HSK 2 Vocabulary List — 147 Words with Pinyin, Tones & Audio

Every word on the HSK 2 list with pinyin, English meaning and audio you can play. Filter by tone pattern, search any character, and export the list to CSV, Anki or PDF.

Word list based on the HSK 2.0 standard.

How many words are in HSK 2?

Under the original HSK 2.0 standard, HSK 2 adds 150 new words, for a cumulative 300 counting every level below it. The 2021 HSK 3.0 standard is bigger: 772 new words at HSK 2, or 1,272 cumulative. This page lists 147 unique entries with pinyin, English meanings and audio — the de-duplicated HSK 2.0 list, so the figure can differ by a word or two from the headline number.

Listed here

147

HSK 2.0

New at this level

150

HSK 2.0

Cumulative

300

HSK 2.0

Unique characters

200

Most common tone

Tone 4

30%

71 are single-syllable words, 72 are two-syllable and 4 are longer — 228 syllables to pronounce in total.

Tone pattern0 = neutral tone

#	Character	Pinyin	Meaning
1	就	jiù	(after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 是) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precisely; exactly
2	要	yāo	(bound form) to demand; to coerce
3	也	Yě	surname Ye
4	到	dào	to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point)
5	还還	Huán	surname Huan
6	着著	zhāo	(chess) move; trick; all right!
7	给給	gěi	to; for; for the benefit of
8	让讓	ràng	to yield; to permit; to let sb do sth
9	吧	bā	bar (loanword) (serving drinks, or providing Internet access etc); to puff (on a pipe etc); (onom.) bang
10	得	dé	to obtain; to get; to gain
11	可以	kě yǐ	can; may; possible
12	为為	wéi	as (in the capacity of); to take sth as; to act as
13	从	cóng	variant of 从
14	真	zhēn	really; truly; indeed
15	两兩	liǎng	two; both; some
16	出	chū	to go out; to come out; to occur
17	已经已經	yǐ jīng	already
18	最㝡	zuì	variant of 最
19	因为因為	yīn wèi	because; owing to; on account of
20	再	zài	again; once more; re-; second; another; then (after sth, and not until then)
21	次	cì	next in sequence; second; the second (day, time etc)
22	知道	zhī dào	to know; to become aware of; also pr. [zhī dao]
23	问题問題	wèn tí	question; problem; issue
24	走	zǒu	to walk; to go; to run
25	它	tā	it
26	但是	dàn shì	but; however
27	可能	kě néng	might (happen); possible; probable
28	时间時間	shí jiān	time; period
29	开始開始	kāi shǐ	to begin; beginning; to start
30	新	Xīn	abbr. for Xinjiang 疆 or Singapore 坡; surname Xin
31	找	zhǎo	to try to find; to look for; to call on sb
32	快	kuài	rapid; quick; speed
33	比	Bǐ	Belgium; Belgian; abbr. for 比利时
34	所以	suǒ yǐ	therefore; as a result; so
35	觉得覺得	jué de	to think that ...; to feel that ...; to feel (uncomfortable etc)
36	向	Xiàng	surname Xiang
37	一起	yī qǐ	in the same place; together; with
38	希望	xī wàng	to hope; a hope; a wish
39	大家	dà jiā	everyone; influential family; great expert
40	非常	fēi cháng	very; really; unusual; extraordinary
41	孩子	hái zi	child
42	别別	Bié	surname Bie
43	公司	gōng sī	company; firm; corporation
44	第一	dì yī	first; number one; primary
45	问問	wèn	to ask; to inquire
46	长長	cháng	length; long; forever
47	告诉告訴	gào sù	to press charges; to file a complaint
48	事情	shì qing	affair; matter; thing; business
49	号號	háo	roar; cry
50	高	Gāo	surname Gao
51	件	jiàn	item; component; classifier for events, things, clothes etc
52	张張	Zhāng	surname Zhang
53	准备準備	zhǔn bèi	preparation; to prepare; to intend
54	进進	jìn	to go forward; to advance; to go in
55	每	měi	each; every
56	您	nín	you (courteous, as opposed to informal 你)
57	送	sòng	to send; to deliver; to transmit; to give (as a present); to see (sb) off
58	笑咲	xiào	old variant of 笑
59	女人	nǚ rén	woman
