HSK 1 Vocabulary: 150 Core Words With Pinyin and Examples

The 150 words of the six-level HSK 1 list, one word per card.

150 cardsLast updated 2026-08-17

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HSK 1 vocabulary is short enough to work through end to end, which is why the difficulty is rarely the size of the list. What stops people is the shape of the words on it. 个, 本 and 块 are measure words with no English equivalent, 了 and 呢 are particles you cannot translate at all, and 他 and 她 sound identical, so listening gives you no help distinguishing them. This deck holds 150 of those words, one per card. The front is the character as it appears in text; the back gives the pinyin with tone marks, the English meaning, the part of speech, and an original Chinese sentence with its translation. Cards are tagged by theme and by part of speech, so you can drill only the measure words, or only the particles. Import it and the deck joins your spaced-repetition schedule, and what stays in rotation is the shrinking set you cannot yet read on sight.

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What's inside

Showing 100 representative cards from the full 150-card deck.

Front	Back
爱 — what does it mean?	to love (verb). ài.
八 — what does it mean?	eight (numeral). bā.
爸爸 — what does it mean?	father (noun). bàba.
杯子 — what does it mean?	cup, glass (noun). bēizi.
北京 — what does it mean?	Beijing (noun). Běijīng.
本 — what does it mean?	measure word for books (measure word). běn.
不 — what does it mean?	not (adverb). bù.
不客气 — what does it mean?	you are welcome (phrase). bú kèqi.
菜 — what does it mean?	dish, vegetable (noun). cài.
茶 — what does it mean?	tea (noun). chá.
吃 — what does it mean?	to eat (verb). chī.
出租车 — what does it mean?	taxi (noun). chūzūchē.
打电话 — what does it mean?	to make a phone call (verb). dǎ diànhuà.
大 — what does it mean?	big (adjective). dà.
的 — what does it mean?	possessive particle (particle). de.
点 — what does it mean?	o'clock (measure word). diǎn.
电脑 — what does it mean?	computer (noun). diànnǎo.
电视 — what does it mean?	television (noun). diànshì.
电影 — what does it mean?	film (noun). diànyǐng.
东西 — what does it mean?	thing (noun). dōngxi.
都 — what does it mean?	all, both (adverb). dōu.
读 — what does it mean?	to read (verb). dú.
对不起 — what does it mean?	sorry (phrase). duìbuqǐ.
多 — what does it mean?	many, much (adjective). duō.
多少 — what does it mean?	how many, how much (pronoun). duōshao.
儿子 — what does it mean?	son (noun). érzi.
二 — what does it mean?	two, as used in dates and numbers (numeral). èr.
饭馆 — what does it mean?	restaurant (noun). fànguǎn.
飞机 — what does it mean?	aeroplane (noun). fēijī.
分钟 — what does it mean?	minute (noun). fēnzhōng.
高兴 — what does it mean?	happy (adjective). gāoxìng.
个 — what does it mean?	general measure word (measure word). gè.
工作 — what does it mean?	work, job (noun). gōngzuò.
狗 — what does it mean?	dog (noun). gǒu.
汉语 — what does it mean?	Chinese language (noun). Hànyǔ.
好 — what does it mean?	good (adjective). hǎo.
号 — what does it mean?	day of the month; number (noun). hào.
喝 — what does it mean?	to drink (verb). hē.
和 — what does it mean?	and, with (conjunction). hé.
很 — what does it mean?	very (adverb). hěn.
后面 — what does it mean?	behind (noun). hòumiàn.
回 — what does it mean?	to return (verb). huí.
会 — what does it mean?	can, to know how to (verb). huì.
几 — what does it mean?	how many (pronoun). jǐ.
家 — what does it mean?	home, family (noun). jiā.
叫 — what does it mean?	to be called (verb). jiào.
今天 — what does it mean?	today (noun). jīntiān.
九 — what does it mean?	nine (numeral). jiǔ.
开 — what does it mean?	to open, to drive (verb). kāi.
看 — what does it mean?	to look, to watch (verb). kàn.
看见 — what does it mean?	to see (verb). kànjiàn.
块 — what does it mean?	measure word for money (measure word). kuài.
来 — what does it mean?	to come (verb). lái.
老师 — what does it mean?	teacher (noun). lǎoshī.
冷 — what does it mean?	cold (adjective). lěng.
六 — what does it mean?	six (numeral). liù.
吗 — what does it mean?	question particle (particle). ma.
猫 — what does it mean?	cat (noun). māo.
米饭 — what does it mean?	cooked rice (noun). mǐfàn.
明天 — what does it mean?	tomorrow (noun). míngtiān.
那 — what does it mean?	that (pronoun). nà.
你 — what does it mean?	you (pronoun). nǐ.
女儿 — what does it mean?	daughter (noun). nǚ'ér.
漂亮 — what does it mean?	pretty (adjective). piàoliang.
七 — what does it mean?	seven (numeral). qī.
钱 — what does it mean?	money (noun). qián.
去 — what does it mean?	to go (verb). qù.
人 — what does it mean?	person (noun). rén.
三 — what does it mean?	three (numeral). sān.
上 — what does it mean?	above, on (noun). shàng.
少 — what does it mean?	few, little (adjective). shǎo.
什么 — what does it mean?	what (pronoun). shénme.
时候 — what does it mean?	time, moment (noun). shíhou.
书 — what does it mean?	book (noun). shū.
水果 — what does it mean?	fruit (noun). shuǐguǒ.
说 — what does it mean?	to speak (verb). shuō.
岁 — what does it mean?	years of age (measure word). suì.
她 — what does it mean?	she, her (pronoun). tā.
天气 — what does it mean?	weather (noun). tiānqì.
同学 — what does it mean?	classmate (noun). tóngxué.
我 — what does it mean?	I, me (pronoun). wǒ.
五 — what does it mean?	five (numeral). wǔ.
下 — what does it mean?	below, next (noun). xià.
下雨 — what does it mean?	to rain (verb). xiàyǔ.
现在 — what does it mean?	now (noun). xiànzài.
小 — what does it mean?	small (adjective). xiǎo.
些 — what does it mean?	some (measure word). xiē.
谢谢 — what does it mean?	thank you (phrase). xièxie.
学生 — what does it mean?	student (noun). xuéshēng.
学校 — what does it mean?	school (noun). xuéxiào.
一点儿 — what does it mean?	a little (phrase). yìdiǎnr.
医生 — what does it mean?	doctor (noun). yīshēng.
椅子 — what does it mean?	chair (noun). yǐzi.
月 — what does it mean?	month (noun). yuè.
在 — what does it mean?	at, in; to be at (verb). zài.
怎么样 — what does it mean?	how about (pronoun). zěnmeyàng.
中国 — what does it mean?	China (noun). Zhōngguó.
住 — what does it mean?	to live (verb). zhù.
字 — what does it mean?	character, word (noun). zì.
做 — what does it mean?	to do, to make (verb). zuò.

