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.
784 words loaded from our database (347 unique characters). Search in hanzi, pinyin or English.
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| yī xiē | some, a few | |
| yīhuìr | a moment; a while | |
| yīgòng | altogether; in total | |
| yīdìng | certainly; definitely | |
| yīyàng | same, alike | |
| yī diǎndiǎn | a tiny bit; a little bit | |
| yīshēng | lifelong; whole life | |
| yīzhí | always; continuously | |
| yībān | ordinary; generally | |
| yīlù-píng'ān | have a pleasant journey; bon voyage | |
| yīlù-shùnfēng | have a pleasant journey; bon voyage | |
| yī bùfen | portion; part of | |
| wàn | ten thousand | |
| shàng zhōu | last week | |
| xià | under; below | |
| xià zhōu | next week | |
| xià xuě | snow | |
| bù yīhuìr | soon after; in a little while | |
| bùyīdìng | not necessarily; maybe | |
| bùjiǔ | soon; not long after | |
| bùdàn | not only | |
| bù tóng | different; varied | |
| bùgòu | not enough; insufficient | |
| bù tài | not too; not very | |
| bù hǎoyìsi | feel embarrassed; be ill at ease | |
| bùrú | not as good as | |
| bù shǎo | many; quite a few | |
| bùmǎn | dissatisfied; discontented | |
| bùxíng | no; won't do | |
| bùyào | do not | |
| bùguò | however; but | |
| bùcuò | correct; not bad | |
| dōngběi | northeast | |
| dōngnán | southeast | |
| dōngfāng | the East; the Orient | |
| liǎng | two (units) | |
| liǎng ge xiǎoshí | two hours | |
| gèzi | height; stature | |
| zhōngyī | Traditional Chinese Medicine; TCM | |
| zhōng-xiǎoxué | primary and secondary schools | |
| zhōngnián | middle-aged | |
| zhōngxīn | center | |
| zhōngjí | intermediate | |
| zhōngcān | Chinese food | |
| wèi | do; act | |
| wèi shénme | why | |
| zhǔrén | master; host | |
| zhǔyào | main; essential | |
| jǔ | lift; raise | |
| jǔshǒu | raise hand | |
| jǔxíng | hold (a meeting); convene | |
| yěxǔ | perhaps; maybe | |
| xíguàn | habit; get used to | |
| le | aspect/change-of-state particle | |
| shìqing | matter; thing; affair | |
| yún | cloud; (surname) | |
| jiāo | hand over; intersect | |
| jiāo péngyou | make friends | |
| jiāo gěi | give to; hand over | |
| jiāotōng | traffic; communication | |
| liàng | bright; clear | |
| rénmen | people | |
| rénkǒu | population | |
| rénshù | number of people | |
| yì | hundred million | |
| shénmeyàng | what kind; what sort | |
| jīnhòu | henceforth; in the future | |
| cóngxiǎo | from childhood | |
| yǐshàng | above; aforementioned | |
| yǐxià | below; underneath | |
| yǐwéi | to think; to believe | |
| yǐqián | before; formerly | |
| yǐhòu | after; later | |
| yǐwài | outside of; beyond | |
| jiàn | piece; item (measure word) | |
| fèn | portion; share; (measure word for jobs, newspapers, etc.) | |
| xiūjià | take a holiday; have a vacation | |
| huì | can; know how to; meeting | |
| dàn | but; yet | |
| dànshì | but; however | |
| wèi | position; place | |
| dī | low; beneath | |
| zhùfáng | housing; accommodation | |
| zhùyuàn | hospitalized | |
| tǐyù | sports; physical education | |
| tǐyùchǎng | stadium | |
| tǐyùguǎn | gymnasium; gym | |
| zuòyè | homework; assignment | |
| zuòjiā | writer; author | |
| zuòwén | write; composition | |
| zuòyòng | function; effect | |
| nǐ qù bú qù | are you going or not? | |
| shǐyòng | use; utilize; apply | |
| lìrú | for example | |
| lìzi | example | |
| piányi | cheap; inexpensive | |
| xìn | believe; trust | |
| xìnhào | signal | |
| xìnxīn | confidence; faith | |
| xìnxī | information; message |
Free resources to work on the basics alongside vocabulary.
HSK 2 introduces aspect particles (了, 过), simple result complements, and a much more practical everyday vocabulary.
On average 2 to 3 months of steady study (30 minutes a day) is enough to move from HSK 1 to HSK 2.
It lets you survive (order, shop, get around) but not build deep relationships. For that, aim at HSK 3–4.