HSK1 is the first level of the standard Mandarin proficiency exam, and its whole vocabulary is about 150 words. That is small enough that this note is the actual list, grouped by theme so it reads as a reference you can revise from, not a wall of flashcards. Pair it with three-patterns-80-percent for how to string these words into sentences.

Pronouns and people

CharacterPinyinMeaning
I, me
我们wǒmenwe, us
you
he, him
she, her
zhèthis
that
rénperson
爸爸bàbadad
妈妈māmamum
儿子érzison
女儿nǚ’érdaughter
老师lǎoshīteacher
学生xuéshengstudent
同学tóngxuéclassmate
朋友péngyoufriend
医生yīshēngdoctor
先生xiānshengMr, sir
小姐xiǎojiěMiss

Numbers and measure words

CharacterPinyinMeaning
一 二 三yī èr sān1, 2, 3
四 五 六sì wǔ liù4, 5, 6
七 八 九qī bā jiǔ7, 8, 9
shí10
general measure word
běnmeasure word for books
kuàiunit of money (yuan)
suìyears (of age)
xiēsome, a few
多少duōshaohow many, how much
how many (small numbers)

Question words

CharacterPinyinMeaning
什么shénmewhat
shéiwho
which
哪儿nǎrwhere
怎么zěnmehow
怎么样zěnmeyànghow about, how is it
多少duōshaohow many/much

Time and dates

CharacterPinyinMeaning
今天jīntiāntoday
明天míngtiāntomorrow
昨天zuótiānyesterday
上午shàngwǔmorning
中午zhōngwǔnoon
下午xiàwǔafternoon
现在xiànzàinow
时候shíhoutime, moment
niányear
yuèmonth
hàoday (of the month)
星期xīngqīweek
diǎno’clock
分钟fēnzhōngminute

Common verbs

CharacterPinyinMeaning
shìto be
yǒuto have
没有méiyǒuto not have
zàito be at
to go
láito come
huíto return
chīto eat
to drink
kànto look, watch, read
看见kànjiànto see
tīngto listen
shuōto speak
to read (aloud)
xiěto write
jiàoto call, be named
mǎito buy
kāito open, drive
zhùto live, reside
做 / 作zuòto do, make
zuòto sit
睡觉shuìjiàoto sleep
工作gōngzuòto work
学习xuéxíto study
xiǎngto want, think
喜欢xǐhuanto like
àito love
认识rènshito know (a person)
huìcan, to know how to
néngcan, be able to
qǐngplease, to invite
打电话dǎ diànhuàto make a phone call
下雨xiàyǔto rain

Adjectives and adverbs

CharacterPinyinMeaning
big
xiǎosmall
duōmany
shǎofew
hǎogood
lěngcold
hot
高兴gāoxìnghappy
漂亮piàoliangpretty
hěnvery
tàitoo (excessively)
dōuall, both
and, with

Food, drink and objects

CharacterPinyinMeaning
càidish, vegetable
米饭mǐfàncooked rice
shuǐwater
chátea
水果shuǐguǒfruit
苹果píngguǒapple
杯子bēizicup
qiánmoney
shūbook
character, word
衣服yīfuclothes
东西dōngxithing (object)
电脑diànnǎocomputer
电视diànshìTV
电影diànyǐngfilm
桌子zhuōzitable
椅子yǐzichair
māocat
gǒudog
名字míngziname
天气tiānqìweather
汉语HànyǔChinese (language)

Places and directions

CharacterPinyinMeaning
jiāhome, family
学校xuéxiàoschool
商店shāngdiànshop
饭馆fànguǎnrestaurant
医院yīyuànhospital
火车站huǒchēzhàntrain station
中国ZhōngguóChina
北京BěijīngBeijing
shàngup, on
xiàdown, under
inside
前面qiánmiànin front
后面hòumiànbehind
zhōngmiddle
飞机fēijīaeroplane
出租车chūzūchētaxi

Function words and particles

CharacterPinyinRole
depossessive / linking particle
lecompleted action / change of state
maturns a statement into a yes/no question
ne”and you?” / softening question particle
not
méinot (for 有 and past)

Greetings and set phrases

PhrasePinyinMeaning
谢谢xièxiethank you
不客气bú kèqiyou’re welcome
对不起duìbuqǐsorry
没关系méi guānxiit’s ok, never mind
qǐngplease
wéihello (on the phone)
再见zàijiàngoodbye

How to actually use this

Do not memorise the list top to bottom. Learn a handful per theme, then immediately build sentences with the patterns in three-patterns-80-percent so the words attach to a structure instead of floating free. The verbs plus 很/太/都 plus the question particles 吗/呢 already let you ask and answer most everyday HSK1 questions.

Sources