HSK 2 vocabulary list

• 东南dōng nánsoutheast
• 难看nán kànugly; unsightly
• 有点儿yǒu diǎn rslightly; a little; somewhat
• 地铁站dì tiě zhànsubway station
• 快餐kuài cānfast food; snack; quick meal
• 站住zhàn zhùto stand
• 开机kāi jīto start an engine; to boot up (a computer); to press Ctrl-Alt-Delete; to begin shooting a film or TV show
• 碰见pèng jiànto run into; to meet (unexpectedly); to bump into
• 字典zì diǎnChinese character dictionary (containing entries for single characters, contrasted with a 词典, which has entries for words of one or more characters); (coll.) dictionary
• 排球pái qiúvolleyball
• 过年guò niánto celebrate the Chinese New Year
• 零下líng xiàbelow zero
• 拿出ná chūto take out; to put out; to provide; to put forward (a proposal); to come up with (evidence)
• 中餐zhōng cānlunch; Chinese meal; Chinese food
• 晴天qíng tiānclear sky; sunny day
• 全年quán niánthe whole year; all year long
• 那会儿nà huì rat that time (in the past or the future); also pr. [nèi huì r]
• 外卖wài mài(of a restaurant) to provide a takeout or home delivery meal; takeout (business); takeout (meal)
• 方便面fāng biàn miàninstant noodles
• 饭馆fàn guǎnrestaurant
• 球鞋qiú xiéathletic shoes
• 交朋友jiāo péng youto make friends; (dialect) to start an affair with sb
• 一路顺风yī lù shùn fēngto have a pleasant journey (idiom)
• 晚报wǎn bàoevening newspaper; (in a newspaper's name) Evening News
• 难听nán tīngunpleasant to hear; coarse; vulgar; offensive; shameful
• 药水yào shuǐYaksu in North Korea, near the border with Liaoning and Jiling province
• 中医zhōng yītraditional Chinese medical science; a doctor trained in Chinese medicine
• 坏处huài chuharm; troubles
• 前年qián niánthe year before last
• 千克qiān kèkilogram
• 问路wèn lùto ask for directions; to ask the way (to some place)
• 叫作jiào zuòto call; to be called
• 午睡wǔ shuìto take a nap; siesta
• 药片yào piàna (medicine) pill or tablet
• 音节yīn jiésyllable
• 中级zhōng jímiddle level (in a hierarchy)
• 一点点yī diǎn diǎna little bit
• 春节chūn jiéSpring Festival (Chinese New Year)
• 留学生liú xué shēngstudent studying abroad; (foreign) exchange student
• 阴天yīn tiāncloudy day; overcast sky
• 西医xī yīWestern medicine; a doctor trained in Western medicine
• 听讲tīng jiǎngto attend a lecture; to listen to a talk
• 考生kǎo shēngexam candidate; student whose name has been put forward for an exam
• 读音dú yīnpronunciation; literary (rather than colloquial) pronunciation of a Chinese character
• 中小学zhōng xiǎo xuémiddle and elementary school
• 西餐xī cānWestern-style food
• 一路平安yī lù píng ānto have a pleasant journey; Bon voyage!
• 不一会儿bù yī huì rTake a short while
• 不太bù tàiNot too
• 生词shēng cínew word (in textbook); word that is unfamiliar or not yet studied
• 画儿huà rpicture; drawing; painting
• 那时候nà shí houat that time
• 公交车gōng jiāo chēpublic transport vehicle; town bus
• 见过jiàn guoseen
• 快点儿kuài diǎn rerhua variant of 快点; to do smh more quickly; Hurry up!
• 挺好tǐng hǎovery good
• 下周xià zhōunext week
• 银行卡yín háng kǎbank card; ATM card
• 有一点儿yǒu yī diǎn ra bit; a little
• 笑话儿xiào hua rJoke

Frequently asked questions

How many words do you need for HSK 2?

On the current exam (HSK 2.0), HSK 2 requires 300 words in total, counted from HSK 1. Under the new HSK 3.0 standard, level 2 covers 1,272 words in total.

What is in this HSK 2 vocabulary list?

481 Chinese words that the HSK Ace dictionary places at HSK 2, sorted by frequency. Each one has pinyin, an English meaning, audio and a stroke-order animation. The set draws on both HSK 2.0 and HSK 3.0, so its size differs from the official counts.

Practice HSK 2

See how many of these words you can use under exam conditions, or learn to write them stroke by stroke.