HSK 2 Vocabulary List 2026: The Complete 500 Words (Official)
The HSK 2 Vocabulary List 2026 (HSK 3.0) contains 500 cumulative words — building on the 300 from Level 1 with approximately 200 new words at this level. The additions focus on social interactions, describing reasons and feelings, health, and Chinese cultural knowledge.
HSK 2 Vocabulary List 2026 — Overview Image
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Key Additions at Level 2
Level 2 introduces vocabulary for more complex social situations. Here are the main categories of new words:
- +Reasons & Causes: Words to explain why: 因为 (because), 所以 (therefore), 为什么 (why).
- +Health & Body: Describing symptoms and visiting a doctor: 疼 (painful), 药 (medicine), 生病 (to fall ill).
- +Directional Verbs: Movement compounds: 进来 (come in), 出去 (go out), 回来 (come back), 上去 (go up).
- +Cultural Vocabulary: Chinese New Year: 过年 (to celebrate New Year), 饺子 (dumplings), 祝福 (blessing).
- +Comparison Words: 比 (compared to), 一样 (same), for making comparison sentences.
1. People & Relationships (人物与关系)
Family, friends, roles, and pronouns — the people around you.
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 爸爸 | bàba | Dad | 名 |
| 妈妈 | māma | Mom | 名 |
| 哥哥 | gēge | Older brother | 名 |
| 姐姐 | jiějie | Older sister | 名 |
| 弟弟 | dìdi | Younger brother | 名 |
| 妹妹 | mèimei | Younger sister | 名 |
| 爷爷 | yéye | Grandpa (paternal) | 名 |
| 奶奶 | nǎinai | Grandma (paternal) | 名 |
| 丈夫 | zhàngfu | Husband | 名 |
| 妻子 | qīzi | Wife | 名 |
| 儿子 | érzi | Son | 名 |
| 女儿 | nǚ'ér | Daughter | 名 |
| 家人 | jiārén | Family member | 名 |
| 朋友 | péngyou | Friend | 名 |
| 同学 | tóngxué | Classmate | 名 |
| 先生 | xiānsheng | Mr.; husband | 名 |
| 女士 | nǚshì | Ms.; madam | 名 |
| 自己 | zìjǐ | Oneself; self | 代 |
| 大家 | dàjiā | Everyone; all | 代 |
| 每 | měi | Every; each | 代 |
2. Body & Health (身体与健康)
New at Level 2 — essential for Task #10 (seeing a doctor).
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 身体 | shēntǐ | Body; health | 名 |
| 头 | tóu | Head; first | 名 |
| 手 | shǒu | Hand | 名 |
| 眼睛 | yǎnjing | Eye | 名 |
| 口 | kǒu | Mouth | 名 |
| 疼 | téng | Painful; sore | 形 |
| 生病 | shēngbìng | To fall ill | 动 |
| 看病 | kànbìng | To see a doctor | 动 |
| 药 | yào | Medicine; drug | 名 |
| 医院 | yīyuàn | Hospital | 名 |
| 药店 | yàodiàn | Pharmacy | 名 |
| 休息 | xiūxi | To rest | 动 |
3. Food & Drink (饮食)
Includes Level 1 essentials plus new Level 2 items like menus and traditional foods.
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 饺子 | jiǎozi | Dumplings | 名 |
| 包子 | bāozi | Steamed stuffed bun | 名 |
| 面条儿 | miàntiáor | Noodles | 名 |
| 面包 | miànbāo | Bread | 名 |
| 米饭 | mǐfàn | Cooked rice | 名 |
| 鸡蛋 | jīdàn | Egg (chicken) | 名 |
| 肉 | ròu | Meat; flesh | 名 |
| 鱼 | yú | Fish | 名 |
| 菜 | cài | Dish; vegetable | 名 |
| 水果 | shuǐguǒ | Fruit | 名 |
| 苹果 | píngguǒ | Apple | 名 |
| 茶 | chá | Tea | 名 |
| 绿茶 | lǜchá | Green tea | 名 |
| 红茶 | hóngchá | Black tea | 名 |
| 咖啡 | kāfēi | Coffee | 名 |
| 牛奶 | niúnǎi | Milk | 名 |
| 奶茶 | nǎichá | Milk tea | 名 |
| 早饭 | zǎofàn | Breakfast | 名 |
| 午饭 | wǔfàn | Lunch | 名 |
| 晚饭 | wǎnfàn | Dinner | 名 |
| 好吃 | hǎochī | Delicious | 形 |
| 做饭 | zuòfàn | To cook | 动 |
| 饭馆 | fànguǎn | Restaurant | 名 |
| 超市 | chāoshì | Supermarket | 名 |
4. Places & Locations (地方与位置)
Buildings, direction words, and position terms — essential for Task #5 (describing places).
