HSK 3.0 · 772 official words

HSK 2 vocabulary — 772 words to hold a simple conversation

HSK 2 nearly doubles your HSK 1 vocabulary: 772 words in total that let you talk about daily life, express needs, situate events in time, and hold short exchanges. It's the minimum level for genuinely useful Chinese. Plan for around 80 cumulative hours of study.

For
False beginners who passed HSK 1
Goal
Communicate on familiar daily topics: family, shopping, time, activities.
Study time
~80 h total

The 772 words of HSK 2

781 words loaded from our database (347 unique characters). Search in hanzi, pinyin or English.

HanziPinyinEnglish
一些yī xiēsome, a few
一会儿yīhuìra moment; a while
一共yīgòngaltogether; in total
一定yīdìngcertainly; definitely
一样yīyàngsame, alike
一点点yī diǎndiǎna tiny bit; a little bit
一生yīshēnglifelong; whole life
一直yīzhíalways; continuously
一般yībānordinary; generally
一路平安yīlù-píng'ānhave a pleasant journey; bon voyage
一路顺风yīlù-shùnfēnghave a pleasant journey; bon voyage
一部分yī bùfenportion; part of
wànten thousand
上周shàng zhōulast week
xiàunder; below
下周xià zhōunext week
下雪xià xuěsnow
不一会儿bù yīhuìrsoon after; in a little while
不一定bùyīdìngnot necessarily; maybe
不久bùjiǔsoon; not long after
不但bùdànnot only
不同bù tóngdifferent; varied
不够bùgòunot enough; insufficient
不太bù tàinot too; not very
不好意思bù hǎoyìsifeel embarrassed; be ill at ease
不如bùrúnot as good as
不少bù shǎomany; quite a few
不满bùmǎndissatisfied; discontented
不行bùxíngno; won't do
不要bùyàodo not
不过bùguòhowever; but
不错bùcuòcorrect; not bad
东北dōngběinortheast
东南dōngnánsoutheast
东方dōngfāngthe East; the Orient
liǎngtwo (units)
两个小时liǎng ge xiǎoshítwo hours
个子gèziheight; stature
中医zhōngyīTraditional Chinese Medicine; TCM
中小学zhōng-xiǎoxuéprimary and secondary schools
中年zhōngniánmiddle-aged
中心zhōngxīncenter
中级zhōngjíintermediate
中餐zhōngcānChinese food
wèido; act
为什么wèi shénmewhy
主人zhǔrénmaster; host
主要zhǔyàomain; essential
lift; raise
举手jǔshǒuraise hand
举行jǔxínghold (a meeting); convene
也许yěxǔperhaps; maybe
习惯xíguànhabit; get used to
leaspect/change-of-state particle
事情shìqingmatter; thing; affair
yúncloud; (surname)
jiāohand over; intersect
交朋友jiāo péngyoumake friends
交给jiāo gěigive to; hand over
交通jiāotōngtraffic; communication
liàngbright; clear
人们rénmenpeople
人口rénkǒupopulation
人数rénshùnumber of people
亿hundred million
什么样shénmeyàngwhat kind; what sort
今后jīnhòuhenceforth; in the future
从小cóngxiǎofrom childhood
以上yǐshàngabove; aforementioned
以下yǐxiàbelow; underneath
以为yǐwéito think; to believe
以前yǐqiánbefore; formerly
以后yǐhòuafter; later
以外yǐwàioutside of; beyond
jiànpiece; item (measure word)
fènportion; share; (measure word for jobs, newspapers, etc.)
休假xiūjiàtake a holiday; have a vacation
huìcan; know how to; meeting
dànbut; yet
但是dànshìbut; however
wèiposition; place
low; beneath
住房zhùfánghousing; accommodation
住院zhùyuànhospitalized
体育tǐyùsports; physical education
体育场tǐyùchǎngstadium
体育馆tǐyùguǎngymnasium; gym
作业zuòyèhomework; assignment
作家zuòjiāwriter; author
作文zuòwénwrite; composition
作用zuòyòngfunction; effect
你去不去nǐ qù bú qùare you going or not?
使用shǐyònguse; utilize; apply
例如lìrúfor example
例子lìziexample
便宜piányicheap; inexpensive
xìnbelieve; trust
信号xìnhàosignal
信心xìnxīnconfidence; faith
信息xìnxīinformation; message
Page 1 of 8 · 781 words

5 must-know words

觉得
希望
已经
yǐjīng
already
怎么样
zěnmeyàng
how?; what about?
旁边

Key HSK 2 grammar

Elementary

  • Particle 了₁ (completed action after the verb)
  • Particle 了₂ (change of state at end of sentence)
  • Adverb 也 (also) — placed before the verb
  • Adverb 都 (all) — placed before the verb
  • Adverb 还 (still / in addition)
  • Structure 太…了 (too…)
  • Comparison with 比 (A 比 B + adj)
  • Equality 跟…一样 (A and B are the same)
See all grammar points

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between HSK 1 and HSK 2?

HSK 2 introduces aspect particles (了, 过), simple result complements, and a much more practical everyday vocabulary.

How long between HSK 1 and HSK 2?

On average 2 to 3 months of steady study (30 minutes a day) is enough to move from HSK 1 to HSK 2.

Does HSK 2 let me live in China?

It lets you survive (order, shop, get around) but not build deep relationships. For that, aim at HSK 3–4.