Last updated: 15 August 2026
Chinese Vocab Tab presents Chinese words in simplified characters, with pinyin, meanings and example sentences, grouped into the six HSK levels.
The material is compiled and reviewed with care, but it is a learning aid rather than an authoritative reference. Meanings and example sentences may contain errors.
Chinese has a published vocabulary syllabus, so the levels here are not our own editorial judgement. Each word is assigned to the level at which it appears in the official HSK 2.0 word lists — the six-level standard, of roughly 5,000 words in total.
Not every level is complete. At the time of writing, HSK 1, 2 and 3 contain every word on their official lists. HSK 4, 5 and 6 contain the most frequently used words from those levels rather than the full list, with more added over time. The settings panel shows how many words each level currently holds.
A note on which standard: a newer HSK 3.0 syllabus, with nine levels and a considerably larger vocabulary, has been introduced and took effect in 2026. This extension follows the older six-level HSK 2.0 lists, which remain what most current textbooks and learners refer to. If you are studying specifically for a HSK 3.0 examination, the level groupings here will not match your syllabus.
Within a level, words are ordered by how commonly they occur, which is not the same as the order a textbook teaches them in.
Pinyin is written with tone marks, following standard orthography. Where a tone changes in connected speech — such as 不 before a fourth tone, or 一 before most tones — it is written as it is actually said rather than as the character reads in isolation, because the purpose is to tell you what you will hear.
Syllables that are unstressed in ordinary speech are written without a tone mark. Other sources vary on this, and some mark every syllable.
Audio is machine-generated. It is generally accurate, but synthesised speech can get an individual word wrong.
This is worth knowing about in Chinese specifically. Many characters have more than one reading depending on meaning — 长 is cháng for long but zhǎng for to grow; 行 is xíng for to go but háng for a trade. Speech synthesis infers the reading from context, and a word spoken on its own gives it none, so the audio for a single word may occasionally use the wrong one. The pinyin on the card is the reliable guide.
Where pre-generated audio is unavailable, the extension falls back to your operating system's built-in speech voice, whose quality varies considerably between systems and is outside our control. Some systems have no Chinese voice installed at all, in which case that fallback will be silent.
Chinese Vocab Tab is free to use. There is nothing to buy, no account to create, and no trial that expires.
Features may be added, changed or removed over time as the extension develops.
The extension contains a small number of clearly marked affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them. We have no control over those services and are not responsible for their content, pricing or conduct.
The extension works offline for everything except pronunciation audio, which needs an internet connection. We aim to keep the audio host available but cannot promise uninterrupted service.
The extension is provided "as is". To the extent permitted by law, we are not liable for losses arising from its use, including any consequences of inaccurate study material. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot lawfully be limited, and nothing here affects your statutory rights as a consumer.
Using this extension does not guarantee any particular result in the HSK or any other examination.
These terms may be updated as the extension changes. The date at the top of this page shows the most recent revision.
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