HSK 2 builds on the basics with about 150 additional words covering shopping, transportation, weather, time expressions, and more daily situations. At this level you start forming longer sentences and handling common interactions — asking for directions, describing your job, telling time. If you've finished HSK 1, expect these words to feel familiar in structure but wider in scope.
Grammar You'll Use at This Level
了 for completed actions
我吃了饭。→ I ate.
了 after the verb marks something as done. Don't put it after every verb — only when the completion matters to what you're saying.
比 for comparisons
我比你高。→ I'm taller than you.
A 比 B + adjective. No 'more' or '-er' needed. Just put the adjective after 比.
过 for life experiences
我去过北京。→ I've been to Beijing.
过 after the verb means 'have done something before.' Great for telling stories about your life.
⚠️ Easily Confused at This Level
会 (huì) vs. 能 (néng)
会 = learned ability (我会游泳 = I can swim, as in I learned how). 能 = physical possibility (我今天不能来 = I can't come today). 会 also means 'will' for future.
知道 (zhīdào) vs. 认识 (rènshi)
知道 is knowing facts (我知道他的名字). 认识 is knowing people (我认识他). You can't 知道 a person or 认识 a fact.
| # | Character | Pinyin | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 吧 | ba | |
| 2 | 白 | bái | |
| 3 | 百 | bǎi | |
| 4 | 帮助 | bāngzhù | |
| 5 | 报纸 | bàozhǐ | |
| 6 | 比 | bǐ | |
| 7 | 别 | bié | |
| 8 | 长 | cháng | |
| 9 | 唱歌 | chànggē | |
| 10 | 出 | chū | |
| 11 | 穿 | chuān | |
| 12 | 船 | chuán | |
| 13 | 从 | cóng | |
| 14 | 错 | cuò | |
| 15 | 打篮球 | dǎ lánqiú | |
| 16 | 大家 | dàjiā | |
| 17 | 到 | dào | |
| 18 | 得 | de | |
| 19 | 等 | děng | |
| 20 | 弟弟 | dìdi | |
| 21 | 第一 | dì-yī | |
| 22 | 懂 | dǒng | |
| 23 | 对 | duì | |
| 24 | 房间 | fángjiān | |
| 25 | 非常 | fēicháng | |
| 26 | 服务员 | fúwùyuán | |
| 27 | 高 | gāo | |
| 28 | 告诉 | gàosu | |
| 29 | 哥哥 | gēge | |
| 30 | 给 | gěi | |
| 31 | 公共汽车 | gōnggòng qìchē | |
| 32 | 公司 | gōngsī | |
| 33 | 贵 | guì | |
| 34 | 过 | guò | |
| 35 | 还 | hái | |
| 36 | 还是 | háishì | |
| 37 | 孩子 | háizi | |
| 38 | 好吃 | hǎochī | |
| 39 | 黑 | hēi | |
| 40 | 红 | hóng | |
| 41 | 火车站 | huǒchēzhàn | |
| 42 | 机场 | jīchǎng | |
| 43 | 鸡蛋 | jīdàn | |
| 44 | 件 | jiàn | |
| 45 | 教室 | jiàoshì | |
| 46 | 姐姐 | jiějie | |
| 47 | 介绍 | jièshào | |
| 48 | 进 | jìn | |
| 49 | 近 | jìn | |
| 50 | 就 | jiù | |
| 51 | 觉得 | juéde | |
| 52 | 咖啡 | kāfēi | |
| 53 | 开始 | kāishǐ | |
| 54 | 考试 | kǎoshì | |
| 55 | 可能 | kěnéng | |
| 56 | 可以 | kěyǐ | |
| 57 | 课 | kè | |
| 58 | 快 | kuài | |
| 59 | 快乐 | kuàilè | |
| 60 | 累 | lèi | |
| 61 | 离 | lí | |
| 62 | 两 | liǎng | |
| 63 | 路 | lù | |
| 64 | 卖 | mài | |
| 65 | 慢 | màn | |
| 66 | 忙 | máng | |
| 67 | 每 | měi | |
| 68 | 妹妹 | mèimei | |
| 69 | 门 | mén | |
| 70 | 面条 | miàntiáo | |
| 71 | 男 | nán | |
| 72 | 女 | nǚ | |
| 73 | 旁边 | pángbiān | |
| 74 | 跑步 | pǎobù | |
| 75 | 便宜 | piányi | |
| 76 | 票 | piào | |
| 77 | 妻子 | qīzi | |
| 78 | 起床 | qǐchuáng | |
| 79 | 千 | qiān | |
| 80 | 晴 | qíng | |
| 81 | 去年 | qùnián | |
| 82 | 让 | ràng | |
| 83 | 日 | rì | |
| 84 | 上班 | shàngbān | |
| 85 | 身体 | shēntǐ | |
| 86 | 生病 | shēngbìng | |
| 87 | 时间 | shíjiān | |
| 88 | 事情 | shìqing | |
| 89 | 手机 | shǒujī | |
| 90 | 送 | sòng | |
| 91 | 虽然 | suīrán | |
| 92 | 它 | tā | |
| 93 | 踢足球 | tī zúqiú | |
| 94 | 跳舞 | tiàowǔ | |
| 95 | 外 | wài | |
| 96 | 完 | wán | |
| 97 | 玩 | wán | |
| 98 | 晚上 | wǎnshang | |
| 99 | 往 | wǎng | |
| 100 | 为什么 | wèi shénme | |
| 101 | 问 | wèn | |
| 102 | 洗 | xǐ | |
| 103 | 小时 | xiǎoshí | |
| 104 | 笑 | xiào | |
| 105 | 新 | xīn | |
| 106 | 姓 | xìng | |
| 107 | 休息 | xiūxi | |
| 108 | 雪 | xuě | |
| 109 | 颜色 | yánsè | |
| 110 | 眼睛 | yǎnjing | |
| 111 | 药 | yào | |
| 112 | 也 | yě | |
| 113 | 已经 | yǐjīng | |
| 114 | 因为 | yīnwèi | |
| 115 | 游泳 | yóuyǒng | |
| 116 | 右边 | yòubiān | |
| 117 | 远 | yuǎn | |
| 118 | 运动 | yùndòng | |
| 119 | 再 | zài | |
| 120 | 早上 | zǎoshang | |
| 121 | 丈夫 | zhàngfu | |
| 122 | 找 | zhǎo | |
| 123 | 着 | zhe | |
| 124 | 真 | zhēn | |
| 125 | 正在 | zhèngzài | |
| 126 | 知道 | zhīdào | |
| 127 | 准备 | zhǔnbèi | |
| 128 | 走 | zǒu | |
| 129 | 最 | zuì | |
| 130 | 左边 | zuǒbiān |
How to Master HSK 2 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 2 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 2 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 got the basics down — greetings, shopping, directions, describing your day. HSK 3 is where things get interesting: emotions, comparisons, work vocabulary, and longer conversations. Before moving up, make sure you can actually produce these words in speech, not just recognize them. Try describing your morning routine out loud using only HSK 1-2 words. If you can do it without pausing to think, you're ready for HSK 3.