A while back a Skritter user wrote some code to generate these really cool vocabulary lists that combine the HSK word lists and the Heisig Remembering the Hanzi character lists. The HSK lists (for the Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì proficiency test) are great general purpose Chinese vocab lists going from beginner to advanced, and the Heisig lists offer an incredibly efficient way to learn a lot of characters very quickly through mnemonics and a learning order taking advantage of shared character components.
If you want to blaze through Chinese at Heisig speeds, but also want to learn some useful language while doing it instead of having to wait until you’re done with characters, then these lists are for you. These lists order the HSK words such that you learn words using only the characters you know from Heisig as you work through that list. So at each step, you’re not only learning a bunch of similar characters, but you’re learning a bunch of useful words made up of those new characters. The reinforcement should be awesome! By the time you’re done with both lists, you’ll know over 5000 words and 1500 characters. Thanks to wb for generating these lists.
HSK Words in Heisig Order (Simplified)
HSK Words in Heisig Order (Traditional)