HSK 2: What Level 2 Covers
HSK 2 is level 2 of the nine HSK 3.0 levels. It builds on HSK 1 with 200 new words, for 500 words in total, 371 characters to read and 148 grammar points.
- New words
- 200
- Words in total
- 500
- Characters to read
- 371
- Grammar points
- 148
Step-by-step lessons
HSK 2 Unit 1: What happened · 5 lessons
Five lessons on talking about the past: finished actions with 了, not yet with 还没, experiences with 过, the tone changes you have been hearing, and a short travel story.
HSK 2 Unit 2: Right now · 5 lessons
Five lessons about everyday actions: what you are doing right now, doing things for people, verbs that split in two, sooner or later than expected, and how long something takes.
HSK 2 Unit 3: Comparing things · 5 lessons
Five lessons on comparing and describing: taller and thinner with 比, the same with 跟…一样, the most with 最, describing people with longer phrases and 的, and asking opinions with 是不是 and 觉得.
HSK 2 Unit 4: Travel and transport · 5 lessons
Five lessons for travelling: getting from A to B, asking how far and which way, finding your floor and room, counting things with the right measure word, and saying something is about to happen.
HSK 2 Unit 5: Skills and advice · 5 lessons
Five lessons on skills, suggestions and advice: how well someone does something, making suggestions with 吧, telling people not to worry with 别, but and still, and what will probably happen with 会.
HSK 2 Unit 6: Work and life · 6 lessons
The last six HSK 2 lessons: colleagues and how people treat you with 对, everyone and everything with 每 and 都, the rules of stroke order, asking for time off, a story about a year living in China, and a lesson with the words you need for the HSK 2 stories.
These lessons follow the HSK 3.0 progression. Up to HSK 2, together with Chinese Foundations, they teach 444 words; the official syllabus counts 500. Mythic Mandarin is an HSK-aligned learning path and does not reproduce the complete official word list.
Learn HSK 2 step by step
Preview version — Chinese review in progress.
Elementary stage (levels 1–3)
HSK 2 turns single sentences into small conversations. You talk about what you did, what you have done before and what is happening right now, compare things, make suggestions and practise writing more characters by hand.
Goal: In this HSK 2-aligned track you practise talking about your day in the past and present, comparing two things, suggesting plans and writing common characters from memory.
What you will learn
- Finished actions with 了 and past experiences with 过
- Saying something did not happen with 没, and actions in progress with 在
- Comparisons with 比, suggestions with 吧, and how well you do something with 得
- The everyday measure words: 本, 张, 杯, 件 and more
- Your first separable verbs, such as 睡觉 and 见面
- Writing common characters by hand, stroke by stroke
Audio preview uses your device’s Chinese voice. It is not a recording.
Foundations: tones inside sentences
At HSK 1 you said tones one word at a time. Now keep them clear in longer sentences, including the tone changes of 一 and 不 and the third-tone change. The tones guide has a full explanation.
New Tone changes: two third tones, 一 and 不
Two third tones in a row: the first rises. 一 becomes yí before a fourth tone and yì before the others; 不 becomes bú before a fourth tone. Learner materials usually write the tone you actually say for 一 and 不.
我也很好。
Wǒ yě hěn hǎo.
I'm fine too.
Four third tones in a row: in fast speech most of them rise.
我不去，他也不去。
Wǒ bú qù, tā yě bú qù.
I'm not going, and he isn't either.
Practise Minimal pairs: listen for the tone
Many HSK 2 words differ only by tone. Learn them in pairs and say them aloud until the difference feels obvious.
汤
tāng
soup
糖
táng
sugar
Vocabulary: daily life and time
Mythic Mandarin starter words for this level, chosen for the patterns and stories below. They are not the official HSK 2 word list.
Characters: writing practice
Optional character writing practice. The characters below are a Mythic Mandarin practice selection of simple, very common characters, not an official HSK list. Practise them with the stroke-order animation, then from memory.
New Stroke order follows a few rules
Top before bottom, left before right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside, and close a box last. These rules make handwriting faster and make a character look balanced, and they let you guess the order of characters you have never written.
十
shí
ten
Horizontal first, then vertical.
国
guó
country
Outside frame, then inside, then close the box.
Optional practice. Watch the strokes, then trace the character; each finished trace counts as one repetition, up to 20. Progress is saved on this device only, and nothing here is needed to continue.
Grammar: past, present and comparing
Chinese still has no tenses. Instead, 了, 过, 没 and 在 describe how an action unfolds, and time words say when. See the particles guide for the bigger picture.
New 了 after a verb: the action is done
Verb + 了 + (number) + object
了 after a verb marks a completed action. It usually needs something after it, such as a number or a description of the object, to sound complete.
我买了两本书。
Wǒ mǎile liǎng běn shū.
I bought two books.
他喝了一杯咖啡。
Tā hēle yì bēi kāfēi.
He drank a cup of coffee.
New 没: it did not happen
Subject + 没 + verb
For something that did not happen, use 没 (or 没有), not 不, and drop the 了.
我昨天没去学校。
Wǒ zuótiān méi qù xuéxiào.
I didn't go to school yesterday.
他还没吃饭。
Tā hái méi chī fàn.
He hasn't eaten yet.
New 过: I have done it before
Verb + 过
过 after a verb says that something has happened at least once in the past, as an experience.
我去过上海。
Wǒ qùguo Shànghǎi.
I've been to Shanghai.
你吃过北京烤鸭吗？
Nǐ chīguo Běijīng kǎoyā ma?
Have you ever eaten Peking duck?
