Every HSK 1 vocabulary list on the internet is the same — alphabetical, organised by topic, or in textbook order. None of them are organised the way that actually helps your pronunciation: by tone pattern.
This list flips that. Below, all ~150 HSK 1 words are grouped by their tone shape (T1-T1, T2-T3, single T4, etc.). The big advantage: when you drill a group, every word in it has the same melody. You build muscle memory for the contour first, then the words slot in.
Tip: open the interactive pinyin chart in another tab and click each syllable as you read. Listening before reciting cements the tone faster than reading the pinyin alone.
How to use this list
- Pick a single tone pattern (say T1-T1).
- Read all the words in that group out loud.
- Notice how the melody is identical — only the consonants and vowels change.
- Move on to the next pattern only when the current one feels automatic.
Practising this way is dramatically more efficient than mixing all 150 words together from day one. You're separating two learning problems — which sounds make this word? and what's the tone shape? — instead of solving them simultaneously.
Single-syllable words — by tone
T1 (high level)
- 八 bā — eight
- 三 sān — three
- 七 qī — seven
- 书 shū — book
- 家 jiā — home, family
- 喝 hē — to drink
- 听 tīng — to listen
- 说 shuō — to speak
- 多 duō — much, many
- 高 gāo — tall
T2 (rising)
- 来 lái — to come
- 国 guó — country
- 谁 shéí — who
- 学 xué — to study
- 钱 qián — money
- 茶 chá — tea
- 时 shí — time
T3 (dip-rise)
- 我 wǒ — I, me
- 你 nǐ — you
- 几 jǐ — how many
- 五 wǔ — five
- 九 jiǔ — nine
- 好 hǎo — good
- 想 xiǎng — to want, to think
- 买 mǎi — to buy
- 写 xiě — to write
- 有 yǒu — to have
T4 (falling)
- 二 èr — two
- 四 sì — four
- 六 liù — six
- 大 dà — big
- 看 kàn — to look
- 去 qù — to go
- 会 huì — can, will
- 做 zuò — to do
- 是 shì — to be
- 在 zài — at, in
Two-syllable words — by tone pattern
These are the most useful drills because two-syllable patterns are how you actually speak Mandarin.
T1-T1
- 今天 jīntiān — today
- 飞机 fēijī — airplane
- 工作 gōngzuò (actually T1-T4 — included as a contrast)
- 中国 Zhōngguó (actually T1-T2)
T1-T2
- 中国 Zhōngguó — China
- 公园 gōngyuán — park
- 家人 jiārén — family
- 西瓜 xīguā (T1-T1, contrast)
T1-T3
- 商店 shāngdiàn (T1-T4 actually)
- 高兴 gāoxìng (T1-T4 actually)
- 多少 duōshǎo — how many
T1-T4
- 工作 gōngzuò — work
- 高兴 gāoxìng — happy
- 商店 shāngdiàn — shop
- 谢谢 xièxie (T4-neutral, contrast)
T2-T1
- 学校 xuéxiào (T2-T4 actually)
- 时间 shíjiān — time
- 同学 tóngxué (T2-T2)
T2-T2
- 朋友 péngyǒu (T2-T3 actually)
- 同学 tóngxué — classmate
- 银行 yínháng — bank
- 学习 xuéxí — to study
T2-T3
- 朋友 péngyou — friend
- 牛奶 niúnǎi — milk
T2-T4
- 学校 xuéxiào — school
- 人民 rénmín (T2-T2 actually)
- 国外 guówài — abroad
T3-T1
- 老师 lǎoshī — teacher
- 北京 Běijīng — Beijing
- 美国 Měiguó (T3-T2)
- 火车 huǒchē — train
T3-T2
- 美国 Měiguó — America
- 法国 Fǎguó — France
- 你好 nǐhǎo — hello (T3-T3 surface, but pronounced T2-T3)
T3-T3 (becomes T2-T3 in speech!)
- 你好 nǐ hǎo — hello
- 水果 shuǐguǒ — fruit
- 我们 wǒmen (T3-neutral)
- 跑步 pǎobù — to run (T3-T4)
Important: when two T3 syllables come back to back, the first one shifts to T2 in actual pronunciation. Nǐ hǎo is written T3-T3 but said as T2-T3 ("ní hǎo"). This is called third-tone sandhi — see our dedicated explainer.
T3-T4
- 跑步 pǎobù — to run
- 早上 zǎoshang (T3-neutral)
- 雨伞 yǔsǎn — umbrella
T4-T1
- 电视 diànshì (T4-T4)
- 爸爸 bàba (T4-neutral)
- 看书 kànshū — to read
T4-T2
- 电话 diànhuà (T4-T4)
- 上来 shànglái — come up
- 下来 xiàlái — come down
T4-T3
- 汉语 Hànyǔ — Mandarin
- 课本 kèběn — textbook
T4-T4
- 电视 diànshì — TV
- 电话 diànhuà — telephone
- 再见 zàijiàn — goodbye
- 现在 xiànzài — now
- 月亮 yuèliang (T4-neutral)
- 上课 shàngkè — to attend class
T-neutral (any tone + light second syllable)
- 妈妈 māma — mom
- 爸爸 bàba — dad
- 谢谢 xièxie — thank you
- 我们 wǒmen — we
- 他们 tāmen — they
- 朋友 péngyou — friend
- 椅子 yǐzi — chair
- 桌子 zhuōzi — table
How to drill this list efficiently
Day 1–2: read every word in T1, T2, T3, T4 single-syllable groups. Don't worry about meaning yet — just say each one out loud, with the right contour.
Day 3–4: add the easy two-syllable patterns: T1-T1, T4-T4, anything-neutral.
Day 5–7: the trickier patterns: T2-T3, T3-T2, and especially T3-T3 (where the first T3 becomes T2).
Day 8 onward: mix patterns in random order and prompt yourself with the English meaning. Force yourself to produce the Mandarin word with the correct tone.
If you want feedback on whether your tones actually land, the TonePerfect app lets you record any of these words and gives you a per-tone score. Most learners discover that one or two specific tone patterns are consistently wrong — and once you know which ones, you can fix them in days, not months.
Take the free 2-minute pronunciation test to see which patterns you struggle with most.