Mandarin HSK 1 vocabulary: 50 essential words
Fifty core HSK 1 Mandarin words in simplified characters, with pinyin, meanings and an example sentence for each, from pronouns to time words.
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Pronoun
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All 50 cards
- 1我Pronounwǒ · I; me (我们 wǒmen is “we”)我今天很忙。 Wǒ jīntiān hěn máng. — I’m busy today.
- 2你Pronounnǐ · you (polite: 您 nín)你叫什么名字？ Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi? — What’s your name?
- 3他 / 她Pronouns; both sound the sametā · he; him / she; her她是我妈妈。 Tā shì wǒ māma. — She’s my mom.
- 4这 / 那Pronounszhè / nà · this / that这是我的，那是你的。 Zhè shì wǒ de, nà shì nǐ de. — This is mine, that’s yours.
- 5什么Question wordshénme · what这是什么？ Zhè shì shénme? — What is this?
- 6谁Question wordshéi · who (also read shuí)那个人是谁？ Nàge rén shì shéi? — Who is that person?
- 7哪儿Question word; 哪里 means the samenǎr · where你住在哪儿？ Nǐ zhù zài nǎr? — Where do you live?
- 8几Question word, used with a measure wordjǐ · how many (usually fewer than ten)你家有几口人？ Nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén? — How many people are in your family?
- 9多少Question wordduōshao · how many; how much你们学校有多少学生？ Nǐmen xuéxiào yǒu duōshao xuésheng? — How many students does your school have?
- 10怎么Question wordzěnme · how (怎么样 asks “how is it?”)去火车站怎么走？ Qù huǒchēzhàn zěnme zǒu? — How do I get to the train station?
- 11吗Particle, at the end of a sentencema · turns a statement into a yes/no question你是老师吗？ Nǐ shì lǎoshī ma? — Are you a teacher?
- 12呢Particle, at the end of a sentencene · and…?; what about…?我很好，你呢？ Wǒ hěn hǎo, nǐ ne? — I’m fine, and you?
- 13的Particlede · shows possession, like ’s or “of”这是我朋友的书。 Zhè shì wǒ péngyou de shū. — This is my friend’s book.
- 14不Adverb; said bú before a fourth tonebù · not; no我不喝咖啡。 Wǒ bù hē kāfēi. — I don’t drink coffee.
- 15没Adverbméi · not (for 有, and for things that didn’t happen)我昨天没去学校。 Wǒ zuótiān méi qù xuéxiào. — I didn’t go to school yesterday.
- 16很Adverb; often just links a subject and an adjectivehěn · very今天很冷。 Jīntiān hěn lěng. — It’s cold today.
- 17都Adverb, placed before the verbdōu · all; both我们都是学生。 Wǒmen dōu shì xuésheng. — We’re all students.
- 18是Verb; links two nouns, not a noun and an adjectiveshì · to be (am, is, are)她是医生。 Tā shì yīshēng. — She’s a doctor.
- 19有Verb; negated with 没, never 不yǒu · to have; there is, there are桌子上有一本书。 Zhuōzi shang yǒu yì běn shū. — There’s a book on the table.
- 20在Verb and prepositionzài · to be at; at, in他在医院工作。 Tā zài yīyuàn gōngzuò. — He works at a hospital.
- 21去Verbqù · to go明天我们去北京。 Míngtiān wǒmen qù Běijīng. — We’re going to Beijing tomorrow.
- 22来Verblái · to come你什么时候来？ Nǐ shénme shíhou lái? — When are you coming?
- 23吃Verbchī · to eat中午你想吃什么？ Zhōngwǔ nǐ xiǎng chī shénme? — What do you want to eat for lunch?
- 24喝Verbhē · to drink我每天都喝茶。 Wǒ měitiān dōu hē chá. — I drink tea every day.
- 25看Verbkàn · to look; to watch; to read我喜欢看电影。 Wǒ xǐhuan kàn diànyǐng. — I like watching movies.
- 26说Verbshuō · to speak; to say你会说汉语吗？ Nǐ huì shuō Hànyǔ ma? — Can you speak Chinese?
- 27想Verbxiǎng · to want to; to think; to miss我想去中国。 Wǒ xiǎng qù Zhōngguó. — I want to go to China.
