HSK 4 Reading Practice — 12 Free Chinese Stories
Longer passages with idiomatic phrasing and less predictable structure. Every story below is free to read here in full, with pinyin above each word and an English translation on every line.
Graded against HSK 3.0
Measured against the official 3,000-character HSK 3.0 list, not estimated. Half the stories here are readable at HSK 4 or below — meaning you already know 95% of the characters, enough to follow the passage and infer the rest. The middle half of the shelf sits in HSK 4–5, and 84% of all characters across these 12 stories are HSK 1–2.
HSK 3.0 replaced the six-level standard on 1 July 2026 and regraded most of the vocabulary — what changed. You can run any text through the same grading with the HSK level checker.
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周末的咖啡馆 Weekend at the Café
A quiet Saturday at the neighborhood café, watching strangers come and go.
16 sentences · 254 characters · 113 words -
网上购物 Online Shopping
Why China's e-commerce changed daily life so completely.
15 sentences · 222 characters · 100 words -
找工作的日子 The Job-Hunting Days
The mix of hope and exhaustion of looking for a first job.
15 sentences · 235 characters · 105 words -
北京地铁的早高峰 Beijing Subway Rush Hour
Eight in the morning on Line 10 — a city in motion.
15 sentences · 215 characters · 103 words -
春节的传统 Spring Festival Traditions
What Chinese New Year looks like inside a family.
15 sentences · 211 characters · 105 words -
长城的故事 The Story of the Great Wall
Why a wall thousands of li long was built in the first place.
15 sentences · 237 characters · 103 words -
中国茶文化 Chinese Tea Culture
Why drinking tea is more than drinking tea.
15 sentences · 216 characters · 96 words -
京剧入门 An Introduction to Peking Opera
What you should know before your first night at the opera.
15 sentences · 213 characters · 99 words -
看医生 Seeing a Doctor
A first trip to a Chinese hospital — how it works, and what it costs.
14 sentences · 210 characters · 97 words -
租房子 Renting an Apartment
Four viewings in one afternoon, and the small thing that decided it.
14 sentences · 232 characters · 106 words -
外卖与快递 Takeout and Parcels
Everything arrives in thirty minutes — and what that convenience rests on.
14 sentences · 223 characters · 101 words -
中秋节 The Mid-Autumn Festival
Mooncakes, the Chang'e legend, and why the same moon is a comfort.
14 sentences · 224 characters · 95 words