HSK 1 — Beginner

127 words

HSK 1 is where everyone starts. These ~150 words cover greetings, numbers, family members, food, directions, and basic daily objects. You'll learn how to introduce yourself, order simple food, count, and understand very basic phrases. Each word below includes pinyin, English meaning, and an example sentence — read the sentences out loud, they're how you learn to use the words in context, not just recognize them.

📚 127 vocabulary words🔊 Audio pronunciation for each word📝 Example sentences with pinyin🔍 Search and sort the table below

Grammar You'll Use at This Level

SVO word order

我是学生。→ I am a student.

Same as English — subject, then verb, then object. The big difference: time and place words go before the verb, not after.

的 for possession

我的书 → my book

的 connects things to their owners or descriptions. It's everywhere at this level.

吗 for yes/no questions

你好吗？→ How are you?

Add 吗 to the end of any statement to make it a question. No word order change needed.

⚠️ Easily Confused at This Level

不 (bù) vs. 没 (méi)

Both mean 'not,' but 不 is for present/future/habitual (我不吃 = I don't eat), and 没 is for past actions (我没吃 = I didn't eat). 不 negates adjectives; 没 negates 有.

二 (èr) vs. 两 (liǎng)

Both mean 'two.' 二 is the abstract number; 两 is for counting things (两个人, not 二个人). Use 二 in phone numbers and addresses.

