Chinese HSK 1 Vocabulary: 150 Essential Words Reference

The HSK (Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi, 汉语水平考试) is the standardized proficiency test for Chinese as a second language, developed by Hanban under China's Ministry of Education. HSK Level 1, the entry level, officially covers 150 core vocabulary items chosen for frequency and practical utility. A learner who masters these 150 words has enough Chinese to handle basic greetings, simple shopping, time expressions, family members, food, places, and common verbs.

This reference organizes all 150 HSK 1 words by category, giving the character, pinyin with tones, meaning, and a short example sentence. For the characters' structure, see the Chinese characters and radicals guide. For pronunciation, see the pinyin complete guide and the Chinese four tones reference. For the grammar these words appear in, see the Chinese grammar rules guide and the Chinese sentence particles reference.

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Pronouns (10 words)

Table 1. Personal and demonstrative pronouns.

#	Character	Pinyin	Meaning	Example
1	我	wǒ	I, me	我是学生。I am a student.
2	你	nǐ	you (singular)	你好吗？How are you?
3	您	nín	you (respectful)	您好！Hello (polite).
4	他	tā	he	他是老师。He is a teacher.
5	她	tā	she	她很漂亮。She is pretty.
6	我们	wǒmen	we	我们去吧。Let's go.
7	你们	nǐmen	you (plural)	你们好！Hello everyone.
8	他们	tāmen	they	他们来了。They arrived.
9	这	zhè	this	这是什么？What's this?
10	那	nà	that	那是书。That is a book.

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Question Words (6 words)

Table 2. Question words.

#	Character	Pinyin	Meaning	Example
11	什么	shénme	what	你叫什么名字？What's your name?
12	谁	shuí/shéi	who	他是谁？Who is he?
13	哪	nǎ	which	哪个好？Which is good?
14	哪儿	nǎr	where	你在哪儿？Where are you?
15	几	jǐ	how many	你有几本书？How many books?
16	多少	duōshao	how much	多少钱？How much money?

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Numbers (11 words)

Table 3. Cardinal numbers 0-10 and basic units.

#	Character	Pinyin	Meaning
17	零	líng	zero
18	一	yī	one
19	二	èr	two (counting)
20	三	sān	three
21	四	sì	four
22	五	wǔ	five
23	六	liù	six
24	七	qī	seven
25	八	bā	eight
26	九	jiǔ	nine
27	十	shí	ten

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Time Expressions (12 words)

Table 4. Days, months, and time units.

#	Character	Pinyin	Meaning	Example
28	今天	jīntiān	today	今天天气好。The weather is good today.
29	明天	míngtiān	tomorrow	明天见。See you tomorrow.
30	昨天	zuótiān	yesterday	昨天我去了北京。Yesterday I went to Beijing.
31	现在	xiànzài	now	现在几点？What time now?
32	点	diǎn	o'clock	三点。Three o'clock.
33	分钟	fēnzhōng	minute	五分钟。Five minutes.
34	星期	xīngqī	week	星期一 Monday
35	月	yuè	month / moon	五月 May
36	年	nián	year	今年 this year
37	日	rì	day / sun	五月一日 May 1st
38	号	hào	day of month	五月一号 May 1st (colloquial)
39	时候	shíhou	time, when	什么时候？When?

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Family (7 words)

Table 5. Family members.

#	Character	Pinyin	Meaning
40	爸爸	bàba	father
41	妈妈	māma	mother
42	儿子	érzi	son
43	女儿	nǚ'ér	daughter
44	先生	xiānsheng	Mr. / husband
45	小姐	xiǎojiě	Miss / young lady
46	朋友	péngyou	friend

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People and Occupations (4 words)

Table 6. People.

#	Character	Pinyin	Meaning
47	人	rén	person
48	老师	lǎoshī	teacher
49	学生	xuésheng	student
50	医生	yīshēng	doctor

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Places (8 words)

Table 7. Places.

#	Character	Pinyin	Meaning
51	家	jiā	home / family
52	学校	xuéxiào	school
53	饭馆	fànguǎn	restaurant
54	商店	shāngdiàn	shop
55	医院	yīyuàn	hospital
56	中国	Zhōngguó	China
57	北京	Běijīng	Beijing
58	火车站	huǒchēzhàn	train station

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Food and Drink (8 words)

Table 8. Food and drink.

