HSK 2: what the level covers and what it asks of you
简单的日常交流：时间、购物、交通、学习与工作。
This page describes HSK 2as it is recorded in HSK Guide’s curriculum data, part of the HSK 1–4（旧版） ladder. Vocabulary, grammar and reading below are the material HSK Guide actually holds for this level — not a copy of any examination paper.
词汇库
Vocabulary on the HSK 2 list
HSK Guide currently holds 152 published 词 labelled HSK 2. Every entry links to its full dictionary page with audio, examples and character breakdown.
- 就jiù (fourth tone, falling)
表示两件事紧接着发生
- 得de (neutral tone)
用在动词后，连接程度补语
- 到dào (fourth tone, falling)
达到某个地点
- 也yě (third tone, dipping)
表示同样
- 要yào (fourth tone, falling)
希望得到；索取
- 对對duì (fourth tone, falling)
正确；符合事实
- 过過guò (fourth tone, falling)
助词，表示曾经有过的经历
- 出chū (first tone, high and level)
从里面到外面
- 着著zhe (neutral tone)
助词，表示状态的持续
- 高gāo (first tone, high and level)
从下向上距离大
- 吧ba (neutral tone)
用在句末，表示商量、建议
- 时间時間shíjiān (second tone, rising)
事物存在或延续的时段
- 走zǒu (third tone, dipping)
用脚移动
- 从從cóng (second tone, rising)
表示起点
- 知道zhīdào (first tone, high and level)
对事情有所了解
- 还還hái (second tone, rising)
表示动作或状态继续
- 给給gěi (third tone, dipping)
把东西交给别人
- 但是dànshì (fourth tone, falling)
表示转折，用在后一句的开头
- 新xīn (first tone, high and level)
刚出现的；没有用过的
- 比bǐ (third tone, dipping)
表示比较，用于"A比B+形容词"
- 进進jìn (fourth tone, falling)
从外面到里面
- 长長zhǎng (third tone, dipping)
两端之间的距离大；时间久
- 可以kěyǐ (third tone, dipping)
表示许可
- 再zài (fourth tone, falling)
表示又一次，多用于未发生的动作
Showing 24 of 152.
How level labels work. A word belongs to a level through a separate membership record, one per standard, each carrying its own source. HSK Guide never merges the lists of two standards or renumbers one into the other — see how the inventories are kept apart.
语法库
Grammar patterns at HSK 2
Each pattern carries its structure formula, a plain-language explanation, sentences that are wrong and why, and a contrast with what it is usually confused with.
- Comparing with 比“比”字句
A + 比 + B + 形容词（+ 一点儿／得多／数量）
Put 比 between the two things you are comparing and finish with the adjective. A 比 sentence never contains 很, and “less than” is 没有, not 不比.
comparison - 过 for past experience动态助词“过”
主语 + 动词 + 过 + 宾语（否定：没(有) + 动词 + 过）
过 after the verb says you have done something at least once at some point in your life. Unlike 了, it stays in place under 没.
aspect - Concession: 虽然…但是…“虽然……但是……”
虽然 + 事实，但是／可是 + 相反的结果
虽然 concedes a fact and 但是 (or 可是) says what happens anyway. As with 因为…所以…, both halves are kept.
concession - 要 for wants, plans and the near future“要”表示意愿和将来
主语 + 要 + 名词／动词短语 ｜ 主语 + 要 + 动词 + 了（即将发生）
要 before a noun means “I want / I’ll have”; before a verb it means “I’m going to”. Its negative is 不想 or 不用 — 不要 is an order, not a refusal.
modality - Cause and result: 因为…所以…“因为……所以……”
因为 + 原因，所以 + 结果
Chinese marks both halves of a cause-and-result sentence: 因为 opens the reason, 所以 opens the result. The reason always comes first.
causation - Actions in progress: 正在 / 在 … 呢“（正）在……呢”表示动作进行
主语 + （正）在 + 动词 + 宾语 + （呢）
Put 在 in front of the verb to say the action is going on right now. 正在 makes it more immediate, and 呢 at the end softens the sentence.
aspect - The three de: 的, 得 and 地“的／得／地”的区别
定语 + 的 + 名词 ｜ 动词／形容词 + 得 + 程度补语 ｜ 状语 + 地 + 动词
Three different words, one identical sound. What decides is the neighbours: 的 before a noun, 得 after a verb, 地 before a verb.
particles - Saying “can”: 会, 能 and 可以“会／能／可以”的区别
会 + 动词（学会的技能） ｜ 能 + 动词（条件、能力允许） ｜ 可以 + 动词（许可、建议）
All three translate as “can”, but they answer different questions: 会 = have I learned how? 能 = do the circumstances allow it? 可以 = is it allowed?
modality - 了 for a completed action动态助词“了”（表示完成）
主语 + 动词 + 了 + （数量词／限定的）宾语
了 right after the verb says the action was carried through. It marks completion, not past tense — and it disappears under 没.
aspect
分级读物
Reading written for HSK 2
精选文本，保证你开始读之前就已经认识其中大部分词语。
- 买火车票
Buying a Train Ticket
Amine wants to be in Shanghai tomorrow. At the ticket window he compares the eight o’clock train with the eleven o’clock one — five hours against four, three hundred yuan against five hundred and fifty — picks the cheap slow one, hands over his passport and learns which gate to use. Eighteen turns of a real errand, built from HSK 1–2 words.
