HSK 4 Reading Practice: 48 Free Chinese Stories

Every free story on this site at an estimated HSK 4 level (HSK 3.0), sorted easiest first and grouped by theme. Each one has pinyin, sentence translations, tap-to-look-up and a Simplified/Traditional switch — no sign-up.

  • 48free stories
  • 1,994words through HSK 4
  • 1,096characters through HSK 4
  • 261characters in a typical story

What HSK 4 reading looks like

HSK 4 adds abstract and written-register language: 既然, 不管…都, 连…都, 只要…就, 尽管, 对…来说, and plenty of two-character nouns for ideas rather than things. Stories carry arguments, explanations and longer arcs, and nonfiction appears: biographies of historical figures, business stories and summaries of popular books.

HSK 4 reading in numbers:
  • 1,994 words / 1,096 characters — everything in the 2026 HSK 3.0 lists through HSK 4.
  • 261 characters in a typical story here (65–509), with sentences averaging 16.8 characters.
  • 90% of the characters in these stories are among those 1,096 HSK 1–4 characters. Any word with an unfamiliar character is one tap away from its meaning.
  • 1,255 different characters appear across all 48 stories — 11,711 characters of reading in total.

New to this level, or not sure you're at it? Try the intermediate picks (series and nonfiction worth reading next), or take the 2-minute character test to see where you are.

Sai Weng Loses His Horse — story illustration

Read an HSK 4 story right now

Sai Weng Loses His Horse · HSK 4 · 304 characters

Start with pinyin off and switch it on only if you get stuck. Tap any word for its meaning; turn on Translation to check yourself. Your settings carry over to every story.

Tap any word for its meaning

很久hěn jiǔ以前yǐ qián，在zài中国zhōng guó的de边境biān jìng，有yǒu一个yī ge老人lǎo rén叫jiào塞翁sài wēng。Long ago, at China's border, there lived an old man named Sai Weng.他tā养yǎng了le一yī匹pǐ马mǎ。He owned a horse.一天yī tiān，这zhè匹pǐ马mǎ突然tū rán跑pǎo到dào山shān里lǐ去qù了le，不bù见jiàn踪影zōng yǐng。One day, the horse suddenly ran into the mountains and disappeared.邻居lín jū们men听说tīng shuō后hòu，都dōu来lái安慰ān wèi他tā：“你nǐ丢diū了le马mǎ，真zhēn是shì不幸bù xìng啊ā！”When neighbors heard, they came to comfort him: 'Losing your horse is terrible luck!'

但dàn塞翁sài wēng平静píng jìng地de说shuō：“谁shéi知道zhī dào呢ne？也许yě xǔ这zhè会huì变成biàn chéng好事hǎo shì。”But Sai Weng calmly said: 'Who knows? This might turn out well.'

没méi过guò几天jǐ tiān，塞翁sài wēng的de马mǎ回来huí lai了le，还hái带dài回huí一yī匹pǐ漂亮piào liang的de野马yě mǎ。Days later, the horse returned with a beautiful wild horse.邻居lín jū们men赶来gǎn lái恭喜gōng xǐ他tā：“你nǐ真zhēn幸运xìng yùn啊ā！”Neighbors rushed to congratulate him: 'How lucky you are!'

塞翁sài wēng只是zhǐ shì微笑wēi xiào：“谁shéi知道zhī dào呢ne？也许yě xǔ这zhè会huì带来dài lái麻烦má fan。”Sai Weng smiled: 'Who knows? This might bring trouble.'

果然guǒ rán，塞翁sài wēng的de儿子ér zi骑qí那nà匹pǐ野马yě mǎ时shí，摔断shuāi duàn了le腿tuǐ。Soon after, Sai Weng's son broke his leg while riding the wild horse.邻居lín jū们men又yòu来lái安慰ān wèi他tā：“这zhè真zhēn不幸bù xìng！”Neighbors came again: 'This is so unfortunate!'

塞翁sài wēng依旧yī jiù平静píng jìng：“谁shéi知道zhī dào呢ne？也许yě xǔ这zhè会huì带来dài lái好处hǎo chu。”Sai Weng remained calm: 'Who knows? This might bring benefits.'

没méi多久duō jiǔ，边境biān jìng发生fā shēng战争zhàn zhēng，所有suǒ yǒu年轻人nián qīng rén都dōu必须bì xū当兵dāng bīng，许多xǔ duō人rén再没zài méi回来huí lai。Soon war broke out. All young men had to fight, and many never returned.但dàn塞翁sài wēng的de儿子ér zi因为yīn wèi受伤shòu shāng，留在liú zài家里jiā lǐ，保住bǎo zhù了le性命xìng mìng。But Sai Weng's son stayed home safely because of his injury.

这个zhè ge故事gù shì的de成语chéng yǔ叫jiào“塞翁失马sài wēng shī mǎ，焉知非福yān zhī fēi fú”，意思yì si是shì：坏事huài shì可能kě néng变biàn成chéng好事hǎo shì，好事hǎo shì可能kě néng带来dài lái麻烦má fan。This story's idiom '塞翁失马，焉知非福' means: Bad things may bring good results, and good things may bring trouble.例如lì rú，一个yī ge女生nǚ shēng叫jiào丽莎Lì shā失去shī qù工作gōng zuò后hòu，利用lì yòng时间shí jiān创业chuàng yè，最后zuì hòu非常fēi cháng成功chéng gōng。For example, Lisa lost her job but started a business during that time, eventually becoming very successful.这zhè就jiù是shì“塞翁失马sài wēng shī mǎ”——看起来kàn qǐ lai的de坏事huài shì，结果jié guǒ却què变好biàn hǎo了le。This shows how 'Sai Weng's lost horse' works - what seemed bad actually brought good results.