#	Character	Pinyin	Meaning
59	米饭	mǐfàn	cooked rice
60	菜	cài	dish / vegetable
61	水	shuǐ	water
62	茶	chá	tea
63	水果	shuǐguǒ	fruit
64	苹果	píngguǒ	apple
65	鱼	yú	fish
66	牛奶	niúnǎi	milk

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Objects (10 words)

Table 9. Common objects.

#	Character	Pinyin	Meaning
67	书	shū	book
68	椅子	yǐzi	chair
69	桌子	zhuōzi	table
70	电脑	diànnǎo	computer
71	电话	diànhuà	telephone
72	电视	diànshì	television
73	手机	shǒujī	mobile phone
74	衣服	yīfu	clothes
75	钱	qián	money
76	东西	dōngxi	thing

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Common Verbs (25 words)

Table 10. Basic verbs.

#	Character	Pinyin	Meaning
77	是	shì	to be
78	有	yǒu	to have
79	看	kàn	to look, watch
80	听	tīng	to listen
81	说	shuō	to speak
82	读	dú	to read
83	写	xiě	to write
84	吃	chī	to eat
85	喝	hē	to drink
86	睡觉	shuìjiào	to sleep
87	打电话	dǎ diànhuà	make a phone call
88	做	zuò	to do, make
89	买	mǎi	to buy
90	去	qù	to go
91	来	lái	to come
92	回	huí	to return
93	开	kāi	to open, drive
94	住	zhù	to live, stay
95	工作	gōngzuò	to work / job
96	学习	xuéxí	to study
97	请	qǐng	please, invite
98	问	wèn	to ask
99	叫	jiào	to call, be named
100	认识	rènshi	to know (a person)
101	爱	ài	to love

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Adjectives and Descriptions (12 words)

Table 11. Basic adjectives.

#	Character	Pinyin	Meaning
102	好	hǎo	good
103	大	dà	big
104	小	xiǎo	small
105	多	duō	many
106	少	shǎo	few
107	冷	lěng	cold
108	热	rè	hot
109	高兴	gāoxìng	happy
110	漂亮	piàoliang	pretty
111	对	duì	correct, right
112	新	xīn	new
113	忙	máng	busy

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Adverbs and Prepositions (9 words)

Table 12. Grammatical words.

#	Character	Pinyin	Meaning
114	不	bù	not
115	没	méi	not (past)
116	很	hěn	very
117	太	tài	too, extremely
118	都	dōu	all
119	也	yě	also
120	和	hé	and, with
121	在	zài	at, in, on
122	的	de	possessive / modifier

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Particles and Conjunctions (6 words)

Table 13. Sentence-final and grammatical particles.

#	Character	Pinyin	Meaning
123	了	le	completion / change
124	吗	ma	yes/no question
125	呢	ne	continuation / return question
126	吧	ba	suggestion / softening
127	会	huì	can, will
128	能	néng	be able to

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Classifiers (3 words)

Table 14. Basic classifiers.

#	Character	Pinyin	Meaning
129	个	ge	general classifier
130	岁	suì	years of age
131	块	kuài	yuan (currency) / piece

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Location and Direction (8 words)

Table 15. Directions and places relative.

#	Character	Pinyin	Meaning
132	上	shàng	up, on, previous
133	下	xià	down, next
134	里	lǐ	inside
135	前面	qiánmian	in front
136	后面	hòumian	behind
137	这儿	zhèr	here
138	那儿	nàr	there
139	里面	lǐmian	inside

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Weather and Transport (7 words)

Table 16. Weather and transport.

#	Character	Pinyin	Meaning
140	天气	tiānqì	weather
141	下雨	xià yǔ	to rain
142	出租车	chūzūchē	taxi
143	汽车	qìchē	car
144	飞机	fēijī	airplane
145	字	zì	character, word
146	名字	míngzi	name
147	中国人	Zhōngguórén	Chinese person

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Greetings and Common Expressions (3 words / expressions)

Table 17. Common expressions.