#	Character	Pinyin	Meaning	Example	Usage
1	爱	ài	to love	我爱你。 I love you.	—
2	八	bā	eight	我八岁。 I'm eight years old.	—
3	爸爸	bàba	dad	我爸爸很高。 My dad is tall.	—
4	杯子	bēizi	cup; glass	这个杯子很漂亮。 This cup is beautiful.	—
5	北京	Běijīng	Beijing	我去北京。 I go to Beijing.	—
6	本	běn	measure word for books	这本书很好。 This book is good.	—
7	不	bù	not; no	我不是学生。 I'm not a student.	不 changes to bú (second tone) when followed by another fourth-tone syllable — 不是 is pronounced bú shì, not bù shì. This is called tone sandhi and happens automatically in speech. For present/future negation (我不吃 = I don't eat), use 不. For past negation (我没吃 = I didn't eat), use 没.
8	菜	cài	dish; vegetable	这个菜很好吃。 This dish is delicious.	—
9	茶	chá	tea	我喜欢喝茶。 I like drinking tea.	—
10	吃	chī	to eat	我吃饭了。 I've eaten.	—
11	出租车	chūzūchē	taxi	我坐出租车去。 I'll go by taxi.	—
12	大	dà	big	中国很大。 China is big.	—
13	的	de	possessive particle	这是我的书。 This is my book.	The most common character in written Chinese. 的 connects modifiers to nouns: possession (我的书 = my book), description (很大的房子 = big house), and full clauses (我认识的人 = people I know). You can drop 的 with close family (我妈妈) and one-syllable adjectives (大房子). When in doubt, keep it — dropping it incorrectly sounds worse than overusing it.
14	点	diǎn	dot; o'clock	现在三点。 It's three o'clock now.	—
15	电脑	diànnǎo	computer	我用电脑工作。 I work using a computer.	—
16	电视	diànshì	television	我看电视。 I watch TV.	—
17	电影	diànyǐng	movie	这个电影很好看。 This movie is great.	—
18	东西	dōngxi	thing; stuff	我买东西。 I buy things.	—
19	都	dōu	all; both	我们都去。 We all go.	都 goes AFTER the subject and BEFORE the verb: 我们都去 (We all go). Never put 都 at the beginning or end of a sentence. It covers both 'all' (for three or more) and 'both' (for two). Works with 每 (every): 我每天都学中文 (I study Chinese every day).
20	读	dú	to read	我喜欢读书。 I like reading books.	—
21	对不起	duìbuqǐ	sorry	对不起，我来晚了。 Sorry, I'm late.	—
22	多	duō	many; much	这里有很多人。 There are many people here.	—
23	儿子	érzi	son	我儿子三岁。 My son is three.	—
24	二	èr	two	我有两个朋友。 I have two friends.	—
25	饭店	fàndiàn	restaurant	这个饭店很好。 This restaurant is good.	—
26	飞机	fēijī	airplane	我坐飞机去北京。 I fly to Beijing.	—
27	分钟	fēnzhōng	minute	等我五分钟。 Wait five minutes for me.	—
28	高兴	gāoxìng	happy	我很高兴。 I'm very happy.	—
29	个	gè	general measure word	一个人 one person	The default measure word when you don't know the specific one. 一个人 (one person), 一个苹果 (one apple), 一个问题 (a question). It's not always correct — 一本书 (one book) uses 本, 一张纸 (a sheet of paper) uses 张 — but 个 will usually be understood even when it's technically wrong.
30	工作	gōngzuò	work; job	我喜欢我的工作。 I like my job.	—
31	狗	gǒu	dog	我有一只狗。 I have a dog.	—
32	汉语	Hànyǔ	Chinese language	我学汉语。 I learn Chinese.	—
33	好	hǎo	good; well	你好！ Hello!	—
34	号	hào	number; date	今天五号。 Today is the 5th.	—
35	喝	hē	to drink	我喝水。 I drink water.	—
36	和	hé	and	我和你 you and I	和 only connects nouns/noun phrases (你和我 = you and I, 茶和咖啡 = tea and coffee). It CANNOT connect clauses or sentences. You can't say 我喝茶和吃饭 — that's an English 'and' between verbs, which Chinese doesn't allow.
37	很	hěn	very	很好 very good	In '我很好' (I'm fine), 很 is a grammatical filler, not really 'very.' Chinese adjectives need something before them in statements — 很 is the default filler and doesn't add emphasis unless you stress it. 我高 sounds incomplete; 我很高 means 'I'm tall,' not necessarily 'I'm very tall.'
38	后面	hòumiàn	behind; in the back	他在我后面。 He's behind me.	—
39	回	huí	to return	我要回家了。 I'm going home.	—
40	会	huì	can; will	我会说汉语。 I can speak Chinese.	Two meanings: (1) can/know how to — 我会游泳 (I can swim, I learned how). (2) will (future) — 明天会下雨 (it will rain tomorrow). 会 (can) is for learned skills; 能 (néng) is for physical possibility. 会 also means 'meeting' when used as a noun: 开会 (hold a meeting).
41	几	jǐ	how many; several	你有几个朋友？ How many friends do you have?	几 is for small numbers (usually under 10). For any number, large or small, use 多少 (duōshǎo). 几个人？expects the answer is under 10; 多少人？could be any number. If you're not sure, 多少 is the safer choice.
42	家	jiā	home; family	我家很大。 My home is big.	—
43	叫	jiào	to be called; to call	你叫什么名字？ What's your name?	—
44	今天	jīntiān	today	今天星期五。 Today is Friday.	—
45	九	jiǔ	nine	九月 September	—
46	开	kāi	to open; to drive	请开门。 Please open the door.	—
