Free · 11 dramas measured
Which Chinese dramas can you understand?
Pick your HSK level. Every drama’s subtitles are counted word by word, so you see how much of it you’d follow, and where to watch it free.
At HSK 4
All Is Well 都挺好 2019
84% of the words it says are HSK 4 or below.
就别再说这些了
Learn these 7 and you’d follow 85%
- 麻将má jiàngmahjong
- 吵chǎoto quarrel; to argue
- 裁cáito cut (paper or cloth)
- 太太tài taiwife; Mrs. (form of address)
- 替tìto take the place of; to substitute for
- 拆chāito take apart; to dismantle
- 要不yào bùhow about …? (making a suggestion)
Watch episode 1 with pinyinFree, every line with pinyin and any word a tap. Or watch it on 正午阳光官方频道’s YouTube channel.
All 11 dramas at HSK 4
Share of the words each drama says that are HSK 4 or below. Press one to see its line, its words and where to watch it.
- 1The Bad Kids 隐秘的角落 2020 87%
- 2All Is Well 都挺好 2019 84%
- 3With You 最好的我们 2016 84%
- 4My Huckleberry Friends 你好，旧时光 2017 83%
- 5Dream of Golden Years 你好1983 2026 83%
- 6The Knockout 狂飙 2023 81%
- 7Hikaru no Go 棋魂 2020 80%
- 8Mysterious Lotus Casebook 莲花楼 2023 72%
- 9Story of Kunning Palace 宁安如梦 2023 71%
- 10Luoyang 风起洛阳 2021 70%
- 11Love Between Fairy and Devil 苍兰诀 2022 67%
Now hear it in a real story
How is each drama counted?
From its own subtitles: the Chinese subtitles its official YouTube channel uploaded for its first episodes (one to three), 11 dramas in all. Our reader cuts every line into words and each word gets its level from the official HSK list (2025 syllabus); names are left out. A drama’s share at a level is how many of all the words it says are on the list at that level or below, so a word said 300 times counts 300 times.
Are dramas easier than films?
A little: in the typical drama here, HSK 1–4 words are 81% of what is said, and in the typical Mandarin film 80% (117 films, counted the same way).
How much do I need to understand to enjoy a drama?
Following a story with ease takes knowing about 95 to 98% of its words, and people pick up more new words from what they watch when they already follow more of it (Nation 2006; Peters and Webb 2018). With HSK 1–4, the easiest dramas here are at 84 to 87%; watched with Chinese subtitles and a dictionary for the rest, they are within reach.
Where can I watch these dramas free?
Each one’s first episode is linked here, on the drama’s own YouTube channel, free and legal, and 10 of them also plays here, its own Chinese subtitles under the video with pinyin over every word and any word’s meaning a tap away. On YouTube the Chinese subtitles are a track you turn on: press CC, then choose Chinese in the settings, not English. With our extension in Chrome, each line also shows under the player with pinyin over every word, and any word’s meaning when you point at it.
What should I do with the eight words?
Add them to your Backpack before you watch. They are the words the drama says most that your level doesn’t cover, so knowing them takes you furthest, and Review brings each one back until you know it. When you hear them in the episode, they will already be yours.
Pinyin over every line on YouTube
Add the extension to Chrome: every Chinese video on YouTube, these dramas included, gets its line under the player with pinyin over each word, and the meaning of any word you point at.
More to watch and read
Counted from the Chinese subtitles each drama’s official channel uploaded to YouTube, for its first one to three episodes; names, years and episode counts from Wikidata; levels from the official HSK list (2025 syllabus) and our reader. Later episodes can differ a little; only one short line of each is quoted.