Frequently asked

Does importing this deck use my AI allowance?

No. Importing uses the saved deck as published; it does not run AI generation or use your AI allowance. The complete deck can therefore be imported on the free plan.

What happens if I import the deck twice?

Nothing is duplicated. Cards you already have are skipped and only newly added cards come across. Including re-imports after deleting, each official deck can be imported three times per account.

Can I use it on the web app and the phone app?

Yes. The deck is added to your account, so the same cards and the same progress are available in the web app, the iOS app and the Android app.

Can I edit the cards after importing?

Yes. Imported cards are yours: you can edit both sides, delete cards you do not need, change tags, and move cards to another deck.

What is in the deck?

62 nouns, 32 verbs, 15 pronouns, 10 numerals, 9 adjectives, 6 measure words, 6 set phrases, 4 particles, 4 adverbs, 1 conjunction and 1 interjection, 150 in total. One word per card, so nothing appears twice.

Which HSK 1 word list is this?

The 150-word list of the six-level HSK, levels 1 to 6, which the official test calendar schedules monthly through 2026. A revised syllabus published in November 2025 and effective from July 2026 reorganises HSK into nine levels and sets its level 1 at 300 words, and it is being introduced through global trial sittings. If you are working towards the nine-level version, 145 of the 150 words here are on its level 1 list, which adds 155 more on top.

Are tones marked?

Yes, on every card. The pinyin carries tone marks rather than tone numbers, which is how you will meet it in textbooks and dictionaries. Learning a Chinese word without its tone produces a word you cannot say, so the deck never separates them.

Simplified or traditional characters?

Simplified, because that is what the HSK exam uses. If you are learning traditional characters the pinyin and meanings still apply, and you can edit any card after importing to show the traditional form on the front.

Editorial method and sources

Memly's editors use the primary sources below to check scope and terminology, then independently write and review the cards.

Chinese Test Service: HSK Level 1 vocabulary