阅读 2 分钟transport - 大学的第一天
The First Day at University
Amine has just arrived from Morocco and walks into the university office to report in. Over eighteen short turns he greets the member of staff, gives his name, hands over his passport, writes his name on the form, learns his room number and asks the way to the dormitory — the entire errand handled with HSK 1–2 words.
阅读 2 分钟university - 在饭馆点菜
Ordering in a Restaurant
Amine takes his classmate Xiaomei out to eat. He asks the waiter what the house does well, orders the mutton, listens to Xiaomei order fish instead, praises the food, settles the bill with a hundred-yuan note and gets his change. Eighteen turns of a complete meal, built from HSK 1–2 words.
阅读 2 分钟food - 坐出租车去机场
A Taxi to the Airport
Amine has a ten o’clock flight and two hours to spare. He agrees the fare, asks the driver to hurry, and the ride turns into a conversation: twenty years behind the wheel in Beijing, what the driver makes of the city, where his passenger is from — and a compliment on Amine’s Chinese. Sixteen turns within HSK 1–2.
阅读 2 分钟transport - 我的汉语老师
My Chinese Teacher
A student remembers the first months of class, when the teacher’s Chinese was still a wall of sound. Wang laoshi slowed down, told the class to ask whenever they did not follow, and one afternoon wrote out the characters he could not read. By exam time he could answer every question — and she told him he was ready to talk to Chinese people. Sixteen sentences within HSK 1–2.
阅读 3 分钟school - 我在北京的第一个星期
My First Week in Beijing
Amine tells the week day by day: the flight lands on Monday, class starts on Tuesday, lunch is mutton and rice with classmates from England and Japan, on Wednesday he gets lost and a stranger puts him on the number three bus, and on Thursday his mother asks over the phone whether he is homesick. Eighteen sentences, every word from HSK 1–2.
阅读 4 分钟university
模拟考试
Practice examinations available at HSK 2
HSK Guide 自行编写的限时练习。题量、时间和评分都是我们自己的练习设定，并非官方试卷——每次作答结束后都会给出差距分析。
二级完整模拟练习
汉庐原创的五十五分钟二级完整练习。
整套模拟考试55 分钟30 道题二级迷你诊断测试
汉庐原创的二十五分钟二级练习。
迷你诊断25 分钟25 道题二级阅读专项练习
汉庐原创的二十分钟二级阅读专项练习。
分项练习20 分钟18 道题
这是 HSK Guide 自行编写的非官方练习材料，不是真题，也未获得任何考试机构认可。
小时
How long this level takes
The curriculum record for HSK 2 states a cumulative estimate of 130 study hours from a standing start. The table converts that into calendar time at three daily budgets.
| Daily study | Per week | Time to HSK 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 20 分钟 | 2 小时 | ~56 周 |
| 45 分钟 | 5 小时 | ~25 周 |
| 90 分钟 | 11 小时 | ~12 周 |
An estimate, not a promise. It assumes you study on most days, that you are starting from no Chinese at all, and that review time is included. Learners with a background in another Chinese variety, or with characters already in place, routinely move faster. The placement test replaces this table with an estimate based on what you actually recall.
常见问题
How many words does HSK 2 cover?
HSK Guide's curriculum record for HSK 2 states a cumulative target of 300 words, taken from Official HSK examination information — every word up to and including this level, of which 150 are new at HSK 2. This figure has been transcribed but not yet verified by an editor against the primary document, and HSK Guide labels it as such wherever it appears. HSK Guide currently holds 152 published entries labelled HSK 2, which are the words tagged at this level, so the figure to read them against is 150 rather than 300.
Is HSK 2 part of the same ladder as the other HSK levels?
HSK 2 belongs to the HSK 1–4（旧版） track. HSK Guide keeps each standard's vocabulary, grammar and level labels in a separate inventory, so a level number in one ladder is never treated as equivalent to the same number in another.
Can I practise HSK 2 for free?
Yes. At HSK 2 that means the 152-word HSK 2 list published on HSK Guide, the 9 grammar points filed under this level and the 6 graded texts on this page, all readable without signing in. The dictionary, the character explorer and the radical library are open without an account, and a daily allowance of reviews, quizzes and tutor messages is included on the free plan; Pro removes the daily limits and unlocks the full mock examinations.
How long does it take to reach HSK 2?
The curriculum record states a cumulative estimate of 130 study hours from no Chinese at all — roughly 25 weeks at 45 minutes a day. It is an estimate rather than a promise, and the placement test replaces it with one based on what you actually recall.
Does HSK Guide have a HSK 2 practice test?
Yes — 3 practice examinations are published at this level. Every item is original material written for HSK Guide. It is not a past paper and is not endorsed by any examination authority.
Is HSK Guide affiliated with the HSK 2 examination?
No. HSK Guide is an independent preparation platform and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Chinese Testing International or the official HSK examination authorities. Registration, scoring and the current level requirements are decided by the examination authority — confirm them with your own test centre.