HSK 1 in 30 days: a realistic study plan

What the HSK 1 exam tests

The HSK 1 checks that you understand and use the 150 most basic words of Mandarin in very simple sentences. The exam has 40 questions in about 40 minutes: 20 listening questions and 20 reading questions. It is scored out of 200, and you need 120 to pass. There is no writing section.

Why 30 days is realistic

150 words over four weeks means about five new words a day, plus review. That fits in fifteen minutes. The key is not the number of hours, it's coming back every day so words move into long-term memory.

Your daily routine (15 minutes)

• 5 minutes of review: the words that are due today come first.
• 5 minutes of new words: about five, with their sound, their meaning and their characters.
• 5 minutes of speaking or writing: say each new word out loud and write it once from memory.

The HSK 1 module does this for you: the “Continue” button chooses between review and new words, and review dates are calculated automatically.

Week by week

Week 1: sounds, numbers and people

Spend the first two days on pinyin and the four tones. Then learn numbers, measure words and people: 我, 你, 他, 她, 爸爸, 妈妈, 朋友, 老师… These words come up in almost every exam question.

Week 2: questions, time and everyday verbs

Learn question words (什么, 谁, 哪儿, 几, 多少), time words (今天, 明天, 点, 星期) and the most useful verbs (是, 有, 去, 来, 看, 吃, 喝, 买).

Week 3: food, places and describing

Food and drink, places (家, 学校, 商店, 医院), objects, and describing words (大, 小, 冷, 热, 很, 太). Start making mini sentences: 我很好, 天气很冷, 我想喝茶.

Week 4: small words, traps and mock exams

Finish with polite expressions and small grammar words (的, 了, 吗, 呢, 和). Then review everything, train the traps, and take two or three mock exams.

The traps to watch

• 他 and 她 are both tā: 亻 means person (he), 女 means woman (she).
• 在 and 再 are both zài: 在 = to be somewhere, 再 = again.
• 坐 and 做 are both zuò: to sit, and to do.
• 大, 太 and 天 look alike: big, too much, sky.
• 那 nà (that) and 哪 nǎ (which?): the one with a mouth 口 asks a question.

Exam day tips

At HSK 1, the listening texts are played twice and the questions use pictures, so stay calm and take the first listening to understand, the second to check. In the HSK 1 paper, pinyin is printed above the characters: recognizing the characters still saves you a lot of time.

Start now

The best day to start is today. Open the HSK 1 module, learn your first five words, and come back tomorrow for your first review.