HSK 5: What Level 5 Covers
HSK 5 is level 5 of the nine HSK 3.0 levels. It builds on HSK 4 with 1,600 new words, for 3,600 words in total, 1,527 characters to read and 409 grammar points.
- New words
- 1,600
- Words in total
- 3,600
- Characters to read
- 1,527
- Grammar points
- 409
Step-by-step lessons
HSK 5 Unit 1: Even if and no matter what · 5 lessons
Five lessons on strong conditions: even if with 即使…也, no matter what with 不管…都, even if in speech with 就算 and 就是…也, once with 一旦…就, and a longer text about not giving up.
HSK 5 Unit 2: Rather than and on the contrary · 5 lessons
Five lessons on weighing options and the unexpected: rather than with 与其…不如, on the contrary with 反而, more accurately with 与其说…不如说, not at all with 并非 and 并不, and to everyone's surprise with 居然 and 竟然.
HSK 5 Unit 3: Written Chinese · 5 lessons
Five lessons on the written register: formal words that replace everyday ones, connectors that organise a text, giving causes with 由于, naming a focus with 以…为…, and the structure 所…的, ending with a short formal report.
HSK 5 Unit 4: Luck and necessity · 5 lessons
Five lessons about fortune and necessity: luckily with 幸亏 and 多亏, bound to happen with 难免, having no choice with 不得不, worth it with 值得, merely with 仅仅 and 只不过, ending with a story of a narrow escape.
HSK 5 Unit 5: Organising ideas · 5 lessons
Five lessons on organising complex ideas: adding with 并且 and 以及, two sides with 一方面…另一方面, as for with 对于 and 关于, changing the subject with 至于, and change over time with 随着.
HSK 5 Unit 6: Chengyu, four-character idioms · 5 lessons
Five lessons on chengyu, the four-character idioms that give Chinese its colour: how they work and when to use them, then four classic fables retold in our own simple Chinese, each with the idiom it gave to the language.
HSK 5 Unit 7: Work and the economy · 5 lessons
Five lessons on work and the economy: purpose with 以便, result with 从而, relying on something with 凭 and 靠, the only condition with 除非…否则, and a reading about how a region's economy changed.
HSK 5 Unit 8: Science, nature and health · 5 lessons
Five lessons on science, nature and health: causes with 引起 and 导致, conclusions with 可见, advice with 尽量, explanations with 难怪, and a reading about a lake that came back to life.
HSK 5 Unit 9: Arts, poetry and myths · 5 lessons
Five lessons on the arts: describing art with 像…似的, reacting to a performance with 简直, reading a short Tang poem, and retelling two classic Chinese myths in order.
HSK 5 Unit 10: Society and change · 8 lessons
Five lessons on how society is changing: family and ageing with 不再, housing with 尤其是, remote work with 还不如, volunteering with 不光…还, and a final HSK 5 review built around a speech about a changing city; then three lessons with the words you need for the HSK 5 stories.
These lessons follow the HSK 3.0 progression. Up to HSK 5, together with Chinese Foundations, they teach 1,375 words; the official syllabus counts 3,600. Mythic Mandarin is an HSK-aligned learning path and does not reproduce the complete official word list.
Learn HSK 5 step by step
Preview version — Chinese review in progress.
Intermediate stage (levels 4–6)
HSK 5 is where Chinese starts to sound adult. You practise reading news-style texts and opinions, choose between spoken and written words, handle conditions and concessions, and meet chengyu, the four-character idioms that compress a whole story into one expression.
Goal: In this HSK 5-aligned track you practise following longer texts and discussions, arguing a point with conditions and contrasts, and recognising when Chinese switches to a more formal register.
What you will learn
- Conditions and concessions: 即使……也……, 不管……都……
- Choosing the better option with 与其……不如……
- Unexpected turns with 反而
- Written-style words such as 由于, 该 and 之一
- Your first chengyu and the stories behind them
- Reading paragraphs with several linked clauses
Audio preview uses your device’s Chinese voice. It is not a recording.
Vocabulary: argument and abstraction
Mythic Mandarin starter words for this level, not the official HSK 5 word list.
Characters: reading formal texts
Formal texts use characters you rarely hear in conversation. The characters below are a Mythic Mandarin practice selection, not an official HSK list.
Review Guessing unknown characters from their parts
By now you know dozens of meaning parts. In a formal text, an unknown character with 扌 (hand) is likely an action, one with 忄 (heart) a feeling. Guess from the part and the context, then check the dictionary.
担心
dānxīn
to worry
担 has the hand part 扌.
情况
qíngkuàng
situation
情 has the heart part 忄.
Optional practice. Watch the strokes, then trace the character; each finished trace counts as one repetition, up to 20. Progress is saved on this device only, and nothing here is needed to continue.
Grammar: conditions, contrasts and register
HSK 5 grammar helps you reason on paper: conditions, choices, surprises, and the difference between how Chinese is spoken and how it is written.
New 即使……也……: even if
即使 + condition，(subject) + 也 + result
即使 introduces a hypothetical condition; 也 before the verb says the result holds anyway.
即使下雨，比赛也会照常进行。
Jíshǐ xià yǔ, bǐsài yě huì zhàocháng jìnxíng.
Even if it rains, the match will go ahead as planned.
New 不管……都……: no matter
不管 + question or choice，都 + result
不管 is followed by a question word or two alternatives; 都 marks the result that does not change.
不管多忙，他每天都锻炼身体。
Bùguǎn duō máng, tā měi tiān dōu duànliàn shēntǐ.
However busy he is, he exercises every day.
New 与其……不如……: rather than, better to
与其 names the option you reject, 不如 the one you recommend.
