HSK 2 Vocabulary List: 500 Words (HSK 3.0)
HSK 2 has 500 words in HSK 3.0, 200 of them new at this level (the old HSK 2.0 list had 300). Fluentide has 292 free stories at the Beginner (HSK 2) level that use them, with transcript and pinyin.
By Haoshan Hong · Native Mandarin speaker · Updated October 2026
Hear HSK 2 words in a real story
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What is on the HSK 2 word list?
The other 300 come from HSK 1. They cover travel, shopping, weather, health, and simple plans: the first vocabulary that lets you handle a short exchange without English.
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HSK 2 word list
All 497 words from the official HSK 3.0 syllabus, the 197 new at HSK 2 first. The syllabus counts 500 because a few words are listed once per reading; here each appears once.
Pinyin from the syllabus, definitions from CC-CEDICT. Tap a word for its other senses.
Showing 51–100 of 497 · page 2 of 10
红茶hóngcháHSK 2black tea
- black tea
- CL:杯,壶
红色hóngsèHSK 2red (color)
- red (color)
- revolutionary
后面hòumiànHSK 2the back
- the back
- the rear
- the last bit
- behind
- near the end
- at the back
- later
- afterwards
花huāHSK 2flower
- flower
- blossom
- CL:朵,支,束,把,盆,簇
- fancy pattern
- florid
- to spend (money, time)
- (coll.) lecherous
- lustful
- flower
- blossom
- also pr.
- surname Hua
- variant of 花
- old variant of 花
画huàHSK 2to draw
- to draw
- to paint
- picture
- painting (CL:幅,张)
- to draw (a line) (variant of 划)
- stroke of a Chinese character (variant of 划)
- (calligraphy) horizontal stroke (variant of 划)
坏huàiHSK 2bad
- bad
- spoiled
- broken
- to break down
- (suffix) to the utmost
回来huíláiHSK 2to return
- to return
- to come back
回去huíqùHSK 2to return
- to return
- to go back
机场jīchǎngHSK 2airport
- airport
- airfield
- (slang) service provider for Shadowsocks or similar software for circumventing Internet censorship
- CL:家,处
机票jīpiàoHSK 2plane ticket
- plane ticket
- airline ticket
- CL:张
记得jìdeHSK 2to remember
间jiānHSK 2between
- between
- among
- within a definite time or space
- room
- section of a room or lateral space between two pairs of pillars
- classifier for rooms
- gap
- to separate
- to thin out (seedlings)
- to sow discontent
教jiāoHSK 2(bound form) to teach
- (bound form) to teach
- to instruct
- a religion
- to cause (sb to do sth)
- to tell (sb to do sth)
- to teach
- to instruct
- surname Jiao
教室jiàoshìHSK 2classroom
- classroom
- CL:间
介绍jièshàoHSK 2to introduce (sb to sb)
- to introduce (sb to sb)
- to give a presentation
- to present (sb for a job etc)
- introduction
近jìnHSK 2near
- near
- close to
- approximately
进jìnHSK 2to go forward
- to go forward
- to advance
- to go in
- to enter
- to put in
- to submit
- to take in
- to admit
- (math.) base of a number system
- classifier for sections in a building or residential compound
进来jìnláiHSK 2to come in
- to come in
进去jìnqùHSK 2to go in
- to go in
经常jīngchángHSK 2frequently
- frequently
- constantly
- regularly
- often
- day-to-day
- everyday
- daily
酒店jiǔdiànHSK 2wine shop
- wine shop
- pub (public house)
- hotel
- restaurant
- (Tw) hostess club
就jiùHSK 2then
- then
- just
- right away
- (after a suppositional clause) in that case
- then
- (after a clause of action) as soon as
- immediately after
- (same as 就是) merely
- nothing else but
- simply
- just
- precisely
- exactly
- only
- as little as
- as much as
- as many as
- to approach
- to move towards
- to undertake
- to engage in
- (often followed by 着) taking advantage of
- (of food) to go with
- with regard to
- concerning
- (bound form) to reach
- to attain (as in 一蹴而就)
- (pattern: 就 ... 也 ...) even if ... still ...
- (pattern: 不 ... 就 ...) if not ... then must be ...