60	小时小時	xiǎo shí	hour
61	完	wán	to finish; to be over; whole
62	路	Lù	surname Lu
63	男人	nán rén	a man; a male; men
64	玩	wán	to play; to have fun; to trifle with
65	正在	zhèng zài	just at (that time); right in (that place); right in the middle of (doing sth)
66	门門	Mén	surname Men
67	穿	chuān	to wear; to put on; to dress
68	外	wài	outside; in addition; foreign
69	帮助幫助	bāng zhù	assistance; aid; to help; to assist
70	晚上	wǎn shang	evening; night; in the evening
71	错錯	Cuò	surname Cuo
72	卖賣	mài	to sell; to betray; to spare no effort
73	远遠	yuǎn	far; distant; remote
74	快乐快樂	kuài lè	happy; joyful
75	懂	dǒng	to understand; to comprehend
76	药葯	yào	leaf of the iris; variant of 药
77	黑	Hēi	abbr. for Heilongjiang province 黑龙江
78	身体身體	shēn tǐ	the body; one's health; in person
79	元	Yuán	surname Yuan; the Yuan or Mongol dynasty (1279-1368)
80	介绍介紹	jiè shào	to introduce (sb to sb); to give a presentation; to present (sb for a job etc)
81	红紅	Hóng	surname Hong
82	欢迎歡迎	huān yíng	to welcome; welcome
83	眼睛	yǎn jing	eye
84	近	jìn	near; close to; approximately
85	手机手機	shǒu jī	cell phone; mobile phone
86	忙	máng	busy; hurriedly; to hurry
87	离	chī	mythical beast (archaic)
88	白	Bái	surname Bai
89	去年	qù nián	last year
90	票	piào	ticket; ballot; banknote
91	意思	yì si	idea; opinion; meaning
92	早上	zǎo shang	early morning
93	回答	huí dá	to reply; to answer; reply; answer
94	运动運動	yùn dòng	to move; to exercise; sports
95	妻子	qī zǐ	wife and children
96	鱼魚	Yú	surname Yu
97	累	lěi	to accumulate; to involve or implicate (Taiwan pr. [lèi]); continuous
98	休息	xiū xi	rest; to rest
99	洗	xǐ	to wash; to bathe; to develop (photographs); to shuffle (cards etc)
100	船舩	chuán	variant of 船
101	房间房間	fáng jiān	room
102	丈夫	zhàng fu	husband
103	上班	shàng bān	to go to work; to be on duty; to start work
104	生日	shēng rì	birthday
105	姐姐	jiě jie	older sister
106	课課	kè	subject; course; class
107	哥哥	gē ge	older brother
108	咖啡	kā fēi	coffee (loanword)
109	考试考試	kǎo shì	to take an exam; exam
110	千	qiān	thousand
111	慢	màn	slow
112	旁边旁邊	páng biān	side; adjacent place
113	颜色顏色	yán sè	color; countenance; appearance
114	雪	Xuě	surname Xue
115	妹妹	mèi mei	younger sister; young woman
116	报纸報紙	bào zhǐ	newspaper; newsprint
117	贵貴	guì	expensive; noble; precious
118	机场機場	jī chǎng	airport; airfield; (slang) service provider for Shadowsocks or similar software for circumventing Internet censorship
119	踢	tī	to kick; to play (e.g. soccer); (slang) butch (in a lesbian relationship)
120	弟弟	dì di	younger brother
121	百	Bǎi	surname Bai
122	好吃	hǎo chī	tasty; delicious
123	旅游旅遊	lǚ yóu	trip; journey; tourism
124	起床	qǐ chuáng	to get out of bed; to get up
125	题題	Tí	surname Ti
126	便宜	biàn yí	convenient
127	唱歌	chàng gē	to sing a song
128	右边右邊	yòu bian	right side; right, to the right
129	牛奶	niú nǎi	cow's milk
130	自行车自行車	zì xíng chē	bicycle; bike
131	鸡蛋雞蛋	jī dàn	(chicken) egg; hen's egg
132	姓	xìng	family name; surname; to be surnamed
133	游泳	yóu yǒng	swimming; to swim
134	跳舞	tiào wǔ	to dance
135	阴陰	Yīn	surname Yin
136	生病	shēng bìng	to fall ill
137	左边左邊	zuǒ bian	left; the left side; to the left of
138	公斤	gōng jīn	kilogram (kg)
139	教室	jiào shì	classroom
140	服务员服務員	fú wù yuán	waiter; waitress; attendant
141	手表手錶	shǒu biǎo	wristwatch
142	跑步	pǎo bù	to run; to jog; (military) to march at the double
143	西瓜	xī guā	watermelon
144	晴	qíng	clear; fine (weather)
145	羊肉	yáng ròu	mutton; goat meat
146	公共汽车公共汽車	gōng gòng qì chē	bus
147	打篮球打籃球	dǎ lán qiú	to play basketball

Tones in HSK 2

Vocabulary lists tell you what to memorize. Tone counts tell you what to practise. Here is how the 228 syllables of HSK 2 break down.

