Dictionary

Browse and explore Chinese vocabulary. Use the search bar to find any word by Chinese, pinyin, or English — or paste a full sentence for word-by-word breakdown.

61,319 words 132,558 examples 54,898 tips HSK 1-9

Browse by HSK Level

Official vocabulary lists from the 2021 HSK 3.0 standard (汉语水平等级标准), levels 1–9 — where 7, 8, and 9 share a single unified word list distinguished only by exam score band.

HSK 1 510 words

旁边 pángbiān beside 两 liǎng two 去 qù to go 不对 búduì incorrect 走路 zǒulù to walk

HSK 2 757 words

凉 liáng cool 信息 xìnxī information 快餐 kuàicān fast food 自由 zìyóu freedom; liberty 参观 cānguān to visit (a place)

HSK 3 960 words

歌声 gēshēng singing voice 古 gǔ ancient 行李 xíngli luggage; baggage 工程师 gōngchéngshī engineer 裙子 qúnzi skirt; dress

HSK 4 985 words

宝贝 bǎobèi baby 测试 cèshì to test; to examine 各个 gègè every; each; various 实用 shíyòng practical 着火 zháohuǒ to catch fire

HSK 5 1,063 words

疯 fēng insane; mad; crazy 强度 qiángdù strength; intensity 煤气 méiqì coal gas; gas (fuel) 业务 yèwù business 振动 zhèndòng to vibrate; vibration

HSK 6 1,129 words

整治 zhěngzhì to regulate; to rectify; to renovate 原告 yuángào plaintiff; complainant 净 jìng clean; pure 懒 lǎn lazy; idle 用处 yòngchu usefulness; use; purpose

HSK 7-9 5,623 words

有声有色 yǒushēng-yǒusè vivid 批发 pīfā to sell wholesale 窄 zhǎi narrow 安逸 ānyì comfortable; easy and carefree 槐树 huáishù Chinese scholar tree

Browse by Category

Explore Chinese vocabulary by structure and class — radicals, polyphone characters with multiple readings, and four-character idioms.

Kangxi 169 radicals

虍 hū tiger-stripe 7 chars 甘 gān sweet 3 chars 口 kǒu mouth 356 chars 臣 chén minister 4 chars 血 xuè blood 4 chars

Polyphone 378 polyphones

子 zǐ / zi 陂 bēi / pí / pō 畜 chù / xù 车 chē / jū 姥 lǎo / mǔ

Chengyu 3,746 idioms

通风报信 tōngfēng-bàoxìn to secretly tip someone off 深得人心 shēndé-rénxīn to enjoy widespread popular support 五谷不分 wǔgǔ-bùfēn unable to tell the five grains apart 巧立名目 qiǎolì-míngmù to concoct fancy-sounding categories (to extract money etc.) 啧啧称奇 zézé-chēngqí to click one's tongue in wonder (idiom)

Pop Culture 5,312 entries

炯兰 Jiǒnglán Jionglan (a personal name) 利奥·克里茨基 Lì'ào Kèlǐcíjī Leo Kritzky — fictional CIA officer who is the central character in Robert Littell's espionage novel The Company (2002) 黄宏 Huánghóng Huang Hong (1960-), comedian and actor known for his CCTV Spring Festival Gala xiaopin skits 哥特列特 Gētèlièt'è Gotlet / Cotelette (foreign-name phonetic transliteration) 陈麻婆 ChénMápó Chen Mapo, creator of mapo tofu

Measure Word 130 classifiers

一捆 yīkǔn a bundle (of) 公吨 gōngdūn metric ton 公里 gōnglǐ kilometer 一串 yīchuàn a string of 遍 biàn measure word for times (of doing sth from start to finish)

Phrase 1,594 phrases

人生路不熟 rénshēnglùbùshú everything is unfamiliar 维持原判 wéichí yuánpàn to affirm the original judgment 二十秒 èrshímiǎo twenty seconds 数种 shùzhǒng several kinds 建设中 jiànshèzhōng under construction

Browse by Frequency

Ranked by how often words appear in Chinese movies and TV shows (SUBTLEX-CH).

1–500 500 words

等等 děngděng wait a moment 相信 xiāngxìn to believe 麻烦 máfan trouble 份 fèn measure word for copies, portions, servings 拍 pāi to pat; to slap; to clap

501–1,000 500 words

曾 céng once 进行 jìnxíng to carry out 少 shǎo few 最近 zuìjìn recently 游戏 yóuxì game

1,001–2,000 1,000 words

交给 jiāogěi to hand over to 护士 hùshi nurse 麦克 Màikè Mike; Michael (English name) 小组 xiǎozǔ group 烦 fán annoyed; vexed; irritated

2,001–5,000 3,000 words

黄 huáng yellow 宁愿 nìngyuàn would rather 众 zhòng crowd; multitude 题 tí question; problem 赞同 zàntóng to approve of

5,001–10,000 5,000 words

格林 Gélín Green (surname) 将近 jiāngjìn almost 脆 cuì crisp; crunchy 专栏 zhuānlán special column (in a newspaper/magazine) 陆战队 lùzhànduì marine corps

10,001–20,000 10,000 words

硫酸 liúsuān sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) 猎户座 Lièhùzuò Orion (constellation) 伊迪丝 Yīdísī Edith (name) 格拉斯哥 Gélāsīgē Glasgow (city in Scotland, UK) 拖拉机 tuōlājī tractor