ListeningDialogue plus a question
男：你昨天为什么没来上课？女：我生病了，去医院了。问：女的昨天做什么了？
M: Why did you miss class yesterday? W: I was ill and went to hospital.
去医院了去旅游了去上班了
Answer: 去医院了 (She went to hospital.)
Beginner
HSK 2 (B2) — Chinese proficiency level 2
HSK 2 sits in the Beginner stage of the HSK 3.0 ladder and is roughly A1+ on the CEFR scale. It assumes 1,272 words and 600 characters.
HSK 2 at a glance
1,272Vocabulary
600Characters
129Grammar points
A1+CEFR
60Questions
120/200Pass mark
50 minDuration
270Study hours
HSK 2 exam structure
Part by part, with the number of items and the working time for each section. The paper-based exam also grants extra time to transfer answers to the answer sheet.
| Part | Task | Items | Duration | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Listening | 35 | 25 min | 100 | |
| Part 1 | Picture true / false | 10 | ||
| Part 2 | Match each recording to a picture | 10 | ||
| Part 3 | Dialogue plus a question | 10 | ||
| Part 4 | Dialogue plus a question | 5 | ||
| Reading | 25 | 22 min | 100 | |
| Part 1 | Match each sentence to a picture | 5 | ||
| Part 2 | Fill in the blanks | 5 | ||
| Part 3 | Short text true / false | 5 | ||
| Part 4 | Match the question to its answer | 10 | ||
HSK 2 vocabulary
HSK 2 assumes 1,272 words in total, of which 772 are introduced at this level, written with 600 characters across 468 syllables. The exam also draws on 129 grammar points.
Handwritten characters are assessed from level 5, so at HSK 2 the writing tasks are typed or assembled from words the paper supplies.
HSK 2 sample questions
Taken from the live question bank — the same items you get in practice, with the answer shown.
ReadingShort text true / false
这个饭馆的菜很好吃，但是有点儿贵，我们不常来。★ 这个饭馆很便宜。
The food here is good but a bit expensive. ★ This restaurant is cheap.
✓✗
Answer: ✗ — the text says it is expensive
ReadingFill in the blanks
今天（ ）昨天冷。
Today is colder than yesterday.
比让离
Answer: 比 (bǐ)
How to prepare for HSK 2
- The jump from HSK 1 is mostly vocabulary: 772 new words, so spread them over weeks rather than cramming.
- Get comfortable with 比 comparisons, 因为…所以…, 虽然…但是… and the 了 aspect — they turn up constantly.
- Listening part 4 uses longer exchanges: train yourself to hold two turns of a dialogue in your head before the question arrives.
- In reading part 4 read the answer bank first, then the prompts — the pairing is usually decided by one shared word.
- Time yourself: 25 minutes of listening and 22 of reading is tighter than it sounds.
Questions, answered
1,272 in total, of which 772 are new at this level. They are written with 600 characters, and the exam draws on 129 grammar points.
50 minutes of working time across 60 questions. The paper-based exam also grants extra time to transfer answers to the answer sheet.
120 out of 200, which is 60%. Each section is reported out of 100, so a weak section can be carried by a strong one as long as the total clears the bar.
No. HSK 2 is written-only — listening and reading. The spoken component becomes compulsory from level 3.
Roughly A1+. The mapping is approximate — HSK measures Chinese specifically, including character knowledge, which the CEFR scale does not describe.
Yes. Every HSK 2 exam part can be practised on its own with instant marking, and there are full mock tests with audio, transcripts and section scores. It is free.