HSK 1 — Elementary A1

HSK 1 is the entry point to Mandarin Chinese. At this level you can handle basic greetings, introduce yourself, ask simple questions, and understand very short, clear speech or text on familiar topics. It corresponds to roughly 75–150 hours of study for an adult English speaker.

Level Overview

Key Vocabulary Themes

• Greetings and social phrases — hello, goodbye, thank you, sorry, you're welcome
• People and family — mother, father, friend, teacher, student, son, daughter
• Time and numbers — days of the week, months, clock time, basic counting
• Food and drink — eat, drink, rice, water, tea, apple, not good/delicious
• Places and transport — home, school, go, come, return, taxi, where

Essential Vocabulary (HSK 1 Sample)

Core Grammar Points

1. Sentence pattern: Subject + 是 (shì) + Noun

Used to equate or identify. 是 is the main "to be" verb for nouns.

• 我是老师。Wǒ shì lǎoshī. — I am a teacher.
• 她是我的朋友。Tā shì wǒ de péngyou. — She is my friend.

2. Adjective predicate: Subject + 很 + Adjective

Chinese adjectives act as predicates. 很 (very) is required to avoid a comparative implication.

• 他很高。Tā hěn gāo. — He is tall.
• 今天很冷。Jīntiān hěn lěng. — Today is cold.

3. Possession: Noun/Pronoun + 的 + Noun

的 marks possession like English apostrophe-s.

• 我的名字 wǒ de míngzì — my name
• 老师的书 lǎoshī de shū — the teacher's book

4. Yes/no question: Statement + 吗？

Add 吗 to the end of any statement to turn it into a yes/no question.

• 你是学生吗？Nǐ shì xuésheng ma? — Are you a student?
• 你喜欢吃苹果吗？Nǐ xǐhuan chī píngguǒ ma? — Do you like eating apples?

5. Negation: 不 (bù) + Verb/Adjective

不 negates verbs and adjectives. It tones down to bú before 4th-tone syllables.

• 我不是老师。Wǒ bú shì lǎoshī. — I am not a teacher.
• 今天不冷。Jīntiān bù lěng. — Today is not cold.

6. Location: Subject + 在 (zài) + Place

在 expresses where someone or something is located.

• 我在北京。Wǒ zài Běijīng. — I am in Beijing.
• 书在桌子上。Shū zài zhuōzi shàng. — The book is on the table.

7. Existence: 有 (yǒu) — "to have" / "there is"

有 expresses possession and existence; its negative is 没有 (méiyǒu).

• 我有一个哥哥。Wǒ yǒu yīgè gēge. — I have an older brother.
• 桌子上有书。Zhuōzi shàng yǒu shū. — There are books on the table.

8. Time words come before the verb

Unlike English, time expressions precede the verb phrase.

• 我明天去学校。Wǒ míngtiān qù xuéxiào. — I will go to school tomorrow.
• 他每天喝茶。Tā měitiān hē chá. — He drinks tea every day.

9. Measure words (量词 liàngcí)

Numbers cannot directly modify nouns — a measure word is required in between.

• 一本书 yī běn shū — one (volume of) book
• 两个苹果 liǎng gè píngguǒ — two apples

10. Modal verb 想 (xiǎng) — "want to / would like to"

想 expresses desire and comes before the main verb.

• 我想喝水。Wǒ xiǎng hē shuǐ. — I would like to drink water.
• 你想去哪里？Nǐ xiǎng qù nǎlǐ? — Where do you want to go?

Skills Tested at HSK 1

Exam format: 3 sections — Listening (20 items), Reading (20 items), Total 100 pts each section × 3 = 300 max; pass at 180+.

Recommended Resources

What Next — Aiming for HSK 2

After passing HSK 1, your targets for HSK 2 are:

• Expand vocabulary from 299 to 498 words (+199 new items), including connectors like 把 (bǎ) and comparison words like 比 (bǐ)
• Grammar points grow from 66 to 141 — adding more complex sentence patterns, including result complements and directional complements
• CEFR advances from A1 to A1+
• New themes: weather, shopping prices, transport directions, expressing feelings and opinions
• Practice retelling short stories (20–30 seconds) to prepare for the speaking component introduced at HSK 3