What can you do in Chinese at HSK 2?
The official level description says that at HSK 2 you can communicate at a basic level about daily life, study, and work. The 2025 syllabus’s task list includes:
- asking the way, giving simple directions, and reading the direction and stop names on a sign or map
- asking about a product’s color, price, and quality, and saying how it differs from another one
- saying how you feel when you are ill, and reading how often to take a medicine on a prescription
- talking about your family, your school or work, and what you do in your free time
- reading short greetings on a card or a text message, such as 新年快乐 (Happy New Year)
- writing basic information: your name, age, and birthday on a form, a time or a place, the name and price of a product.
The 2025 HSK syllabus introduces whole-sentence writing tasks at level 3.
What is on the HSK 2 exam?
Under HSK 3.0, the HSK 2 exam has 60 questions across listening, reading, and writing, in about 60 minutes. These figures come from the official sample paper published by Chinese Testing International (CTI), which runs the HSK:
| Section | Questions | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Listening | 25 | about 17 min |
| Reading | 25 | 25 min |
| Writing | 10 | 10 min |
Listening is followed by 3 minutes to fill in the answer sheet, and the 60 minutes include 5 minutes for your personal details. The sample paper prints pinyin above the Chinese throughout. In one writing task you fill a gap in a sentence with the character its pinyin shows, for example 你想喝茶还（是）喝咖啡？ (Would you like tea or coffee?). Source: CTI’s HSK 3.0 sample papers.
Under HSK 2.0, CTI’s HSK 2 page gives 60 listening and reading questions in about 55 minutes, scored out of 200 with 120 to pass. That pass mark belongs to the old exam; check the rules for your own sitting. CTI’s syllabus page has the official HSK 3.0 sample papers with answers and audio.
Which words do you need for HSK 2?
You need all 500 words: the 300 on the HSK 1 Vocabulary List and the 200 new words on the HSK 2 Vocabulary List. The new words include the joining words that let you build longer sentences, such as 因为 (yīnwèi, because), 所以 (suǒyǐ, so), 虽然 (suīrán, although), and 但是 (dànshì, but), and 比 (bǐ, than) for comparing things. Source: 2025 HSK exam syllabus.
The HSK 1 and HSK 2 Vocabulary Lists let you search by character, pinyin, or meaning and hide the meanings to test yourself. To study offline, the HSK 3.0 downloads page has the 200 new HSK 2 words as a printable PDF with English meanings. The 200 new words or all 500 through HSK 2 are available as a spreadsheet (CSV), JSON, or Anki import file.
How to prepare for HSK 2
Prepare for HSK 3.0 level 2 by reviewing level-1 words, adding the 200 new level-2 entries, and practicing the listening, reading and handwriting tasks in CTI’s sample paper. Source: CTI’s HSK 3.0 sample papers.
- Make HSK 1 solid first. Hide the meanings on the HSK 1 list and review the words you miss; they are the foundation for HSK 2 sentences.
- Learn the 200 new words. At 10 new words a day that takes 20 days, plus daily reviews. How to learn HSK vocabulary explains how to pace it.
- Learn the new sentence patterns. HSK 2 adds comparisons with 比, 过 for things you have done before, 是……的 to stress when or how something happened, and pairs such as 因为……所以 and 虽然……但是. Source: 2025 HSK exam syllabus.
- Write characters by hand from the start. The syllabus lists 100 characters to write by hand across HSK 1 and 2, and the writing section asks you to produce some of them. Source: 2025 HSK exam syllabus.
- Try the official sample paper under time before the exam, and check it against the answer key.
What comes after HSK 2?
HSK 3 adds 500 new vocabulary entries, as many as HSK 1 and 2 together, and a speaking test. Its reading texts and answer choices have no pinyin; pinyin remains as a hint in character-writing questions. HSK level 2 vs level 3 shows the jump with example sentences, and the HSK level 3 guide covers the level in full. Source: CTI’s HSK 3.0 sample papers.
Where Second Language fits
Second Language is the free language game we make. Its beginner Mandarin course offers listening and reading practice with some HSK 1 and 2 words in context; it does not cover the full HSK 2 syllabus. Check the ★ markers on the HSK 1 and HSK 2 Vocabulary Lists for the words the current course teaches.