47	看	kàn	to look; to watch	我看电视。 I watch TV.	—
48	看见	kànjiàn	to see	我看见他了。 I saw him.	—
49	块	kuài	piece; unit of money	这个五块钱。 This is five kuai.	—
50	来	lái	to come	请进来。 Please come in.	—
51	了	le	particle (completed action / change of state)	我吃饭了。 I've eaten.	Two main uses: (1) After a verb: action completed — 我吃了 (I ate). (2) End of sentence: change of state — 我吃饭了 (I've eaten now, wasn't the case before). Don't use 了 with state verbs (是, 在) or in negative past sentences (没吃, not 没吃了).
52	冷	lěng	cold	今天很冷。 Today is cold.	—
53	里	lǐ	inside; in	我在家里。 I'm at home.	—
54	六	liù	six	六月 June	—
55	妈妈	māma	mom	我妈妈是老师。 My mom is a teacher.	—
56	吗	ma	question particle	你好吗？ How are you?	The simplest way to ask a yes/no question: take any statement and add 吗. 你是学生 → 你是学生吗？No word order change, no 'do' insertion. BUT: if a sentence already has a question word (什么, 谁, 哪儿), you CANNOT also use 吗 — one question marker per sentence.
57	买	mǎi	to buy	我想买这个。 I want to buy this.	—
58	猫	māo	cat	我的猫很可爱。 My cat is cute.	—
59	没有	méiyǒu	not have; there is not	我没有时间。 I don't have time.	—
60	名字	míngzi	name	我的名字叫小明。 My name is Xiao Ming.	—
61	明天	míngtiān	tomorrow	明天见！ See you tomorrow!	—
62	哪	nǎ	which	你是哪国人？ Which country are you from?	—
63	那	nà	that	那是什么？ What is that?	—
64	呢	ne	question particle (how about)	你在做什么呢？ What are you doing?	—
65	能	néng	can; be able to	我能去吗？ Can I go?	—
66	你	nǐ	you	你好！ Hello!	—
67	年	nián	year	新年快乐！ Happy New Year!	—
68	女儿	nǚ'ér	daughter	我女儿很聪明。 My daughter is smart.	—
69	朋友	péngyou	friend	他是我朋友。 He is my friend.	—
70	漂亮	piàoliang	pretty; beautiful	你很漂亮。 You are beautiful.	—
71	苹果	píngguǒ	apple	我喜欢吃苹果。 I like eating apples.	—
72	七	qī	seven	七月 July	—
73	钱	qián	money	我没有钱。 I don't have money.	—
74	请	qǐng	please	请坐。 Please sit.	—
75	去	qù	to go	我去学校。 I go to school.	—
76	热	rè	hot	今天很热。 Today is hot.	—
77	人	rén	person	那个人是谁？ Who is that person?	—
78	认识	rènshi	to know (a person)	认识你很高兴。 Nice to meet you.	—
79	三	sān	three	三月 March	—
80	商店	shāngdiàn	shop; store	我去商店买东西。 I go to the store to buy things.	—
81	什么	shénme	what	这是什么？ What is this?	—
82	十	shí	ten	十月 October	—
83	时候	shíhou	time; moment	你什么时候来？ When will you come?	—
84	是	shì	to be (is/am/are)	我是学生。 I am a student.	—
85	书	shū	book	这本书很好。 This book is good.	—
86	水	shuǐ	water	请给我一杯水。 Please give me a glass of water.	—
87	水果	shuǐguǒ	fruit	我喜欢吃水果。 I like eating fruit.	—
88	睡觉	shuìjiào	to sleep	我要睡觉了。 I'm going to sleep.	—
89	说	shuō	to speak; to say	你会说英语吗？ Can you speak English?	—
90	四	sì	four	四月 April	—
91	岁	suì	years old	我二十岁。 I'm twenty years old.	—
92	他	tā	he; him	他是学生。 He is a student.	—
93	她	tā	she; her	她很漂亮。 She is beautiful.	—
94	太	tài	too; extremely	太好了！ Great!	—
95	天气	tiānqì	weather	今天天气很好。 Today's weather is good.	—
96	听	tīng	to listen; to hear	我听音乐。 I listen to music.	—
97	同学	tóngxué	classmate	他是我的同学。 He is my classmate.	—
98	我	wǒ	I; me	我是学生。 I am a student.	—
99	我们	wǒmen	we; us	我们是朋友。 We are friends.	—
100	五	wǔ	five	五月 May	—
101	喜欢	xǐhuān	to like	我喜欢学汉语。 I like learning Chinese.	—
102	下	xià	down; below; next	下雨了。 It's raining.	—
103	先生	xiānsheng	Mr.; sir	王先生好。 Hello Mr. Wang.	—
104	现在	xiànzài	now	现在几点？ What time is it now?	—
105	想	xiǎng	to want; to think	我想去中国。 I want to go to China.	—
106	小	xiǎo	small; little	这只猫很小。 This cat is small.	—
107	谢谢	xièxie	thank you	谢谢你！ Thank you!	—
108	星期	xīngqī	week	星期一 Monday	—
109	学生	xuésheng	student	我是学生。 I am a student.	—
110	学习	xuéxí	to study; to learn	我学习汉语。 I study Chinese.	—
111	学校	xuéxiào	school	我去学校。 I go to school.	—
112	一	yī	one	一个月 one month	—
113	医院	yīyuàn	hospital	我去医院。 I go to the hospital.	—
114	有	yǒu	to have; there is	我有一个朋友。 I have a friend.	—
115	月	yuè	month; moon	这个月 this month	—
116	在	zài	at; in; on	我在家。 I'm at home.	—
117	再见	zàijiàn	goodbye	再见，明天见！ Goodbye, see you tomorrow!	—
118	怎么	zěnme	how	你怎么去？ How do you go?	—
119	这	zhè	this	这是什么？ What is this?	—
120	中国	Zhōngguó	China	我去中国。 I go to China.	—
121	中午	zhōngwǔ	noon	中午好！ Good afternoon!	—
122	住	zhù	to live (somewhere)	我住在这里。 I live here.	—
123	桌子	zhuōzi	table; desk	书在桌子上。 The book is on the table.	—
124	字	zì	character; word	这个字怎么写？ How do you write this character?	—
125	做	zuò	to do; to make	你在做什么？ What are you doing?	—
126	坐	zuò	to sit; to travel by	请坐。 Please sit.	—
127	昨天	zuótiān	yesterday	昨天星期一。 Yesterday was Monday.	—