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 学校 | xuéxiào | School | 名 |
| 教室 | jiàoshì | Classroom | 名 |
| 医院 | yīyuàn | Hospital | 名 |
| 酒店 | jiǔdiàn | Hotel | 名 |
| 商店 | shāngdiàn | Shop; store | 名 |
| 商场 | shāngchǎng | Shopping mall | 名 |
| 书店 | shūdiàn | Bookstore | 名 |
| 电影院 | diànyǐngyuàn | Cinema | 名 |
| 机场 | jīchǎng | Airport | 名 |
| 车站 | chēzhàn | Bus/train station | 名 |
| 门口 | ménkǒu | Entrance; doorway | 名 |
| 房间 | fángjiān | Room | 名 |
| 楼 | lóu | Building; floor | 名 |
| 上面 | shàngmiàn | Above; on top of | 名 |
| 下面 | xiàmiàn | Below; under | 名 |
| 里面 | lǐmiàn | Inside; interior | 名 |
| 外面 | wàimiàn | Outside; exterior | 名 |
| 前面 | qiánmiàn | Front; ahead | 名 |
| 后面 | hòumiàn | Behind; back | 名 |
| 旁边 | pángbiān | Side; beside | 名 |
| 左边 | zuǒbiān | Left side | 名 |
| 右边 | yòubiān | Right side | 名 |
Want to hear how these words sound?
In the Pass HSK app, HSK 2 words come in real sentences, with pinyin, audio and short practice questions that check whether they stuck.
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5. Transport & Travel (交通出行)
Key for Task #8 — giving directions and describing travel experiences.
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 飞机 | fēijī | Airplane | 名 |
| 火车 | huǒchē | Train | 名 |
| 公交车 | gōngjiāochē | Bus | 名 |
| 出租车 | chūzūchē | Taxi; cab | 名 |
| 地铁 | dìtiě | Subway; metro | 名 |
| 车 | chē | Car; vehicle | 名 |
| 路 | lù | Road; path; way | 名 |
| 票 | piào | Ticket | 名 |
| 机票 | jīpiào | Plane ticket | 名 |
| 旅游 | lǚyóu | To travel; tourism | 动 |
| 往 | wǎng | Towards; to | 动、介 |
| 打车 | dǎchē | To take a taxi | 动 |
| 走路 | zǒulù | To walk | 动 |
| 近 | jìn | Near; close | 形 |
| 远 | yuǎn | Far; distant | 形 |
6. Time & Numbers (时间与数字)
Essential for scheduling, stories, and sequencing events.
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 万 | wàn | Ten thousand | 数 |
| 百 | bǎi | Hundred | 数 |
| 千 | qiān | Thousand | 数 |
| 两 | liǎng | Two (before measure words) | 数 |
| 半 | bàn | Half | 数 |
| 今天 | jīntiān | Today | 名 |
| 明天 | míngtiān | Tomorrow | 名 |
| 昨天 | zuótiān | Yesterday | 名 |
| 今年 | jīnnián | This year | 名 |
| 去年 | qùnián | Last year | 名 |
| 明年 | míngnián | Next year | 名 |
| 早上 | zǎoshang | Morning | 名 |
| 上午 | shàngwǔ | Morning (AM) | 名 |
| 中午 | zhōngwǔ | Noon; midday | 名 |
| 下午 | xiàwǔ | Afternoon | 名 |
| 晚上 | wǎnshang | Evening; night | 名 |
| 小时 | xiǎoshí | Hour | 名 |
| 分钟 | fēnzhōng | Minute (duration) | 量 |
| 星期 | xīngqī | Week | 名 |
| 周 | zhōu | Week; cycle | 名 |
| 时间 | shíjiān | Time | 名 |
| 已经 | yǐjīng | Already | 副 |
| 快要 | kuàiyào | To be about to; soon | 副 |
| 正在 | zhèngzài | In the process of | 副 |
7. Actions & Verbs — Key Selection (动作动词)
Level 2 adds many directional compounds and separable verbs (离合词). This is a selection of the most important new verbs.
