HSK 5 Synonym Discrimination

一直 describes an action or state continuing without a break (and can mean "straight" for direction), while 一向 describes a long-standing habitual attitude or personality trait, not a temporary action or direction.

常常 simply states that something happens often and can be used for requests, future plans, or hopes, while 往往 describes a pattern drawn from past experience and cannot be used for the future, commands, or wishes.

本来 means "originally" and often implies a contrast with a later change or that something should logically be so, while 原来 also means "originally" but additionally expresses the speaker's sudden realization of a previously unknown fact.

恐怕 expresses a worried guess about an unwelcome possibility (or gives a modest rough estimate), while 也许 is a neutral "maybe" with no negative feeling attached.

关于 introduces the general topic of something and usually starts a sentence or noun phrase, while 对于 introduces the target of an attitude, action, or evaluation and can follow the subject.

经过 highlights passing through a place or process over time, while 通过 highlights using a means or method to achieve a result, or successfully passing a test or proposal.

满足 means to meet a need or requirement (or to be content with little), while 满意 means to be pleased with the quality of something that has already happened.

保持 means to keep an existing state unchanged through one's own effort, while 维持 means to sustain something that is under pressure or at risk of ending, often with more difficulty.

表达 means to convey one's own inner feelings or thoughts through words or actions, while 表示 means to show or signal an attitude, meaning, or state, often more neutrally or formally.

发生 means an event occurs or takes place, while 产生 means something (an effect, feeling, or result) is generated as a consequence of something else.

改变 is a verb meaning to make something different or to become different, while 变化 is mainly a noun referring to the change itself.

感受 emphasizes perceiving and being emotionally affected by an experience (often paired with 到), while 感觉 is more general and casual, covering physical sensations, hunches, or opinions.

后悔 expresses personal regret over one's own past action or decision, while 遗憾 expresses a milder, more general regret or pity about a situation that may not be one's own fault.

坚持 means to persist in an effort or opinion despite difficulty, while 继续 simply means to keep an action going or resume it after a pause, with no sense of difficulty.

建立 means to set up or form something new, especially abstract things like relationships or systems, while 成立 means an organization is officially founded, or that an argument or claim is valid.

解决 means to resolve a problem so that it no longer exists, while 处理 means to handle, deal with, or manage a matter or object, which may not always end it completely.

尽量 means to do as much as possible within one's ability or limits, while 尽快 means to do something as soon as possible in terms of time.

究竟 is used mainly in questions to press for the real, exact answer, while 毕竟 is used in statements to justify or explain something by pointing out an underlying, decisive fact.

具备 means to have the necessary conditions, qualifications, or requirements for something, while 具有 means to possess a quality, characteristic, or significance in a more general sense.

明显 is an adjective describing something as clearly noticeable, while 显然 is a sentence adverb meaning "clearly/evidently" that comments on the whole statement.

强烈 describes the intensity of a feeling, desire, light, or reaction, while 激烈 describes the intensity of a competition, conflict, or discussion between opposing sides.

缺乏 is more formal and used for abstract or intangible things like experience or confidence, while 缺少 is more concrete and everyday, used for countable or tangible things that are missing.

熟悉 means to know someone or something well through familiarity, while 了解 means to understand the facts or nature of someone or something, often through active learning.

逐渐 describes a change that unfolds gradually over time, often on its own, while 逐步 describes a change that happens step by step through a series of planned or deliberate actions.