 艰巨 | jiānjù | |
| 63 | 建设 | jiànshè | |
| 64 | 讲究 | jiǎngjiu | |
| 65 | 阶段 | jiēduàn | |
| 66 | 结构 | jiégòu | |
| 67 | 借口 | jièkǒu | |
| 68 | 进步 | jìnbù | |
| 69 | 精力 | jīnglì | |
| 70 | 据说 | jùshuō | |
| 71 | 开发 | kāifā | |
| 72 | 可怕 | kěpà | |
| 73 | 客观 | kèguān | |
| 74 | 理论 | lǐlùn | |
| 75 | 骂 | mà | |
| 76 | 漫画 | mànhuà | |
| 77 | 梦想 | mèngxiǎng | |
| 78 | 面对 | miànduì | |
| 79 | 模仿 | mófǎng | |
| 80 | 内 | nèi | |
| 81 | 判断 | pànduàn | |
| 82 | 培养 | péiyǎng | |
| 83 | 谦虚 | qiānxū | |
| 84 | 强烈 | qiángliè | |
| 85 | 趋势 | qūshì | |
| 86 | 荣誉 | róngyù | |
| 87 | 商品 | shāngpǐn | |
| 88 | 身份 | shēnfèn | |
| 89 | 深刻 | shēnkè | |
| 90 | 实现 | shíxiàn | |
| 91 | 思考 | sīkǎo | |
| 92 | 谈判 | tánpàn | |
| 93 | 逃避 | táobì | |
| 94 | 体贴 | tǐtiē | |
| 95 | 挑战 | tiǎozhàn | |
| 96 | 突出 | tūchū | |
| 97 | 推广 | tuīguǎng | |
| 98 | 完善 | wánshàn | |
| 99 | 现代 | xiàndài | |
| 100 | 效率 | xiàolǜ | |
| 101 | 欣赏 | xīnshǎng | |
| 102 | 研发 | yánfā | |
| 103 | 严肃 | yánsù | |
| 104 | 形式 | xíngshì | |
| 105 | 预测 | yùcè | |
| 106 | 追求 | zhuīqiú | |
| 107 | 资源 | zīyuán | |
| 108 | 自豪 | zìháo | |
| 109 | 综合 | zōnghé | |
| 110 | 阻止 | zǔzhǐ |
How to Master HSK 5 Vocabulary
1. Read through the full word list first.
Don't try to memorize on the first pass. Scroll through the entire table. Which words do you already recognize? Which ones look completely unfamiliar? Get a sense of the terrain before you start climbing. Mark or note the words that seem hardest — those are the ones you'll spend the most time on.
2. Listen to every word's audio — twice.
Tap the 🔊 button for every word in this list, even the ones you think you know. First listen: just listen. Second listen: say the word out loud with the audio, matching the tone exactly. If your voice doesn't follow the same pitch contour, say it again. Tones are physical skills, not intellectual ones — your mouth needs practice, not your brain.
3. Read every example sentence out loud.
The example sentences aren't decoration. They show you how the word fits into a real Chinese sentence — what comes before it, what comes after it, what grammatical particles it needs. You can memorize that 会 means “can,” but you haven't learned it until you can recognize it in a sentence and produce it correctly in context. Read the Chinese sentence, then the pinyin, then the translation. Then read the Chinese again without looking at the pinyin.
4. Move to flashcards when you recognize ~60%.
You don't need to know every word before starting flashcards. Once about 60% of the words look familiar, switch to the HSK 5 flashcards. The act of guessing and checking — even when you're wrong — builds stronger memories than re-reading a table. Mark words honestly. The flashcard system cycles back words you mark “Still Learning,” so you get more repetitions on the hard ones and fewer on the easy ones.
5. Test yourself, then write the ones you miss.
Take the HSK 5 quiz. At the end, you'll see every question you got wrong. For each wrong answer, go to the Writing page and practice writing that character — watch the animation, then write it 10 times on paper. The combination of being wrong (which makes the answer more memorable), seeing the correct answer, and then writing the character creates three memory anchors for one word. It's dramatically more effective than just re-reading the table.
What Next?
You can read newspapers, understand formal speech, and discuss professional topics. HSK 6 is the final stretch: classical Chinese, chengyu, and the fine-grained vocabulary distinctions that separate fluent speakers from truly literate ones. At this level, your best teacher is volume of exposure. Read widely — novels, essays, academic papers, social media. The vocabulary list is a checklist, not a curriculum.