Check your understanding

  1. 塞翁sài wēng的de马mǎ跑pǎo了le以后yǐ hòu，塞翁sài wēng说shuō了le什么shén me？

  2. 为什么wèi shén me塞翁sài wēng的de儿子ér zi没méi去qù当兵dāng bīng？

  3. “塞翁失马sài wēng shī mǎ”是shì什么shén me意思yì si？

Open “Sai Weng Loses His Horse” on its own page →

How to practise reading at HSK 4

  1. Read in volume. At HSK 4, ten easy stories beat one hard one.
  2. When you meet a formal word (例如 进行, 获得, 影响), say what it would be in casual speech. It builds both registers at once.
  3. Pick nonfiction on a topic you already know in English — background knowledge does half the work.
  4. Switch to traditional characters for a week now and then. It's the cheapest way to make your recognition more robust.

Grammar you will practise here

Patterns from our Chinese grammar guide that have a story on this page built around them:

All 48 HSK 4 stories

Grouped by theme and sorted from easiest to hardest within each group (by length and word difficulty). Parts of a series stay together and in order. Reading times are rough estimates at a comfortable HSK 4 pace.

Grammar in Context 3 stories

Daily Life & Work 13 stories

AP Chinese Themes 4 stories

Chinese Idioms 13 stories

Historical Figures 5 stories

Classic Fables 7 stories

Key HSK 4 words in these stories

These are the HSK 4 words (HSK 3.0 list) that turn up most often across the stories on this page, so they are the ones worth knowing before you start — you'll see each of them again and again. Browse the full HSK 4 word list for everything else.

  • 却卻quèbutin 15 of 48 stories
  • 着著zháoto touchin 14 of 48 stories
  • 就是jiù shìexactlyin 12 of 48 stories
  • 例如lì rúfor examplein 7 of 48 stories
  • 结果結果jié guǒresultin 6 of 48 stories
  • 当當dāngto serve asin 6 of 48 stories
  • 啊āinterjection of surprisein 5 of 48 stories
  • 忽然hū ránsuddenlyin 5 of 48 stories
  • 从此從此cóng cǐfrom then onin 5 of 48 stories
  • 好好hǎo hǎoproperlyin 4 of 48 stories
  • 也许也許yě xǔperhapsin 4 of 48 stories
  • 重新chóng xīnagainin 4 of 48 stories
  • 流liúto flowin 4 of 48 stories
  • 美好měi hǎowonderfulin 4 of 48 stories
  • 棵kēclassifier for trees and plantsin 4 of 48 stories
  • 拍pāito patin 4 of 48 stories
  • 森林sēn línforestin 4 of 48 stories
  • 所有suǒ yǒuallin 4 of 48 stories
  • 父亲父親fù qīnfatherin 4 of 48 stories
  • 全quánallin 4 of 48 stories
  • 土tǔearthin 3 of 48 stories
  • 早晨zǎo chénearly morningin 3 of 48 stories
  • 力气力氣lì qistrengthin 3 of 48 stories
  • 即使jí shǐeven ifin 3 of 48 stories

More HSK 4 stories, with audio, in the app

The Literate Chinese app has 61 more stories at this estimated level beyond the 48 here, out of 1,000+ graded stories in total. It doesn't sort them by HSK band, though — it tracks the words you actually know and shows how familiar each story is, so you can pick ones that are just hard enough.

Every story is narrated by native speakers in Mainland or Taiwan Mandarin, in Simplified or Traditional characters, and any word you tap can become a flashcard.

Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play
The Literate Chinese app reading a story with pinyin and tap-to-define

Frequently asked questions

How many characters do I need for HSK 4 reading?

The 2026 HSK 3.0 syllabus has 1,994 words through HSK 4, written with 1,096 different characters. You can start these stories well before you know them all: 90% of the characters in the 48 stories on this page are HSK 1–4 characters, and you can tap any word for a definition.

Is HSK 4 reading hard?

The grammar is not much harder than HSK 3; the vocabulary is. About a thousand new words arrive, many of them formal. The fix is volume: reading lots of stories where 95%+ of the words are already familiar, so the new ones are learned from context instead of from a list.

How long are HSK 4 reading passages?

The 48 stories here run from 65 to 509 characters, with a typical story of about 261 characters and sentences averaging 16.8 characters. Together they add up to 11,711 characters of reading at this level.

Can I read these stories in traditional characters?

Yes. Every story has a 简/繁 switch at the top; it changes the whole text to traditional characters and remembers your choice. See traditional reading practice for more.

Do the stories have audio?

In the browser you can hear any single word with your device's voice from the tap-to-define card. Full narration by native speakers, in Mainland or Taiwan Mandarin, is in the free Literate Chinese app.

Also useful: Not sure of your level? Take the 2-minute character test · HSK 4 word list · Traditional reading practice · All Chinese reading practice

Try reading your first story

The fastest way to make characters stick is to meet them in a story you can actually finish. Literate Chinese has 1,000+ graded stories matched to the words you know — in Mainland or Taiwan Mandarin, Simplified or Traditional. Free on iOS and Android.

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