The old HSK 2 list contains about 300 words total — roughly 150 new words on top of HSK 1. (HSK has also introduced a newer version of the exam with different bands; this guide follows the classic levels that most apps and textbooks still use.) The new words are practical: morning routines (起床, 刷牙), travel (票, 火车), opinions (觉得, 认为), and more verbs. Where HSK 1 taught you to greet and survive, HSK 2 lets you talk about your day.
What changes at HSK 2
- More verbs for daily life: 起床, 洗澡, 跑步.
- Time expressions: 早上, 晚上, 小时, 分钟.
- Simple opinions: 我觉得, 因为, 所以.
- Places and transport: 机场, 火车站, 地铁.
- Weather words: 天气, 下雨, 夏天.
Daily routines: your first topic
- 起床 (qǐchuáng) — to get up.
- 洗澡 (xǐzǎo) — to shower.
- 跑步 (pǎobù) — to run.
- 上班 (shàngbān) — to go to work.
- 回家 (huíjiā) — to go home.
- 睡觉 (shuìjiào) — to sleep.
These verbs combine with time words to make sentences about your own day: 我早上七点起床 (wǒ zǎoshang qī diǎn qǐchuáng, I get up at seven in the morning), 我晚上十一点睡觉 (wǒ wǎnshang shíyī diǎn shuìjiào, I go to sleep at eleven at night). You are not memorising a list — you are building the sentences you actually say.
Time words that structure your day
- 早上 (zǎoshang) — morning.
- 中午 (zhōngwǔ) — noon.
- 下午 (xiàwǔ) — afternoon.
- 晚上 (wǎnshang) — evening.
- 现在 (xiànzài) — now.
- 昨天 (zuótiān) — yesterday.
- 今天 (jīntiān) — today.
- 明天 (míngtiān) — tomorrow.
- 小时 (xiǎoshí) — hour.
- 分钟 (fēnzhōng) — minute.
Time words sit at the start of the sentence: 明天我去北京 (míngtiān wǒ qù Běijīng, tomorrow I go to Beijing). Put the time first and the rest of the sentence is exactly the HSK 1 word order you already know.
Opinions and reasons
- 觉得 (juéde) — to feel, to think.
- 认为 (rènwéi) — to consider.
- 因为 (yīnwèi) — because.
- 所以 (suǒyǐ) — so, therefore.
- 但是 (dànshì) — but.
- 也 (yě) — also.
The pattern 因为…所以… (because…so…) is one of the first connectors you will use: 因为下雨，所以我没去 (yīnwèi xiàyǔ, suǒyǐ wǒ méi qù, because it rained, I didn't go). And 我觉得 (wǒ juéde, I think) turns any sentence into an opinion: 我觉得这个电影很好看 (wǒ juéde zhège diànyǐng hěn hǎokàn, I think this movie is very good).
Places and transport
- 机场 (jīchǎng) — airport.
- 火车站 (huǒchēzhàn) — train station.
- 地铁 (dìtiě) — subway.
- 公共汽车 (gōnggòng qìchē) — bus.
- 公司 (gōngsī) — company.
- 医院 (yīyuàn) — hospital.
- 银行 (yínháng) — bank.
- 商店 (shāngdiàn) — shop.
Places pair naturally with the verb 去 (qù, to go): 我去银行 (wǒ qù yínháng, I'm going to the bank), 我坐地铁上班 (wǒ zuò dìtiě shàngbān, I take the subway to work). Learn the place, learn the verb, and the sentence builds itself.
How to practice the jump
Do not study HSK 2 as an isolated list. Write sentences about your own day: 我早上七点起床 (I get up at seven in the morning). Personal sentences are remembered because they are about you. Then read them out loud — HSK 2 is the level where your own routine becomes your textbook.
A sample HSK 2 sentence set
Here is what a week of HSK 2 sentences looks like. 我早上七点起床，然后坐地铁上班 (wǒ zǎoshang qī diǎn qǐchuáng, ránhòu zuò dìtiě shàngbān, I get up at seven in the morning and take the subway to work). 中午我和朋友一起吃饭 (zhōngwǔ wǒ hé péngyou yìqǐ chīfàn, at noon I eat with friends). 明天天气很好，我想去公园 (míngtiān tiānqì hěn hǎo, wǒ xiǎng qù gōngyuán, tomorrow the weather is good and I want to go to the park). Every sentence uses words you already met above — routines, time, transport, opinions — which is exactly how the level works.
Notice 然后 (ránhòu, then) and 一起 (yìqǐ, together) sneaking in: HSK 2 is also where small connecting words appear. You do not need to memorise them separately — they arrive naturally inside sentences about your own day.
When to move up from HSK 1
Move when your daily lessons stop feeling hard — usually after about a month of HSK 1 practice. You do not need to know every HSK 1 word perfectly; the words you keep missing follow you into review anyway. In HanziQuest, HSK 2 words flow into the same daily lesson and spaced-repetition queue, so the transition from HSK 1 to HSK 2 is continuous rather than a wall.