How Many Words at Each Level
The HSK vocabulary counts are cumulative, not incremental. HSK 3 assumes the 300 words from HSK 1 and 2, plus 300 new ones.
The lists themselves are free
The official vocabulary lists are published by Chinese Testing International as part of the HSK syllabus. Download them from the official site rather than from third-party sites that often mix old and new standards.
HSK 1 and 2: The Concrete Core
These 300 words are almost entirely concrete: people, numbers, time, food, places and basic actions. Every one of them should be automatic before you move on.
HSK 3 and 4: Abstract Nouns Arrive
The next 900 words introduce abstract concepts, and this is where word families become the efficient unit.
Four base characters can unlock twenty words. This is the same logic as Chinese radicals applied to meaning rather than to characters.
HSK 5 and 6: Formal and Idiomatic
At this level, learning a word means learning its collocations. 提高 pairs with 水平, 解决 pairs with 问题, 产生 pairs with 影响. Lists of single words stop being useful.
How to Actually Learn a List
Recognition is not knowledge
Recognising 影响 on a list is worth almost nothing in the exam. Recognising it inside a sentence and using it in your own writing is what the paper asks for.
Making Your Own Printable Set
Because the official lists are free documents, the most useful thing you can build is a personal printable pack: the words you have actually missed, in the sentences where you missed them.
Print it weekly, tick it by hand, and retire words only when you can use them in a new sentence. That habit is worth more than any app streak.
FAQ
Are the HSK vocabulary lists cumulative?
Yes. HSK 4 is 1,200 words total, which includes the 600 from HSK 3. When you study a level you should already know everything below it, so revision of earlier levels belongs in every plan.
Where can I get the official lists?
From Chinese Testing International, which publishes the vocabulary syllabus for each level. Use the official documents rather than third-party lists, which frequently mix the six-level and nine-level standards.
Are 5,000 words really needed for HSK 6?
The syllabus lists 5,000 cumulative words, and the exam draws on them across reading and listening. You do not need active control of all 5,000, but recognition of the full list is what the reading section assumes.
Should I learn characters or words first?
Words, always. A character in isolation has multiple meanings and no usage. Learn the word, then learn the characters inside it — this is also how Chinese children are taught.
Where the Lists Fit
Pair this with the HSK 1 plan, the HSK 3 plan and the HSK 5 and 6 guide. For character decoding, see Chinese radicals.