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Mandarin HSK 1 — Core Words, Part 3 flashcards

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76 more HSK 1 words under HSK 3.0, the HSK exam syllabus of November 2025: greetings and polite phrases, meals and food, school and work, weather and getting around, each in an original example sentence with pinyin, with the gloss, translation and some measure words on the back.

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Learn deck · part of HSK 1–3 (Mandarin) · written against: Every word of HSK 1–3 under HSK 3.0, the HSK exam syllabus published in November 2025 (988 words, levels 1–3), with grammar patterns and in-context cloze; headword levels checked against its word list. Updated 2026-10-10.

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  1. 喂 (wèi) (interj.)
    喂，我是小李，王老师在家吗？ (Wèi, wǒ shì Xiǎo Lǐ, Wáng lǎoshī zài jiā ma?)
    hello (on the phone); hey

    Hello? This is Xiao Li. Is Teacher Wang at home?

    Note: Answering the phone, people very often say it with a rising tone: wéi.
    Expressions
  2. 上班 (shàngbān) (v.)
    我爸爸早上八点上班。 (Wǒ bàba zǎoshang bā diǎn shàngbān.)
    to go to work; to be at work

    At eight in the morning my dad starts work.

    Note: 他在上班 means he's at work right now.
    Work & Study
  3. 国 (國) (guó) (n.)
    这个电影是哪国的？ (Zhège diànyǐng shì nǎ guó de?)
    country; nation

    Which country is this film from?

    Note: On its own it appears mostly in set words: 中国, 出国 (chūguó, go abroad), 回国 (huíguó, go back to your country). 'A country' in general is 国家 (guójiā).
    Places & Directions
  4. 饭 (飯) (fàn) (n.)
    王老师，吃饭了吗？ (Wáng lǎoshī, chī fàn le ma?)
    meal; cooked rice

    Measure word: 顿 (dùn) for a meal: 一顿饭

    Have you eaten yet, Teacher Wang?

    Note: 吃饭了吗？ is also a casual greeting around mealtimes, a friendly 'how are you', not always an invitation.
    Food & Drink
  5. 一半 (yībàn) (num.)
    这本书我看了一半。 (Zhè běn shū wǒ kànle yībàn.)
    half

    I've read half of this book.

    Tone change: Pronounced yíbàn.

    Watch out: 一半 is half of something; half an hour or half past uses 半 (bàn): 半个小时, 三点半.
    Numbers & Measure Words
  6. 家人 (jiārén) (n.)
    我一年只能见家人一次。 (Wǒ yī nián zhǐnéng jiàn jiārén yī cì.)
    family members; family

    I can only see my family once a year.

    Note: 家 (jiā) is the home or the household; 家人 are the people in it.
    People & Pronouns
  7. 好看 (hǎokàn) (adj.)
    我昨天看的那本书很好看，借给你吧。 (Wǒ zuótiān kàn de nà běn shū hěn hǎokàn, jiè gěi nǐ ba.)
    good-looking; (of a film, show or book) good

    The book I read yesterday was really good. I'll lend it to you.

    Watch out: It is for what you look at or read; what sounds nice is 好听 (hǎotīng), what tastes nice is 好吃 (hǎochī).
    Adjectives
  8. 开车 (開車) (kāichē) (v.)
    我爸爸每天开车去公司。 (Wǒ bàba měi tiān kāichē qù gōngsī.)
    to drive (a car)

    My dad drives to the office every day.

    Watch out: It is a separable verb: 开了两个小时的车, drove for two hours.
    Travel & Transport
  9. 听见 (聽見) (tīngjiàn) (v.)
    外边声音太大了，老师的问题我没听见。 (Wàibian shēngyīn tài dà le, lǎoshī de wèntí wǒ méi tīngjiàn.)
    to hear

    It was too loud outside, so I didn't hear the teacher's question.

    Watch out: 听 is to listen; 听见 is to actually hear. 'Didn't hear' is 没听见, not 不听见.
    Verbs
  10. 有点儿 (有點兒) (yǒudiǎnr) (adv.)
    今天有点儿冷。 (Jīntiān yǒudiǎnr lěng.)
    a bit; somewhat (usually something unwelcome)

    It's a bit cold today.

    Watch out: It goes before the adjective and sounds like a mild complaint: 有点儿贵, a bit pricey. 'A bit more' after an adjective is 一点儿: 便宜一点儿.
    Particles & Adverbs

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More HSK 1–3 (Mandarin) decks

Core Words, Part 1Core Words, Part 2Core Words, Part 1Core Words, Part 2Core Words, Part 3In Context: Core WordsCore Words, Part 1Core Words, Part 2Core Words, Part 3Core Words, Part 4Core Words, Part 5Core Words, Part 6Grammar PatternsIn Context: Core Words, Part 1In Context: Core Words, Part 2Practice Questions

← All HSK 1–3 (Mandarin) decks, with the study guide and topic outline.

About these cards

Review status: Second-reader reviewed, with corrections applied.

Checked against:

  • Pinyin, tones, measure words and meanings checked against CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0) and the Taiwan Ministry of Education's dictionaries (the Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary and the Cross-Strait Dictionary 兩岸常用詞典, via moedict.tw) (reference only). Levels follow HSK 3.0: the HSK examination syllabus (HSK 考试大纲) published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation in November 2025, a separate document from the 2021 standard GF 0025-2021, which it cites among its references. The headwords are level-1 words of the syllabus that the folder's earlier parts do not card, in frequency order (frequency ranks from drkameleon/complete-hsk-vocabulary); levels checked against two transcriptions of the syllabus word list (harukicoder/hsk30, drkameleon/complete-hsk-vocabulary). All example sentences are original.

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