Primary 4 Chinese Vocabulary List

Singapore MOE Curriculum — 我会认 (Recognition) & 我会写 (Writing) Characters

Quick Answer

Singapore Primary 4 Chinese covers 469 characters across 16 lessons, aligned to the Singapore MOE curriculum. Students must recognise 308 characters (我会认) and be able to write 161 characters from memory (我会写). The full list with Hanyu Pinyin and English meanings is below.

469

Total Characters

308

我会认 (Recognise)

161

我会写 (Write)

Lessons

Complete Primary 4 Character List

我会写 Must write from memory

我会认 Must recognise when reading

Character	Hanyu Pinyin	English Meaning	Type
Lesson 1
闻	wén	smell / hear	我会写
内	nèi	inside / within	我会写
外	wài	outside / foreign	我会写
部	bù	part / section / ministry	我会写
众	zhòng	crowd / many people	我会写
精	jīng	essence / refined	我会写
彩	cǎi	colour / brilliant	我会写
拍	pāi	pat / clap / take (photo)	我会写
刚	gāng	just now / hard / firm	我会写
建	jiàn	build / establish	我会写
解	jiě	untie / solve / understand	我会认
内	nèi	inside / within	我会认
预	yù	in advance / prepare	我会认
况	kuàng	situation / condition	我会认
众	zhòng	crowd / many people	我会认
播	bō	broadcast / sow	我会认
续	xù	continue / follow	我会认
剧	jù	drama / play / severe	我会认
集	jí	gather / episode / collection	我会认
精	jīng	essence / refined / spirit	我会认
挨	āi / ái	next to / suffer	我会认
言	yán	speech / word / say	我会认
投	tóu	throw / cast / invest	我会认
掌	zhǎng	palm / manage	我会认
疲	pí	tired / weary	我会认
倦	juàn	tired / weary	我会认
议	yì	discuss / opinion	我会认
蹄	tí	hoof	我会认
秘	mì	secret / mysterious	我会认
密	mì	dense / secret / close	我会认
Lesson 2
讨	tǎo	ask for / discuss	我会写
论	lùn	discuss / theory	我会写
串	chuàn	string / skewer	我会写
丸	wán	pill / ball	我会写
姑	gū	aunt / young woman	我会写
乌	wū	crow / black	我会写
忽	hū	suddenly / neglect	我会写
灵	líng	spirit / clever	我会写
急	jí	urgent / anxious	我会写
怕	pà	fear / be afraid	我会写
茸	róng	soft / downy / velvet antler	我会认
词	cí	word / lyrics	我会认
丸	wán	pill / ball	我会认
鼓	gǔ	drum / encourage	我会认
帽	mào	hat / cap	我会认
套	tào	set / cover / suit	我会认
逻	luó	patrol / logic (逻辑)	我会认
姑	gū	aunt / young woman	我会认
烟	yān	smoke / cigarette	我会认
棒	bàng	stick / club / great	我会认
倾	qīng	lean / pour / incline	我会认
暖	nuǎn	warm	我会认
示	shì	show / indicate	我会认
忽	hū	suddenly / neglect	我会认
灵	líng	spirit / clever / effective	我会认
挤	jǐ	squeeze / crowd	我会认
靠	kào	lean on / rely on / near	我会认
撑	chēng	prop up / support	我会认
担	dān / dàn	carry / worry / shoulder pole	我会认
Lesson 3
尊	zūn	respect / honour	我会写
敬	jìng	respect / revere	我会写
偷	tōu	steal / secretly	我会写
悔	huǐ	regret / repent	我会写
架	jià	shelf / quarrel	我会写
近	jìn	near / close	我会写
迷	mí	lost / fan / fascinate	我会写
补	bǔ	mend / supplement	我会写
泪	lèi	tear (from eye)	我会写
您	nín	you (polite)	我会写
尊	zūn	respect / honour	我会认
敬	jìng	respect / revere	我会认
辈	bèi	generation / seniority	我会认
警	jǐng	warn / police	我会认
察	chá	observe / inspect / police	我会认
悔	huǐ	regret / repent	我会认