- 28喜欢Verbxǐhuan · to like我很喜欢猫。 Wǒ hěn xǐhuan māo. — I really like cats.
- 29会Verbhuì · can (a learned skill); will (likely)我会做中国菜。 Wǒ huì zuò Zhōngguó cài. — I can cook Chinese food.
- 30叫Verbjiào · to be called; to call我叫王明。 Wǒ jiào Wáng Míng. — My name is Wang Ming.
- 31买Verbmǎi · to buy (卖 mài, “to sell”, differs only in tone)我去商店买东西。 Wǒ qù shāngdiàn mǎi dōngxi. — I’m going to the store to buy some things.
- 32认识Verbrènshi · to know (a person); to meet认识你很高兴。 Rènshi nǐ hěn gāoxìng. — Nice to meet you.
- 33好Adjectivehǎo · good; well (你好 is “hello”)今天天气很好。 Jīntiān tiānqì hěn hǎo. — The weather is nice today.
- 34大Adjectivedà · big; large他们的家很大。 Tāmen de jiā hěn dà. — Their home is big.
- 35小Adjectivexiǎo · small; little; young这个杯子太小了。 Zhège bēizi tài xiǎo le. — This cup is too small.
- 36谢谢Phrasexièxie · thank you; thanks谢谢你的帮助。 Xièxie nǐ de bāngzhù. — Thank you for your help.
- 37不客气Reply to 谢谢bú kèqi · you’re welcome不客气，我们是朋友。 Bú kèqi, wǒmen shì péngyou. — You’re welcome, we’re friends.
- 38对不起Phrase (an apology)duìbuqǐ · sorry对不起，我来晚了。 Duìbuqǐ, wǒ lái wǎn le. — Sorry, I’m late.
- 39没关系Reply to 对不起méi guānxi · it doesn’t matter; that’s OK没关系，我也刚到。 Méi guānxi, wǒ yě gāng dào. — That’s OK, I just got here too.
- 40再见Phrasezàijiàn · goodbye (literally “see again”)老师，再见！ Lǎoshī, zàijiàn! — Goodbye, teacher.
- 41今天Time wordjīntiān · today今天几号？ Jīntiān jǐ hào? — What’s the date today?
- 42明天Time wordmíngtiān · tomorrow明天见。 Míngtiān jiàn. — See you tomorrow.
- 43现在Time wordxiànzài · now他现在不在家。 Tā xiànzài bú zài jiā. — He isn’t home right now.
- 44点Measure word, for timediǎn · o’clock我们八点见。 Wǒmen bā diǎn jiàn. — See you at eight.
- 45个Measure wordgè · the general measure word, for people and many things我有一个中国朋友。 Wǒ yǒu yí ge Zhōngguó péngyou. — I have a Chinese friend.
- 46钱Nounqián · money这个多少钱？ Zhège duōshao qián? — How much is this?
- 47朋友Nounpéngyou · friend他是我的好朋友。 Tā shì wǒ de hǎo péngyou. — He’s a good friend of mine.
- 48家Noun; also a measure word for shopsjiā · home; family我们回家吧。 Wǒmen huí jiā ba. — Let’s go home.
- 49中国Proper nounZhōngguó · China (中国人 is “Chinese person”)他是中国人，住在北京。 Tā shì Zhōngguórén, zhù zài Běijīng. — He’s Chinese and lives in Beijing.
- 50汉语NounHànyǔ · Chinese, the language (中文 Zhōngwén means the same)汉语不太难。 Hànyǔ bú tài nán. — Chinese isn’t too hard.
Frequently asked questions
Which HSK list are these words from?
The classic HSK 1 list of 150 words. Newer HSK standards have a much larger first level, but these words are basic everyday Mandarin either way.
Why is the pinyin on the back of the card?
Knowing a Mandarin word means knowing its sound, and the tone is part of the sound: mǎi (to buy) and mài (to sell) differ only in tone. Say the pinyin out loud before you check.
Why do 不 and 一 sometimes change their tone?
不 becomes bú before a fourth tone (bú shì), and 一 becomes yí before a fourth tone and yì before the other tones (yí ge, yì běn). The example sentences show these spoken tones; dictionaries list the original ones.
Simplified or traditional characters?
Simplified, the standard in mainland China and Singapore. Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau use traditional characters, where some of these words look different: 谢谢 is written 謝謝.
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