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 帮忙 | bāngmáng | To help; to do a favor | 离合词 |
| 跑步 | pǎobù | To run; to jog | 离合词 |
| 跳舞 | tiàowǔ | To dance | 离合词 |
| 游泳 | yóuyǒng | To swim | 离合词 |
| 上班 | shàngbān | To go to work | 离合词 |
| 下班 | xiàbān | To get off work | 离合词 |
| 上课 | shàngkè | To go to class | 离合词 |
| 下课 | xiàkè | To finish class | 离合词 |
| 上学 | shàngxué | To go to school | 离合词 |
| 上网 | shàngwǎng | To go online | 离合词 |
| 过年 | guònián | To celebrate New Year | 离合词 |
| 回来 | huílái | To come back | 趋向补语 |
| 回去 | huíqù | To go back | 趋向补语 |
| 进来 | jìnlái | To come in | 趋向补语 |
| 出去 | chūqù | To go out | 趋向补语 |
| 出来 | chūlái | To come out | 趋向补语 |
| 起来 | qǐlái | To get up; to start | 趋向补语 |
| 下来 | xiàlái | To come down | 趋向补语 |
| 过来 | guòlái | To come over | 趋向补语 |
| 告诉 | gàosu | To tell; to inform | 动 |
| 介绍 | jièshào | To introduce | 动 |
| 准备 | zhǔnbèi | To prepare | 动 |
| 比较 | bǐjiào | To compare; relatively | 动、副 |
| 知道 | zhīdào | To know | 动 |
| 记得 | jìde | To remember | 动 |
8. Adjectives & Emotions (形容词与感受)
Describing people, objects, and feelings — key for Task #2 (events) and Task #15 (work).
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 高兴 | gāoxìng | Happy; glad; pleased | 形 |
| 快乐 | kuàilè | Happy; joyful | 形 |
| 舒服 | shūfu | Comfortable; feeling well | 形 |
| 累 | lèi | Tired; weary | 形、动 |
| 忙 | máng | Busy | 形、动 |
| 有意思 | yǒu yìsi | Interesting; meaningful | 形 |
| 没意思 | méi yìsi | Boring; uninteresting | 形 |
| 漂亮 | piàoliang | Beautiful; pretty | 形 |
| 好看 | hǎokàn | Good-looking | 形 |
| 好听 | hǎotīng | Pleasant to hear | 形 |
| 好玩儿 | hǎowánr | Fun; amusing | 形 |
| 不错 | bùcuò | Not bad; pretty good | 形 |
| 贵 | guì | Expensive | 形 |
| 便宜 | piányí | Cheap; inexpensive | 形 |
| 快 | kuài | Fast; quick; soon | 形、副 |
| 慢 | màn | Slow | 形 |
| 高 | gāo | Tall; high | 形、名 |
| 近 | jìn | Near; close | 形 |
| 远 | yuǎn | Far; distant | 形 |
| 晴 | qíng | Sunny; clear (weather) | 形 |
| 阴 | yīn | Cloudy; overcast | 形 |
9. Grammar Words & Particles (语法词汇)
These small words carry big grammatical meaning. Many are new at Level 2.
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 着 | zhe | Particle: continuous aspect | 助 |
| 过 | guo | Particle: past experience | 助 |
| 得 | de | Particle: verb/adj to complement | 助 |
| 地 | de | Particle: adverbial link | 助 |
| 因为 | yīnwèi | Because | 介、连 |
| 所以 | suǒyǐ | So; therefore | 连 |
| 虽然 | suīrán | Although; though | 连 |
| 但是 | dànshì | But; however | 连 |
| 但 | dàn | But; however; yet | 连 |
| 还是 | háishi | Or; still | 副、连 |
| 比 | bǐ | To compare; than | 动、介 |
| 给 | gěi | To give; for; to | 动 |
| 跟 | gēn | With; to follow | 介、连 |
| 从 | cóng | From; via | 介 |
| 往 | wǎng | Towards; to | 动、介 |
| 别 | bié | Do not; other | 副 |
| 已经 | yǐjīng | Already | 副 |
| 经常 | jīngcháng | Often; frequently | 副 |
| 一起 | yīqǐ | Together | 副 |
| 为什么 | wèishénme | Why | 代 |
How to Study These 500 Words
500 words is a significant leap. Here are the strategies that work best at this level.
Learn Words in Context
The 17 tasks are your context. Instead of random flashcards, learn the vocabulary for each task as a group — all the health words together, all the travel words together.
Master the Directional Compounds
Words like 回来, 进去, and 出来 are not random — they follow a pattern (verb + 来/去). Once you understand the pattern, you can predict many new words.
Separate the Separable Verbs
离合词 like 帮忙, 跳舞, 游泳 can be split. You can say 帮了他一个忙 (helped him once). Practice these separately from regular verbs.
Use Spaced Repetition
The Pass HSK app uses an SRS system specifically calibrated for the HSK 2 vocabulary list. Review at the right time, not every day.
A list is not the same as remembering it
In the Pass HSK app, HSK 2 words come in real sentences, with pinyin, audio and short practice questions that check whether they stuck.
Practise these words freeFree to start · No account or credit card needed · Web, iOS & Android
Source: The official syllabus released by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation.