Mandarin word lists
Up to 2,800 words by frequency, plus GCSE and HSK. Built from the same frequency data as the 2,700-word Mandarin course.
Per Nation (2006), the most frequent 1,000 word-families cover 81-84% of spoken English.
Critical 100
100 must-know words
The 100 most common Mandarin words, ranked by frequency. Function words and the handful of verbs and nouns you will use in every conversation.
Browse 97 words
Core 1000
1,000 most common words
The most common Mandarin words from the top 1,000 by frequency: the 899 of them with a page so far. The workhorse vocabulary every learner needs.
Browse 899 words
Core 5000
2,800 most common words
The most common Mandarin words with a page on the site so far: 2,849 of the top 5,000 by frequency, ranks 1 to 4,996, growing as the course does.
Browse 2,849 words
GCSE vocabulary
AQA GCSE-aligned word list
Every word from our catalogue that appears in the AQA GCSE Mandarin (8673) specification. Each entry records which AQA topic unit(s) it covers, and for Spanish and French which tier the defined vocabulary list places it in.
Browse 718 words
HSK 1
HSK 1 exam vocabulary (A1)
Every word from our catalogue in the HSK 2.0 level 1 vocabulary - the 150 words the HSK 1 exam tests. Hanban maps HSK 1 to CEFR A1.
Browse 150 words
HSK 2
HSK 2 exam vocabulary (A2)
Every word from our catalogue in the HSK 2.0 level 2 vocabulary - cumulative across levels 1-2, 300 official words. Hanban maps HSK 2 to CEFR A2.
Browse 300 words
HSK 3
HSK 3 exam vocabulary (B1)
Every word from our catalogue in the HSK 2.0 level 3 vocabulary - cumulative across levels 1-3, 600 official words. Hanban maps HSK 3 to CEFR B1.
Browse 599 words
HSK 4
HSK 4 exam vocabulary (B2)
Every word from our catalogue in the HSK 2.0 level 4 vocabulary - cumulative across levels 1-4, 1,200 official words. Hanban maps HSK 4 to CEFR B2.
Browse 1,197 words
HSK 5
HSK 5 exam vocabulary (C1)
Every word from our catalogue in the HSK 2.0 level 5 vocabulary - cumulative across levels 1-5, 2,500 official words. Hanban maps HSK 5 to CEFR C1.
Browse 1,762 words
HSK 6
HSK 6 exam vocabulary (C2)
Every word from our catalogue in the HSK 2.0 level 6 vocabulary - cumulative across levels 1-6, 5,000+ official words. Hanban maps HSK 6 to CEFR C2.
Browse 2,046 words