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.
2026 rollout: This syllabus was published in November 2025 and became effective in July 2026. The official second-round HSK 3.0 global trial is scheduled for September 20, 2026, so confirm the syllabus and test format with your center.
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 see; to catch sight of
动can; may
动、形subject; course
名mouth; classifier for things with mouths (people, domestic animals, cannons, wells etc)
名、量lump; chunk; piece; classifier for pieces of cloth, cake, soap etc
量to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb)
动teacher
名(completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now)
助cold
形lining; interior
名two; both
数zero; nought
数six; 6
数mama; mommy
名(question particle for "yes-no" questions)
助to buy; to purchase
动to sell; to betray
动busy; hurriedly
形、动cat (CL:隻|只[zhi1]); (dialect) to hide oneself
名it doesn't matter
—it's not important; it's nothing
动haven't; hasn't
动、副younger sister; young woman
名plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals
后缀(cooked) rice
名bread
名erhua variant of 麵條|面条[mian4 tiao2]
名next year
名tomorrow
名name (of a person or thing)
名how; which
代which; who
代where?; somewhere
代where?; wherever; anywhere; somewhere
代which ones?; who?
代(specifier) that; the; those (colloquial pr. [nei4]); (pronoun) that (referring to persons, things or situations)
代、（连）over there; yonder
代that one; that thing
代there; that place
代there
代those
代(bound form) male; baron, the lowest of the five ranks of nobility 五等爵位[wu3 deng3 jue2 wei4]
形boyfriend
名(sentence-final particle) used in questions to link back to prior discourse or context ("what about...?", "and...?")
助can; to be able to
动you (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2]); you
代hello; hi
—you (plural)
代year; grain
名、量you (courteous, as opposed to informal 你[ni3])
代cow's milk
名female; woman
形daughter
名girlfriend
名lady; madam
名friend
名cheap; inexpensive; a petty advantage
形pretty; beautiful
形apple
名seven; 7
数to get out of bed; to get up
动thousand
数front; forward
名coin; money
名to ask; to invite
动Excuse me, may I ask...?
动to go; to go to (a place)
动last year
名to warm up; to heat up
形person; people
名to know; to recognize
动(bound form) sun; day
量、（名）three; 3
数store; shop
名(bound form) up; upper; above; previous; first (of multiple parts)
名、动to go to work; to be on duty
动to go to class; to attend class
动morning
名to go to school; to attend school
动few; less
形、动who; also pr. [shui2]
代what?; something; anything
代to fall ill
动ten; 10
数time; length of time
名(concept of) time; (duration of) time
名matter; thing
名to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true
动cell phone; mobile phone
名book; letter
名bookstore
名water; (after a name) ... River
名fruit
名to sleep; to lie down
动to go to bed; to sleep
动to speak; to talk; to say; to explain; to comment
动to speak; to say
动four; 4
数classifier for years (of age); year
量(third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2])
代Vocabulary levels, pinyin, parts of speech, and counts follow the official 2025 HSK examination syllabus, published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation and effective July 2026. English glosses are adapted from CC-CEDICT under CC BY-SA 4.0; context may change the best translation.