New 在 + verb: happening right now
Subject + 在 + verb
在 before a verb says the action is in progress, like English -ing. 呢 at the end often adds "right now".
我在看书。
Wǒ zài kàn shū.
I'm reading.
她在打电话呢。
Tā zài dǎ diànhuà ne.
She's on the phone.
New A 比 B + adjective
A + 比 + B + adjective
比 compares two things. Do not add 很 before the adjective; to say "much more", add 多了 after it.
今天比昨天冷。
Jīntiān bǐ zuótiān lěng.
Today is colder than yesterday.
这件衣服比那件贵多了。
Zhè jiàn yīfu bǐ nà jiàn guì duō le.
This piece of clothing is much more expensive than that one.
New 吧: let's, and a guess
吧 at the end of a sentence softens it into a suggestion or asks for confirmation of a guess.
我们一起去吧。
Wǒmen yìqǐ qù ba.
Let's go together.
你是新同学吧？
Nǐ shì xīn tóngxué ba?
You're the new classmate, right?
New Verb + 得 + how well
Subject + verb + 得 + 很 + adjective
得 links a verb to a description of how the action is done.
她说得很快。
Tā shuō de hěn kuài.
She speaks fast.
你汉字写得很好。
Nǐ Hànzì xiě de hěn hǎo.
You write characters well.
New Verb-not-verb questions
Verb + 不 + verb
Another way to ask a yes-no question: say the verb, then 不, then the verb again. No 吗 is needed.
你去不去？
Nǐ qù bu qù?
Are you going?
这个菜好吃不好吃？
Zhège cài hǎochī bu hǎochī?
Is this dish good?
New The everyday measure words
Beyond 个: 本 for books, 张 for flat things, 杯 for cups, 件 for clothes and matters, 条 for long things. Learn each noun with its measure word.
一张票
yì zhāng piào
a ticket
两杯茶
liǎng bēi chá
two cups of tea
New Separable verbs: 见面, 睡觉
Some verbs are a verb and its object fused together. They cannot take another object: you meet someone with 跟 + person + 见面.
我明天跟朋友见面。
Wǒ míngtiān gēn péngyou jiànmiàn.
I'm meeting a friend tomorrow.
我十一点睡觉。
Wǒ shíyī diǎn shuìjiào.
I go to bed at eleven.
Practise Longer sentences, same order
Time and place still come before the verb, even when the sentence gets longer.
我每天早上在公园跑步。
Wǒ měi tiān zǎoshang zài gōngyuán pǎobù.
I run in the park every morning.
Practice
Answer each question, then read the explanation. Your answers stay on this device only.
Grammar
"I didn't go yesterday." 我昨天＿去。
不 is for habits and the present or future: 我明天不去.
Show the answer
Answer: A, 没.
For something that did not happen, use 没: 我昨天没去.
Grammar
Which sentence means "I have eaten Peking duck before"?
在 + verb means it is happening now.
没 says it did not happen.
Show the answer
Answer: A, 我吃过北京烤鸭。.
过 after the verb marks an experience: 吃过.
Grammar
Which comparison is correct?
很 cannot go inside a 比 comparison.
Show the answer
Answer: A, 今天比昨天冷。.
A 比 B + adjective, without 很: 今天比昨天冷.
Fill the gap
Fill the gap: 他跑＿很快。 (He runs fast.)
Show the answer
Answer: A, 得.
After a verb, 得 introduces how the action is done: 跑得很快.
Measure word
Fill the gap: 我买了两＿票。 (I bought two tickets.)
本 is for books.
杯 is for cups of a drink.
Show the answer
Answer: A, 张.
Tickets are flat, so they take 张.
Word order
Build: "She is reading at home."
- 看书
- 在
- 她
- 家里
Show the answer
她在家里看书 Tā zài jiāli kàn shū.
She is reading at home.
Here 在 + place comes before the verb: 她在家里看书. (In 她在看书, 在 alone means "is doing".)
Grammar
Which sentence is correct?
Show the answer
Answer: A, 我跟他见面。.
见面 already has its object; the person goes before it with 跟.
Meaning
What does 已经 mean?
Show the answer
Answer: A, already.
已经 means already, often with 了: 我已经吃了.
Reading
Read: 昨天是我的生日。朋友们来我家吃饭，我们吃了很多菜。 What happened yesterday?
Show the answer
Answer: A, Friends came over for a birthday meal..
Yesterday was the writer's birthday (生日) and friends came to eat (朋友们来我家吃饭).
Review: can you do this?
Check yourself before moving on. Each line matches one part of this page.
- I can say what I did yesterday with 了, and what I didn't do with 没.
- I can talk about experiences with 过.
- I can compare two things with 比.
- I can suggest a plan with 吧.
- I can use 本, 张, 杯 and 件 correctly.
- I can write the practice characters from memory.
HSK 3 adds longer, connected sentences: because and although, results of actions, 把 and 被, and topic-first sentences. Continue to HSK 3
How many words are in HSK 2?
HSK 2 has 500 words in total: the 300 words up to HSK 1 plus 200 new words.
That is 5% of the 11,000 words in the complete HSK 3.0 list, which runs from HSK 1 to the advanced HSK 7–9 band.
What comes after HSK 2
HSK 3 adds 500 new words, for 1,000 in total.
Writing Chinese characters at HSK 2
Optional character writing practice: watch the stroke order, then write the character yourself. This is a Mythic Mandarin practice method, not an official HSK requirement.
Look up the stroke order of any character in the Chinese Stroke Order Dictionary
Look up any word, its pinyin and meanings in the Chinese dictionary