Tone distribution

Tone 123% · 52

Tone 221% · 47

Tone 320% · 45

Tone 430% · 69

Neutral7% · 15

Fourth tone is the workhorse of Mandarin, and HSK 2 is no exception: tone 4 covers 30% of the syllables on this list.

Most common tone pairs

72 of these words are two syllables long, and a handful of tone pairs account for most of them. Tap a pattern to filter the list.

1–47 wordse.g. 因为 yīn wèi
4–47 wordse.g. 但是 dàn shì
4–06 wordse.g. 事情 shì qing
1–35 wordse.g. 开始 kāi shǐ
3–05 wordse.g. 晚上 wǎn shang
3–25 wordse.g. 可能 kě néng
1–14 wordse.g. 公司 gōng sī
4–14 wordse.g. 大家 dà jiā

0 = neutral tone

Pronunciation traps in this list

Counted straight from the pinyin above — these are the words worth recording yourself on.

third-tone sandhi (3–3)

Two third tones in a row: the first becomes a rising tone.

with a neutral tone

An unstressed syllable with no tone of its own — easy to over-pronounce.

containing 一 or 不

Both change tone depending on what follows them.

with zh / ch / sh / r

The retroflex initials, routinely confused with z / c / s.

with j / q / x

The palatal series, where the written u is really ü.

with the ü sound

Rounded lips, front tongue — no English equivalent.

HSK 2.0 vs HSK 3.0 at level 2

Two vocabulary standards are in circulation, which is why you will see wildly different word counts for the same level.

Standard	New words	Cumulative
HSK 2.0 (2009)	150	300
HSK 3.0 (2021)	772	1,272

HSK 2.0 (2009) is the six-level standard nearly every textbook, course and exam-prep book on the market still teaches. HSK 3.0 — officially the Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards, published in 2021 — keeps the level names but roughly doubles the vocabulary and adds a 7–9 band for advanced learners. Exam centres are still migrating, so unless your course explicitly says HSK 3.0, the 2.0 list is the one you are being tested on.

This page follows the HSK 2.0 list, the version most HSK 2 courses and exam papers still use.

How many words are in HSK 2?

HSK 2 adds 150 new words under the HSK 2.0 standard (300 cumulative from HSK 1), or 772 under HSK 3.0 (1,272 cumulative). This page lists 147 unique entries with pinyin, meaning and audio.

What is HSK?

HSK (汉语水平考试) is the official Chinese proficiency test. Each level has a set vocabulary list you are expected to know, and the test assumes you can both read and say every word on it.

Can I download the HSK 2 word list?

Yes, three ways and none of them need an account: Download CSV opens in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers; Anki deck gives you a tab-separated file you can import straight into Anki or Quizlet; Print / PDF produces a clean printable list with no site furniture.

What is the difference between HSK 2.0 and HSK 3.0 for HSK 2?

HSK 2.0 (2009) sets HSK 2 at 150 new words. The 2021 HSK 3.0 standard raises it to 772 and adds an advanced 7–9 band. Most courses and exam papers still follow the 2.0 list, which is the one on this page.

Does the HSK 2 list include pinyin?

Every entry shows pinyin with tone marks next to the simplified and traditional characters and the English meaning, and the speaker icon plays the word out loud.

Which tones matter most in HSK 2?

Tone 4 is the most frequent, covering 30% of the 228 syllables on this list. 3 of the words contain two third tones in a row, where third-tone sandhi applies.

How long does it take to learn the HSK 2 vocabulary?

At ten new words a day, 147 words is roughly 3 weeks of study — but recognising a word is not the same as saying it. Learners who record themselves from day one hit the speaking sections far more comfortably.

← Previous: HSK 1 All HSK levels Next: HSK 3 →

Other HSK levels

HSK 1 150 words HSK 3 298 words HSK 4 598 words HSK 5 1,298 words HSK 6 2,500 words HSK 7–9 5,606 words

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