HSK 1 — First Steps in Chinese

HSK 1 covers the 300 most essential Chinese words. At this level, you can handle basic greetings, introduce yourself, talk about time and dates, order food, go shopping, and navigate simple daily situations.

What You Can Do at HSK 1

Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions. Can introduce themselves and answer basic personal questions.

Topics Covered

Greetings & introductionsNumbers & countingTime & datesFamily membersFood & drinkShopping & moneyColors & descriptionsBasic verbs (want, like, go, eat)

Sample HSK 1 Words

Here are 20 example words from the HSK 1 vocabulary list. The full 300 words are available in the Insperium app.

你好nǐ hǎo

hello

谢谢xiè xie

thank you

喜欢xǐ huan

to like

时间shí jiān

time

学xué

to study

说话shuō huà

to speak

钱qián

money

朋友péng you

friend

工作gōng zuò

to work

电话diàn huà

phone

学校xué xiào

school

妈妈mā ma

mother

水果shuǐ guǒ

fruit

天气tiān qì

weather

医院yī yuàn

hospital

飞机fēi jī

airplane

电影diàn yǐng

movie

苹果píng guǒ

apple

漂亮piào liang

beautiful

高兴gāo xìng

happy

How Insperium Covers HSK 1

You don't need to study HSK 1 words separately. Insperium's frequency-based curriculum naturally covers most HSK 1 vocabulary. The HSK overlay shows your exact coverage percentage and fills any gaps — so you're always exam-ready.

Start Learning HSK 1 Free

HSK 2