#	Character	Pinyin	Meaning
148	你好	nǐ hǎo	hello
149	谢谢	xièxie	thank you
150	再见	zàijiàn	goodbye

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Common Mistakes Learners Make

1. Mixing 是 and 在. 是 is "to be (equal to)" - 我是学生 (I am a student). 在 is "to be at" - 我在家 (I am at home). Not interchangeable.
2. Saying 很多 incorrectly. Used before nouns: 很多书 (many books). For "very many" as predicate: 书很多 (there are many books).
3. Forgetting 的 in possession. 我的书 (my book), not *我书 (though spoken Chinese sometimes drops it).
4. Over-using 二 with classifiers. Use 两 with classifiers: 两个人 (two people), not *二个人.
5. Missing tones. Without tones, HSK 1 words merge into confusion.
6. Using wrong greetings. 你好吗 is a real question asking how you are; casual greetings often use 你好 alone.
7. Putting adverbs after verbs. 我很喜欢 (I like very much), not *我喜欢很.
8. Forgetting that question-word sentences need no 吗. 你是谁？ (Who are you?), not *你是谁吗？

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Quick Reference

• 150 HSK 1 words cover pronouns, numbers, time, family, verbs, adjectives, and common expressions.
• Grammar: SVO order, particle-driven tense/aspect, classifiers required.
• Key structures: Subject + 是 + Noun; Subject + Verb + Object; Subject + Adjective.
• Mastering HSK 1 takes typically 80-100 hours of study.

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FAQ

Is HSK 1 enough to talk with Chinese people?

Barely. You can handle greetings, introductions, ordering food, and basic shopping. For real conversation you need HSK 3-4 (roughly 1,200 words).

How long does HSK 1 take?

Typically 80-120 study hours for vocabulary, tones, basic grammar, and characters.

Do I need to write the characters?

For HSK 1 reading-only, no. For the full test you're expected to recognize characters; writing by hand is not required below HSK 3.

What's the difference between 他 and 她?

Both pronounced tā. 他 = male "he"; 她 = female "she." The distinction is written only; speech doesn't differentiate.

Why are 二 and 两 both "two"?

二 is the counting number. 两 is "two (of something)" used with classifiers. 两个人 (two people), 二月 (February).

Is HSK 1 vocabulary the same across the new HSK 3.0?

The revised HSK 3.0 increased HSK 1 to around 500 words, but the 150-word classical HSK 1 list remains the most widely used entry-level reference.

How should I study these 150 words?

Spaced repetition (Anki, Pleco flashcards), paired with the sample sentence, paired with audio pronunciation. Practice both recognition and production.

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See Also

• Chinese characters and radicals guide for beginners
• Chinese radicals 214 Kangxi reference
• Chinese tones complete guide
• Chinese four tones plus neutral reference
• Pinyin complete guide
• Chinese grammar rules complete beginners guide
• Chinese sentence particles reference
• Chinese measure words classifiers reference

Frequently Asked Questions

Is HSK 1 enough to talk with Chinese people?

Barely. You can handle greetings, introductions, simple ordering, and basic shopping. For real conversation you need HSK 3-4 (roughly 1,200 words).

How long does HSK 1 take?

Typically 80-120 hours of study covering vocabulary, tones, basic grammar, and core characters.

Do I need to write characters for HSK 1?

For recognition-only reading, no. Handwriting is not required below HSK 3 on the official test.

What's the difference between 他 and 她?

Both are pronounced tā. 他 is masculine 'he' and 她 is feminine 'she.' The distinction is only in writing; speech doesn't differentiate.

Why are 二 and 两 both two?

二 is the counting number used in sequences, ordinals, and fixed words. 两 is 'two (of something)' used with classifiers: 两个人, 两本书.

Is HSK 1 vocabulary the same in HSK 3.0?

The revised HSK 3.0 expanded HSK 1 to about 500 words, but the classical 150-word HSK 1 list remains the most widely referenced entry-level list.

How should I study these 150 words?

Use spaced-repetition flashcards with audio, paired with an example sentence. Practice both recognition and production, and drill tones until automatic.