Build the everyday core: people, places, time, food, simple actions, and the words that hold a basic sentence together.
Read each example aloud twice, then open an HSK 1 story and look for the same word in a new sentence.
Showing only words introduced at HSK 1.
Short sentences make a word easier to understand—and much easier to remember.
我回家。
I’m going home.我看书。
I read a book.他是我的朋友。
He is my friend.今天我回家。
Today I’m going home.我喜欢他。
I like him.请听我说。
Please listen to me.to love; to be fond of; to like; affection
Vto like; to be fond of; to take pleasure in; to be keen on; interest; hobby
V/Neight
Num(coll.) father; dad; father
N(modal particle indicating suggestion or surmise); ...right?
Auxwhite; in vain
Adjdaytime; during the day
Nhundred; numerous
Numteam; class; grade; (military) squad
N/Mhalf; semi-
Numhalf a year
—half of the day; a long time
—to help; to assist
Vto help; to lend a hand
—to cover; to wrap
N/M/Vbaozi; bao (steamed stuffed bun)
Ncup; trophy cup
Mcup; glass
Nnorth; (classical) to be defeated
Nnorth; north side
NBeijing municipality, capital of the People's Republic of China (short name 京[Jing1])
N(bound form) root; stem; (bound form) origin; source
Mbook; notebook
Nto compare; (followed by a noun and adjective) more {adj.} than {noun}
Prep/Vto leave; to part (from); (literary) to differentiate; to distinguish
Advelse; other
Pronother people; others; other person
Pronillness; disease
N/Vsick person; patient
Nnot very (clear, far away etc); not too; not often; infrequently
—incorrect; wrong
Adjyou're welcome; don't mention it
—need not
Advno; not so; (bound form) not; un-
Advvegetable; greens (CL:棵[ke1]); dish (of food) (CL:樣|样[yang4],道[dao4],盤|盘[pan2])
Ntea; tea plant
Ndifferent; wrong; mistaken
V/Adjalways; ever
Advfrequently; often
Advto sing; to call loudly
Vto sing a song
—car; vehicle
Nticket (for a bus or train)
NEnglish gloss not yet available
—rail station; bus stop
Nto eat; to consume; to eat at (a cafeteria etc)
Vto have a meal; to eat
—to go out; to come out; to arise; to occur
Vto come out; to appear
—to go out
—to bore through; to pierce; to perforate; to go through (e.g. a tunnel); to cross (e.g. a street)
Vbed; couch (furniture that one can lie down on) (CL:張|张[zhang1]); bed; bottom (of rivers, oceans, gardens etc)
Nnext in sequence; second
Mfrom; through; via; (bound form) to follow
Prepmistake; wrong
Adj/Na semantically light, transitive verb that is combined with various grammatical objects to form compound verbs and verb-object phrases with a diverse range of meanings
Vto take a taxi (in town); to hitch a lift
—to make a telephone call
—to open; to show (a ticket)
—to play ball; to play with a ball
—Vocabulary levels and counts follow the GF0025-2021 international Chinese education standard. English glosses are adapted from CC-CEDICT under CC BY-SA 4.0; context may change the best translation.