咖啡kāfēiHSK 2(loanword) coffee
- (loanword) coffee
- CL:杯
开始kāishǐHSK 2to begin
- to begin
- to start
- beginning
- start
开学kāixuéHSK 2(of a student) to start school
- (of a student) to start school
- (of a semester) to begin
- the start of a new term
- (old) to found a school
考kǎoHSK 2to take an exam
- to take an exam
- to test
- to beat
- to hit
- to inspect
- to test
- to take an exam
- to check
- to verify
- to test
- to examine
- to take an exam
- to take an entrance exam for
- deceased father
- variant of 考
考试kǎoshìHSK 2to take an exam
- to take an exam
- exam
- CL:次
可能kěnéngHSK 2might (happen)
- might (happen)
- possible
- probable
- possibility
- probability
- maybe
- perhaps
- CL:个
裤子kùziHSK 2trousers
- trousers
- pants
- CL:条
快kuàiHSK 2rapid
- rapid
- quick
- speed
- rate
- soon
- almost
- to make haste
- clever
- sharp (of knives or wits)
- forthright
- plainspoken
- gratified
- pleased
- pleasant
快乐kuàilèHSK 2happy
快要kuàiyàoHSK 2nearly at the point of (doing sth)
- nearly at the point of (doing sth)
- about to (do sth)
篮球lánqiúHSK 2basketball
- basketball
- CL:个,只
累lèiHSK 2tired
- tired
- weary
- to strain
- to wear out
- to work hard
- to accumulate
- to involve or implicate (Taiwan pr. )
- continuous
- repeated
- used in 累累
- used in 累赘 and 累坠
- used in 累累
离líHSK 2away from
- away from
- to leave
- to leave
- to part from
- to be away from
- (in giving distances) from
- without (sth)
- independent of
- one of the Eight Trigrams 八卦, symbolizing fire
- ☲
- mythical beast (archaic)
- surname Li
里面lǐmiànHSK 2inside
- inside
- interior
- also pr.
楼lóuHSK 2building
- building
- floor
- house with more than 1 story
- storied building
- floor
- CL:层,座,栋
- surname Lou
路lùHSK 2road (CL:条)
- road (CL:条)
- journey
- route
- line (bus etc)
- sort
- kind
- surname Lu
路上lùshangHSK 2on the road
- on the road
- on the way
- en route
旅游lǚyóuHSK 2trip
- trip
- journey
- tourism
- travel
- tour
- to travel
绿茶lǜcháHSK 2green tea
- green tea
- (slang) (of a girl) seemingly innocent and charming but actually calculating and manipulative
- a girl who has these qualities
绿色lǜsèHSK 2green
- green
慢mànHSK 2slow
没意思méi yìsiHSK 2boring
- boring
- of no interest
每měiHSK 2each
门ménHSK 2door
- door
- gate
- gate
- door
- doorway
- gateway
- opening (CL:扇)
- valve
- switch
- other door-like or gate-like structure
- way to do sth
- knack
- method
- approach
- family
- household
- lineage
- (bound form) sect
- school
- faction (religious or academic)
- (bound form) class
- category
- division
- phylum
- classifier for courses, fields of study, branches of technology, relatives by marriage, guns etc
- (suffix) -gate (scandal)
- surname Men
门口ménkǒuHSK 2doorway
- doorway
- gate
- CL:个
门票ménpiàoHSK 2ticket (for theater, cinema etc)
- ticket (for theater, cinema etc)
面miànHSK 2face
- face
- side
- surface
- aspect
- top
- classifier for objects with flat surfaces such as drums, mirrors, flags etc
- flour
- noodles
- (of food) soft (not crunchy)
- (slang) (of a person) ineffectual
- spineless
- variant of 面
名míngHSK 2name
- name
- noun (part of speech)
- place (e.g. among winners)
- famous
- classifier for people
Stories that use these HSK 2 words
Each one is a Fluentide Beginner (HSK 2) story, written inside that word band. Press play; the first few need no account.
HSK 2 Chinese listening episodes
HSK 3 Chinese listening episodes
HSK 4 Chinese listening episodes
HSK 5+ Chinese listening episodes
How to actually learn HSK 2 vocabulary
Reading a word on a page and catching it at speed in a sentence are different skills. The HSK listening section tests the second.
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The method in practice
Hear HSK 2 vocabulary in real Mandarin
Each HSK 2 episode uses this word band, with the transcript, pinyin and line-by-line English. Five free episodes after a one-tap magic-link sign-in — no password, no payment.