脾	pí	spleen / temper	我会认
模	mó / mú	model / imitate / mould	我会认
型	xíng	type / model / mould	我会认
碗	wǎn	bowl	我会认
吞	tūn	swallow / engulf	我会认
舍	shě / shè	give up / house	我会认
醒	xǐng	wake up / sober	我会认
睁	zhēng	open (eyes)	我会认
补	bǔ	mend / supplement	我会认
谎	huǎng	lie / falsehood	我会认
泪	lèi	tear (from eye)	我会认
落	luò / là	fall / drop / village	我会认
批	pī	criticise / batch	我会认
评	píng	comment / review	我会认
Lesson 4
责	zé	duty / blame	我会写
食	shí	food / eat	我会写
插	chā	insert / plug in	我会写
注	zhù	pour / note	我会写
意	yì	meaning / intention	我会写
静	jìng	quiet / still	我会写
由	yóu	from / reason	我会写
于	yú	at / in / from	我会写
脚	jiǎo	foot / leg	我会写
净	jìng	clean / pure	我会写
任	rèn	appoint / allow / duty	我会写
值	zhí	worth / value / on duty	我会认
责	zé	duty / blame / responsibility	我会认
擦	cā	wipe / rub / erase	我会认
扇	shàn / shān	fan / flap	我会认
归	guī	return / belong to	我会认
插	chā	insert / plug in	我会认
阅	yuè	read / review	我会认
耍	shuǎ	play / perform / trick	我会认
劝	quàn	advise / persuade	我会认
注	zhù	pour / note / concentrate	我会认
证	zhèng	prove / certificate	我会认
皱	zhòu	wrinkle / crease	我会认
眉	méi	eyebrow	我会认
默	mò	silent / write from memory	我会认
由	yóu	from / reason / allow	我会认
于	yú	at / in / from / than	我会认
纷	fēn	numerous / confused	我会认
赞	zàn	praise / support	我会认
任	rèn	appoint / allow / duty	我会认
Lesson 5
针	zhēn	needle / injection	我会写
束	shù	bundle / restrain	我会写
室	shì	room / chamber	我会写
药	yào	medicine / drug	我会写
检	jiǎn	check / inspect	我会写
查	chá	check / investigate	我会写
伸	shēn	stretch / extend	我会写
闭	bì	close / shut	我会写
防	fáng	prevent / defend	我会认
针	zhēn	needle / injection	我会认
育	yù	raise / educate	我会认
继	jì	continue / follow	我会认
烧	shāo	burn / fever / cook	我会认
药	yào	medicine / drug	我会认
渠	qú	canal / ditch	我会认
戴	dài	wear / put on (accessories)	我会认
项	xiàng	item / necklace / neck	我会认
差	chā / chà / chāi	differ / bad / errand	我会认
闷	mèn / mēn	stuffy / bored / cover	我会认
胆	dǎn	gall / courage	我会认
微	wēi	tiny / slight / micro	我会认
松	sōng	pine / loose / relax	我会认
勇	yǒng	brave / courageous	我会认
骗	piàn	cheat / deceive	我会认
闲	xián	idle / free time	我会认
哇	wā	wow / exclamation	我会认
并	bìng	and / combine / moreover	我会认
Lesson 6
功	gōng	achievement / merit	我会写
夫	fū	husband / man	我会写
所	suǒ	place / that which	我会写
团	tuán	group / round / unite	我会写
始	shǐ	begin / start	我会写
久	jiǔ	long time	我会写
军	jūn	army	我会写
辛	xīn	hard / laborious	我会写
苦	kǔ	bitter / hardship	我会写
健	jiàn	healthy / strong	我会写
康	kāng	healthy / well-being	我会写
夫	fū / fú	husband / man / indeed	我会认
武	wǔ	martial / military	我会认
族	zú	clan / ethnic group	我会认
团	tuán	group / round / unite	我会认
训	xùn	train / instruct	我会认
迎	yíng	welcome / meet	我会认
握	wò	hold / grasp	我会认
励	lì	encourage / strive	我会认
器	qì	utensil / organ	我会认
丰	fēng	abundant / plentiful	我会认
富	fù	rich / abundant	我会认
啦	la	exclamation particle	我会认
辛	xīn	hard / laborious / spicy	我会认
弃	qì	abandon / give up	我会认
坚	jiān	firm / hard / persist	我会认
持	chí	hold / maintain	我会认
段	duàn	section / paragraph	我会认
登	dēng	climb / publish / register	我会认
幸	xìng	fortunate / lucky	我会认
享	xiǎng	enjoy	我会认
Lesson 7
厢	xiāng	compartment / box	我会写
乘	chéng	ride / take	我会写
劝	quàn	advise / persuade	我会写
思	sī	think / miss	我会写
馆	guǎn	hall / establishment	我会写
拼	pīn	spell / join / risk	我会写
命	mìng	life / fate	我会写
挤	jǐ	squeeze / crowd	我会写
摇	yáo	shake / rock	我会写
抢	qiǎng	snatch / grab	我会写
孕	yùn	pregnant	我会认
妇	fù	woman / married woman	我会认
厢	xiāng	compartment / box (theatre)	我会认
乘	chéng	ride / multiply / take advantage	我会认
随	suí	follow / along with	我会认
塑	sù	mould / plastic	我会认
料	liào	material / expect	我会认
约	yuē	approximately / appointment	我会认
歉	qiàn	apologise / regret	我会认
剪	jiǎn	cut / scissors	我会认
移	yí	move / shift	我会认
命	mìng	life / fate / order	我会认
终	zhōng	end / finally	我会认
予	yǔ	give / I (literary)	我会认
滚	gǔn	roll / boil / go away	我会认
秋	qiū	autumn / fall	我会认
序	xù	order / sequence / preface	我会认
耐	nài	endure / patient	我会认
待	dài / dāi	treat / wait / stay	我会认
悄	qiāo	quiet / stealthy	我会认
Lesson 8
通	tōng	through / connect	我会写
救	jiù	save / rescue	我会写
另	lìng	other / another	我会写
照	zhào	shine / according to	我会写
顾	gù	look after / attend to	我会写
司	sī	control / manage	我会写
被	bèi	quilt / passive marker	我会写
困	kùn	trapped / sleepy	我会写
血	xuè	blood	我会写
危	wēi	dangerous / precarious	我会认
险	xiǎn	dangerous /险峻	我会认
遵	zūn	follow / obey	我会认
守	shǒu	guard / keep / obey	我会认
通	tōng	through / connect / common	我会认
规	guī	rule / regulation	我会认
则	zé	rule / then	我会认
祸	huò	disaster / misfortune	我会认
另	lìng	other / another / separately	我会认
择	zé	choose / select	我会认
巨	jù	huge / giant	我会认
困	kùn	trapped / sleepy / difficult	我会认
达	dá	reach / achieve / express	我会认
顺	shùn	smooth / along / obey	我会认
血	xuè / xiě	blood	我会认
访	fǎng	visit / interview	我会认
标	biāo	mark / standard / target	我会认
义	yì	meaning / righteousness	我会认
获	huò	obtain / capture / harvest	我会认
扬	yáng	raise / spread / praise	我会认
Lesson 9
居	jū	reside / home	我会写
民	mín	people / folk	我会写
铁	tiě	iron / firm	我会写
座	zuò	seat / measure word	我会写
店	diàn	shop / store	我会写
味	wèi	taste / flavour	我会写
其	qí	its / that / other	我会写
清	qīng	clear / clean	我会写
楚	chǔ	clear / neat	我会写
离	lí	leave / separate	我会写
盲	máng	blind / ignorant	我会认
熟	shú / shóu	cooked / ripe / familiar	我会认
民	mín	people / folk / civilian	我会认
供	gōng / gòng	supply / offer	我会认
沟	gōu	ditch / channel / communicate	我会认
洁	jié	clean / pure	我会认
饮	yǐn	drink / beverage	我会认
摊	tān	stall / spread out	我会认
糖	táng	sugar / candy	我会认
厌	yàn	dislike / be fed up	我会认
般	bān	sort / kind / like	我会认
其	qí	its / that / other	我会认
辣	là	spicy / hot / pungent	我会认
橙	chéng	orange (fruit/colour)	我会认
牌	pái	sign / card / brand	我会认
楚	chǔ	clear / neat / Chu (state)	我会认
依	yī	depend on / according to	我会认
策	cè	plan / strategy / whip	我会认
而	ér	and / but / yet	我会认
Lesson 10
洁	jié	clean / pure	我会写
粉	fěn	powder / pink	我会写
管	guǎn	tube / manage / care about	我会写
助	zhù	assist / help	我会写
无	wú	without / none	我会写
耍	shuǎ	play / perform	我会写
推	tuī	push	我会写
喊	hǎn	shout / call	我会写
教	jiāo	teach	我会写
难	nán	difficult	我会写
烦	fán	annoyed / vexed / troublesome	我会认
螃	páng	crab (螃蟹)	我会认
蟹	xiè	crab	我会认
粉	fěn	powder / pink / noodles	我会认
貌	mào	appearance / looks	我会认
无	wú	without / none / not	我会认
占	zhàn	occupy / take up	我会认
柜	guì	cabinet / counter	我会认
壶	hú	kettle / pot	我会认
洒	sǎ	sprinkle / spill	我会认
拖	tuō	drag / mop / delay	我会认
眯	mī	squint / doze	我会认
肯	kěn	willing / agree	我会认
敲	qiāo	knock / beat	我会认
盖	gài	cover / lid / build	我会认
显	xiǎn	obvious / show / display	我会认
Lesson 11
曲	qǔ	song / tune	我会写
令	lìng	order / make	我会写
举	jǔ	lift / raise	我会写
指	zhǐ	finger / point to	我会写
选	xuǎn	choose / select	我会写
终	zhōng	end / finally	我会写
级	jí	level / grade	我会写
既	jì	since / already	我会写
抱	bào	hug / hold	我会写
取	qǔ	take / obtain	我会写
曲	qū / qǔ	bent / song / tune	我会认
令	lìng	order / make / cause	我会认
枪	qiāng	gun / spear	我会认
帘	lián	curtain / screen	我会认
秒	miǎo	second (time)	我会认
冠	guān / guàn	crown / champion	我会认
领	lǐng	lead / collar / receive	我会认
奖	jiǎng	award / prize	我会认
飘	piāo	float / flutter	我会认
此	cǐ	this / here	我会认
既	jì	since / already / both	我会认
速	sù	speed / fast	我会认
奔	bēn / bèn	run / rush / head for	我会认
摔	shuāi	fall / throw down	我会认
焦	jiāo	burnt / anxious	我会认
亚	yà	second / Asia	我会认
优	yōu	excellent / superior	我会认
秀	xiù	outstanding / elegant	我会认
绩	jì	achievement / result	我会认
Lesson 12
顺	shùn	smooth / along / obey	我会写
屋	wū	house / room	我会写
商	shāng	commerce / discuss	我会写
热	rè	hot	我会写
假	jiǎ / jià	false / holiday	我会写
传	chuán / zhuàn	pass / biography	我会写
围	wéi	surround / encircle	我会写
握	wò	hold / grasp	我会写
群	qún	group / crowd	我会写
鹅	é	goose	我会认
南	nán	south	我会认
北	běi	north	我会认
览	lǎn	view / look at	我会认
烈	liè	intense / fierce / heroic	我会认
旅	lǚ	travel / trip	我会认
介	jiè	introduce / between	我会认
绍	shào	introduce / continue	我会认
景	jǐng	scenery / scene	我会认
兵	bīng	soldier / army	我会认
列	liè	row / arrange / list	我会认
泉	quán	spring (water)	我会认
宾	bīn	guest / visitor	我会认
朝	cháo / zhāo	dynasty / towards / morning	我会认
欣	xīn	happy / joyful	我会认
赏	shǎng	appreciate / reward	我会认
纪	jì	record / age / discipline	我会认
充	chōng	fill / sufficient / act as	我会认
Lesson 13
块	kuài	piece / lump	我会写
突	tū	sudden / protrude	我会写
婆	pó	grandmother / old woman	我会写
男	nán	male / man	我会写
许	xǔ	allow / perhaps	我会写
宝	bǎo	treasure / precious	我会写
特	tè	special / particular	我会写
摸	mō	touch / feel	我会写
言	yán	speech / word	我会写
语	yǔ	language / words	我会写
刻	kè	carve / quarter hour / moment	我会写
裂	liè	crack / split	我会认
娘	niáng	mother / young woman	我会认
拜	bài	bow / worship / visit	我会认
仙	xiān	immortal / fairy	我会认
弹	tán / dàn	play (instrument) / bullet	我会认
钢	gāng	steel	我会认
琴	qín	musical instrument	我会认
俱	jù	all / together	我会认
承	chéng	bear / inherit / undertake	我会认
