HSK 1 Vocabulary: The 150 Words You Need to Know

The HSK (Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì) is China's official Mandarin proficiency test, and HSK 1 is the entry point. To pass, you need to recognize and use 150 vocabulary words across six topic areas: greetings and basic expressions, numbers and time, family and people, food and drink, transportation, and everyday objects.

The good news: 150 words is genuinely manageable. With consistent daily practice — even just 10 minutes — most learners can cover the full HSK 1 word list in four to six weeks. The key is spaced repetition: reviewing words at increasing intervals so they move from short-term to long-term memory.

Start with the highest-frequency words. 你好 (nǐ hǎo, hello), 谢谢 (xièxiè, thank you), 是 (shì, to be), 不 (bù, not/no), and 我 (wǒ, I/me) will appear in almost every conversation. Getting these automatic frees up mental space for less common vocabulary.

Numbers are a quick win. Chinese numbers 1–10 are simple and consistent, and once you know them, you can count to 99 with just a few extra words. Spend one focused session on numbers and you'll have a solid chunk of the HSK 1 list covered.

For the words that don't stick easily, create a personal connection. Associate 猫 (māo, cat) with the sound a cat makes. Link 水 (shuǐ, water) to the image of water flowing. The stranger and more vivid the association, the better it works.

ChineseShifu's HSK prep mode organizes all 150 words by topic and surfaces them using spaced repetition — so you spend more time on the words you keep forgetting and less time on the ones you already know. It's the most efficient path to exam day.