Chinese vocabulary by topic
Chinese vocabulary by topic: 30 lists and 1,335 words, each with pinyin, English and its HSK 3.0 level. Every list starts with the words a beginner needs and continues up to HSK 5 and 6, grouped by the lesson that teaches them.
All 30 topics
How each topic page is built
Every page lists the words for one topic with pinyin, English and the level the new HSK 3.0 list gives each word. The words a beginner needs come first, then the rest in the order of the lessons that teach them. Each word links to its dictionary entry. The largest list is school with 80 words; the smallest is festivals and holidays with 20.
Where to look next
Looking for one word? The dictionary has 124,727 entries. Looking for a whole level? The HSK 3.0 lists have every word, character and grammar point by level.
Frequently asked questions
What Chinese words should a beginner learn first?
The words at HSK 1 in the everyday topics: family, numbers, food, time and greetings. Every list here starts with its HSK 1 words and works upward.
Is it better to learn Chinese vocabulary by topic?
Topic lists are good for finding and reviewing words. For learning them, order matters more: a word sticks when the characters and words it is built from are already known. That is why each list here is grouped by lesson and level and not alphabetically.
Do these lists follow the HSK?
Yes. Every word shows its level in the new HSK 3.0 word list. The full lists by level are at HSK 3.0, complete.
GraphChinese teaches these words in dependency order, with audio, and only moves on when each one is proven. The whole course, HSK 0 through HSK 6, is $49 once for lifetime access.
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