拒	jù	refuse / resist	我会认
绝	jué	cut off / absolutely / extinct	我会认
之	zhī	of / go (literary)	我会认
挑	tiāo / tiǎo	carry on shoulder / provoke	我会认
折	zhé	fold / break	我会认
怒	nù	anger / furious	我会认
剩	shèng	remain / left over	我会认
扛	káng	carry on shoulder	我会认
丈	zhàng	husband / unit of length	我会认
柱	zhù	pillar / column	我会认
缩	suō	shrink / contract	我会认
Lesson 14
递	dì	pass / hand over	我会写
词	cí	word / lyrics	我会写
典	diǎn	classic / standard	我会写
挥	huī	wave / wield / direct	我会写
落	luò	fall / drop	我会写
骂	mà	scold / curse	我会写
凶	xiōng	fierce / ominous	我会写
怜	lián	pity / sympathise	我会写
睁	zhēng	open (eyes)	我会写
慌	huāng	panic / flustered	我会写
皂	zào	soap / black	我会认
典	diǎn	classic / standard / ceremony	我会认
筷	kuài	chopsticks	我会认
匙	chí / shi	spoon / key	我会认
拳	quán	fist / boxing	我会认
乒	pīng	ping (table tennis)	我会认
兵	bīng	soldier / army	我会认
厨	chú	kitchen / cook	我会认
蕉	jiāo	banana / plantain	我会认
漫	màn	overflow / free / comics	我会认
铜	tóng	copper / bronze	我会认
巧	qiǎo	skilful / coincidental	我会认
穷	qióng	poor / exhausted	我会认
压	yā	press / suppress	我会认
骂	mà	scold / curse	我会认
瞪	dèng	stare / glare	我会认
凶	xiōng	fierce / ominous	我会认
怜	lián	pity / sympathise	我会认
竟	jìng	actually / unexpectedly	我会认
慌	huāng	panic / flustered	我会认
欠	qiàn	owe / yawn / lack	我会认
Lesson 15
舒	shū	stretch / comfortable	我会写
炎	yán	scorching / inflammation	我会写
刮	guā	scrape / blow (wind)	我会写
展	zhǎn	unfold / exhibit	我会写
观	guān	observe / view	我会写
碰	pèng	bump / meet	我会写
邮	yóu	post / mail	我会写
票	piào	ticket / vote	我会写
泳	yǒng	swim	我会写
希	xī	hope	我会写
望	wàng	look / hope	我会写
春	chūn	spring (season)	我会认
盛	shèng / chéng	flourishing / contain	我会认
秋	qiū	autumn / fall	我会认
爽	shuǎng	refreshing / frank	我会认
舒	shū	stretch / comfortable	我会认
夏	xià	summer / Xia dynasty	我会认
炎	yán	scorching / inflammation	我会认
冬	dōng	winter	我会认
寒	hán	cold / poor	我会认
雪	xuě	snow	我会认
堆	duī	pile / heap / stack	我会认
寄	jì	send / mail / entrust	我会认
邮	yóu	post / mail	我会认
京	jīng	capital city	我会认
潮	cháo	tide / damp / fashionable	我会认
袖	xiù	sleeve / leader	我会认
季	jì	season / quarter	我会认
世	shì	world / generation / era	我会认
界	jiè	boundary / world / realm	我会认
导	dǎo	guide / lead / conduct	我会认
Lesson 16
鸡	jī	chicken	我会写
鸭	yā	duck	我会写
速	sù	speed / fast	我会写
漂	piào	pretty / float	我会写
趴	pā	lie face down	我会写
枝	zhī	branch / twig	我会写
惊	jīng	startle / surprise	我会写
奇	qí	strange / wonderful	我会写
丑	chǒu	ugly / clown	我会写
挂	guà	hang / worry	我会写
晒	shài	sun / dry in sun	我会写
蛇	shé	snake	我会认
膀	bǎng	shoulder / wing / arm	我会认
颈	jǐng	neck	我会认
鹿	lù	deer	我会认
壁	bì	wall / cliff	我会认
蜘	zhī	spider (蜘蛛)	我会认
蝶	dié	butterfly	我会认
趴	pā	lie face down / crouch	我会认
绕	rào	wind around / bypass	我会认
丑	chǒu	ugly / clown	我会认
哦	ó / ò	oh / I see	我会认
释	shì	explain / release	我会认
与	yǔ	and / with / give	我会认
牢	láo	firm / prison / pen	我会认
钩	gōu	hook / tick	我会认
蹲	dūn	squat / crouch	我会认
侧	cè	side / lean	我会认
膊	bó	arm / upper arm	我会认

Understanding the Primary 4 Chinese Curriculum

The Singapore MOE Primary 4 Chinese curriculum introduces characters progressively across two semesters. Characters are introduced progressively across two semesters. Each lesson introduces a set of 我会认 characters for reading comprehension and a smaller set of 我会写 characters for dictation (听写, tīng xiě).

The distinction between the two types is important for exam preparation. 我会认 characters appear in reading passages and comprehension questions. 我会写 characters are tested in dictation exercises where students must write the character correctly — including stroke order — from memory, given only the pinyin or a sentence context.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Chinese characters does Primary 4 cover in Singapore?

Singapore Primary 4 Chinese covers 469 characters across 16 lessons. Of these, 308 are 我会认 (recognition) characters and 161 are 我会写 (writing) characters.

What is the difference between 我会认 and 我会写?

我会认 (wǒ huì rèn) means 'I can recognise' — the student reads and understands the character but does not need to write it from memory. 我会写 (wǒ huì xiě) means 'I can write' — the student must write the character correctly from memory, including correct stroke order. All 我会写 characters are also 我会认 characters.

How many characters does a Primary 4 student need to write?

A Primary 4 student in Singapore is required to write 161 characters from memory by the end of the year (我会写). They must also recognise an additional 308 characters (我会认) when reading.

What textbook does Singapore Primary Chinese use?

Singapore Primary Chinese follows the Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE) Chinese language curriculum.

How can I help my child practise Primary 4 Chinese characters at home?

The free Playful Chinese by Buzzi app (chinese.getbuzzi.com) covers all Primary 4 characters with Flashcard, Quiz, Game, and Phrases modes. Each character includes pinyin, tone colour coding, stroke order animation, and example phrases. No sign-up is needed and the app works on any device.

Other Primary Levels

Browse vocabulary lists for all primary levels:

Primary 1 Primary 2 Primary 3 Primary 4 Primary 5 Primary 6