与其在家等，不如出去找找。
Yǔqí zài jiā děng, bùrú chūqu zhǎozhao.
Rather than wait at home, we'd better go out and look.
New 反而: contrary to what you would expect
反而 marks a result that goes against expectations, often after 不但没……
雨不但没停，反而越下越大了。
Yǔ búdàn méi tíng, fǎn'ér yuè xià yuè dà le.
Far from stopping, the rain got heavier and heavier.
New Spoken and written words
Written Chinese prefers different words from speech for the same idea: 由于 for 因为, 该 for 这个, 之一 for "one of". Recognising them is the key to reading news and reports.
由于天气原因，航班取消了。
Yóuyú tiānqì yuányīn, hángbān qǔxiāo le.
Due to the weather, the flight was cancelled.
这是中国最有名的城市之一。
Zhè shì Zhōngguó zuì yǒumíng de chéngshì zhī yī.
This is one of the most famous cities in China.
New Chengyu: four characters, one story
Chengyu are fixed four-character expressions, many from classical stories. 画蛇添足 (draw a snake and add feet) comes from a tale about a man who lost a wine contest by adding legs to his snake: it means to spoil something by overdoing it.
画蛇添足
huà shé tiān zú
to spoil something by adding what is not needed
这样做一举两得。
Zhèyàng zuò yì jǔ liǎng dé.
Doing it this way kills two birds with one stone.
Practise Potential complements in longer sentences
Potential complements now appear inside reasons and conditions.
这么多作业，我今天做不完。
Zhème duō zuòyè, wǒ jīntiān zuò bu wán.
With so much homework, I can't finish it today.
Practise 连……都…… for strong emphasis
连……都…… now often combines with 一 + measure word for "not even one".
他连一句中文都不会说。
Tā lián yí jù Zhōngwén dōu bú huì shuō.
He can't say even one sentence in Chinese.
Review 把 with descriptive results
Review 把 with a vivid result described by 得.
他把房间打扫得干干净净。
Tā bǎ fángjiān dǎsǎo de gāngānjìngjìng.
He cleaned the room until it was spotless.
Review Topics in written texts
Topics frame whole paragraphs in essays and reports.
关于这个问题，大家的观点不同。
Guānyú zhège wèntí, dàjiā de guāndiǎn bù tóng.
On this question, people's views differ.
Practice
Answer each question, then read the explanation. Your answers stay on this device only.
Fill the gap
Fill the gap: 即使很累，他＿要把工作做完。 (Even if he is tired, he will finish the work.)
Show the answer
Answer: A, 也.
即使 is answered by 也: the result holds even under the condition.
Grammar
Which sentence is correct?
不管 cannot be followed by a plain statement such as 天气很好.
Show the answer
Answer: A, 不管天气怎么样，我们都去。.
不管 needs a question word or alternatives (怎么样) and 都 in the second part.
Word order
Build: "Rather than complain, better to find a solution."
- 不如
- 想办法
- 与其
- 抱怨
Show the answer
与其抱怨不如想办法 Yǔqí bàoyuàn, bùrú xiǎng bànfǎ.
Rather than complain, better to find a solution.
与其 introduces the rejected option first; 不如 the better one second.
Meaning
吃了药以后，他的病反而更重了。 What happened?
Show the answer
Answer: A, He got worse, against expectations..
反而 signals the opposite of what you would expect: after the medicine, he got worse.
Grammar
Which word is the written-style way to say 因为 (because, due to)?
所以 means "so": it introduces the result, not the reason.
虽然 means "although".
Show the answer
Answer: A, 由于.
由于 means "due to" and is the usual choice in news, reports and formal writing: 由于大雪，高速公路关闭了。
Meaning
What does 画蛇添足 mean?
Show the answer
Answer: A, to ruin something by overdoing it.
In the story, a man adds feet to his snake drawing and loses the contest: adding what is not needed spoils the result.
Grammar
"There's so much food that we can't finish it." 菜太多了，我们吃＿完。
Show the answer
Answer: A, 不.
吃不完: the result (finishing) is not possible.
Reading
Read: 近年来，越来越多的年轻人选择在网上学习。由于时间灵活，这种方式逐渐成为一种趋势。 Why do young people choose online learning?
Show the answer
Answer: A, Because the time is flexible..
由于时间灵活: due to flexible timing. The text does not mention cost or teachers.
Review: can you do this?
Check yourself before moving on.
- I can express conditions with 即使……也…… and 不管……都…….
- I can recommend an option with 与其……不如…….
- I can mark a surprising result with 反而.
- I can recognise written-style words such as 由于, 该 and 之一.
- I can explain the story behind a few chengyu.
- I can follow a paragraph with several linked clauses.
HSK 6 completes the intermediate stage: rhetorical questions, more formal connectives, and texts that argue with nuance. Continue to HSK 6
How many words are in HSK 5?
HSK 5 has 3,600 words in total: the 2,000 words up to HSK 4 plus 1,600 new words.
That is 33% of the 11,000 words in the complete HSK 3.0 list, which runs from HSK 1 to the advanced HSK 7–9 band.
What comes after HSK 5
HSK 6 adds 1,800 new words, for 5,400 in total.
Writing Chinese characters at HSK 5
Optional character writing practice: watch the stroke order, then write the character yourself. This is a Mythic Mandarin practice method, not an official HSK requirement.
Look up the stroke order of any character in the Chinese Stroke Order Dictionary
Look up any word, its pinyin and meanings in the Chinese dictionary
Speaking at HSK 5
From level 3, speaking is part of the exam: for levels 3 to 6 the speaking test is registered together with the written test of the same level.