Chinese 1 Vocabulary
US college course · often numbered Chinese 101 / CHIN 101
The first semester is where pronunciation rules and the writing system get established. Most programmes spend the first weeks on pinyin and tones before characters arrive in volume, so the vocabulary itself stays small and concrete.
At a glance
Typically maps to HSK 1 — 300 characters and 289 words in that band. See the full HSK 1 list →
What Chinese 1 usually covers
- ·Pinyin, the four tones and tone sandhi basics
- ·Greetings, introductions and asking someone's name
- ·Numbers, counting and the measure words you need for them
- ·Family members and simple descriptions of people
- ·Dates, days of the week and telling the time
- ·Classroom language, everyday objects and survival questions
Characters at this level (300)
爱àito love; to be fond of; to like八bāeight爸bàfather吧bābar (loanword) (serving drinks, or providing Internet access etc)白báiBai ethnic group百bǎihundred班bānteam; class; grade半bànhalf帮bāngto help包bāoto cover杯bēicup北běinorth备bèito prepare; to equip本běnroot; stem比bǐBelgium边biānside别biéto leave; to part (from)病bìngillness不bùno; not so菜càivegetable; greens茶chátea差chādifference; discrepancy常chángalways场chángthreshing floor
Showing 24 of 300 — view all HSK 1 characters and words.
Words at this level (289)
爱好àihàoto like; to be fond of; to take pleasure in; to be keen on爸爸bàba(coll.) father; dad白天báitiāndaytime半年bàn niánhalf a year半天bàntiānhalf of the day帮忙bāngmángto help包子bāozibaozi; bao (steamed stuffed bun)杯子bēizicup北边běibiannorth北京BěijīngBeijing municipality, capital of the People's Republic of China (short name 京[Jing1])本子běnzibook别的biédeelse别人biérénother people; others; other person病人bìngrénsick person不大bù dànot very (clear, far away etc); not too不对bùduìincorrect不客气bù kèqìyou're welcome不用bùyòngneed not常常chángchángfrequently; often唱歌chànggēto sing a song车票chēpiàoticket (for a bus or train)车上chē shangon the bus; on the train; in the car车站chēzhànrail station吃饭chīfànto have a meal
Showing 24 of 289 — view the full HSK 1 list.
How to use HanTrace alongside your course
- ✓Pre-learn the HSK 1 character list before the term starts — the first weeks move fast on recognition.
- ✓Drill tone pairs on the Tone Practice page: tones are graded from day one and are the hardest thing to fix later.
- ✓Use stroke order on every new character rather than copying shapes freehand.
- ✓Save each new word to your vocabulary notebook the week you meet it — a semester is roughly 150–250 words, which is small enough to keep fully in review.
Course numbering, pace and textbook choice vary by school, and HSK has no official mapping to college courses — treat the level above as a rough guide and check your own syllabus for what is examinable.