How to Master HSK 1 Vocabulary

1. Read through the full word list first.

Don't try to memorize on the first pass. Scroll through the entire table. Which words do you already recognize? Which ones look completely unfamiliar? Get a sense of the terrain before you start climbing. Mark or note the words that seem hardest — those are the ones you'll spend the most time on.

2. Listen to every word's audio — twice.

Tap the 🔊 button for every word in this list, even the ones you think you know. First listen: just listen. Second listen: say the word out loud with the audio, matching the tone exactly. If your voice doesn't follow the same pitch contour, say it again. Tones are physical skills, not intellectual ones — your mouth needs practice, not your brain.

3. Read every example sentence out loud.

The example sentences aren't decoration. They show you how the word fits into a real Chinese sentence — what comes before it, what comes after it, what grammatical particles it needs. You can memorize that 会 means “can,” but you haven't learned it until you can recognize it in a sentence and produce it correctly in context. Read the Chinese sentence, then the pinyin, then the translation. Then read the Chinese again without looking at the pinyin.

4. Move to flashcards when you recognize ~60%.

You don't need to know every word before starting flashcards. Once about 60% of the words look familiar, switch to the HSK 1 flashcards. The act of guessing and checking — even when you're wrong — builds stronger memories than re-reading a table. Mark words honestly. The flashcard system cycles back words you mark “Still Learning,” so you get more repetitions on the hard ones and fewer on the easy ones.

5. Test yourself, then write the ones you miss.

Take the HSK 1 quiz. At the end, you'll see every question you got wrong. For each wrong answer, go to the Writing page and practice writing that character — watch the animation, then write it 10 times on paper. The combination of being wrong (which makes the answer more memorable), seeing the correct answer, and then writing the character creates three memory anchors for one word. It's dramatically more effective than just re-reading the table.

What Next?

You've finished HSK 1. You can greet people, introduce yourself, count, order simple food. Next step: HSK 2 vocabulary adds about 150 words covering daily situations — shopping, weather, time. Start mixing in flashcards from this level while beginning to read HSK 2 words. Also: if you haven't started learning characters yet, now is the time. HSK 1 is forgiving about pinyin-only; HSK 2 is not.

Continue to HSK 2 →Practice Flashcards