HSK 2 · 152 grammar notes

HSK2 Grammar

Particles, modal verbs, connectors and grammatical structures from the official HSK2 vocabulary, explained in English with examples and usage context.

Quantity and measure 7 notes

次 · time; occasion

Classifier for repeated actions: 一次, 两次. It is not used to count objects.

间 · room; space between; classifier for rooms

Classifier for rooms and spaces: 一间房. It is not used for any object.

条 · classifier for long, flexible objects

Very common classifier for long and flexible objects.

头 · nominal suffix (neutral tone)

As tóu it means head or end of something. Functions as a measure word for large animals: 一头牛 (one cow). Also forms compounds like 头疼 (headache).

万 · ten thousand

Important base in the Chinese numbering system; groups quantities in units of ten thousand.

位 · polite classifier for people

Polite classifier for people.

洗手间 · restroom; toilet

间 functions as a classifier for rooms/places: 一间房, 洗手间.

Comparación 4 notes

比 · to compare; to compare with

Comparative structure: A 比 B + adjective. It is not used the same way as "more" in Spanish.

那么 · so; such; then

Pattern: 那么 + adjective indicates degree or comparison. Related to 这么.

这么 · this; so; such

Pattern: 这么 + adjective indicates degree or manner. Related to 那么.

最 · most; the most

Common pattern: 最 + adjective.

Connectors 8 notes

常与是/但是/但是区别: 但是 is more complete; 但 usually appears at the beginning of a second sentence.

但是 · but; however

Contrast connector; 但 is a shorter form and common in writing.

跟 · with; to follow

Besides "with", it can mean "follow": 跟我来 = come with me.

还是 · or; or else (in questions)

Besides meaning "or" in questions, it can indicate that something remains unchanged depending on the context.

虽然 · although

It often appears in the structure 虽然...但是....

所以 · therefore; so

A common connector used to express consequence or result.

为什么 · why

Usually introduces questions about cause or reason.

因为 · because

Fixed pattern: 因为 A，所以 B.

Negación 1 notes

别 · don't; do not; to separate

Important word for prohibitions: 别 + verb = don't do something. Softer than 不要 in many contexts.

Partículas 10 notes

啊 · exclamatory or modal particle

Sentence-final particle: can express surprise, confirmation, or soften the tone. Pronunciation may change depending on context.

得 · to obtain; to get; to achieve

After the verb, introduces a complement of degree or manner: 说得很好. Structure: verb + 得 + result complement.

得 · to obtain; to get; to achieve

As dé it means to obtain or achieve something. Appears in 得到 (to obtain), 得了 (to achieve a result), and compounds like 觉得 (to feel/think).

得 · to obtain; to get; to achieve

Do not confuse 得/的/地: 得 comes after the verb; 的 links possession or modifies nouns; 地 turns adjectives into adverbs.

地 · adverbial particle

Written particle that converts an adjective or adjectival phrase into an adverbial modifier: 慢慢地走 (walk slowly). Do not confuse with 的/得.

过 · to pass; to cross; to have experienced

Experience particle: indicates having done something before: 去过中国.

过 · to pass; to cross; to have experienced

Partícula de experiencia: 我去过中国 = have been to China. It does not always indicate past tense.

过 · to pass; to cross; to have experienced

As a verb, it can mean to pass/cross or celebrate: 过马路, 过年.

着 · particle indicating continuous state

Aspect particle indicating a state or ongoing action: 看着, 开着.

着 · particle indicating continuous state

In some contexts it is pronounced zháo and appears in structures such as 找着.

Frequent patterns 66 notes

白色 · white color

颜色 + 色 is a highly productive pattern: 红色, 黑色, 黄色.

不好意思 · sorry; how embarrassing

Can express politeness, apology, or embarrassment depending on the context.

不错 · not bad; pretty good

不错 does not simply mean “not wrong”; it is often used as a positive evaluation.

Forms many compounds related to helping: 帮忙, 帮助. Note: it normally requires an object or complement.

帮忙 · to help; lend a hand

Can function as a verb or as a noun.

长 · to grow; leader; senior

As zhǎng, it means to grow or to hold a senior position. Appears in compounds like 组长 (group leader) and 校长 (principal).

长 · to grow; leader; senior

Has two readings: cháng (long) and zhǎng (to grow, leader). The meaning depends on the pinyin.

出门 · to go out; leave home

出 + 门 is a fixed combination; it is not translated literally as two separate actions.

错 · error; mistake; wrong

Besides "wrong", it appears in expressions such as 说错, 做错, 写错 indicating an error in an action.

动 · move; move oneself

Forms many compounds related to movement/action: 动作, 动物, 活动.

等 · to wait; etcetera

Besides meaning "to wait", it also functions as "etc." after a list.

打 · hit; do (calls, sports, etc.)

Has many uses: hit, call (打电话), play (打球), work temporarily (打工).

打车 · take a taxi

The verb 打 has many common uses; this is one of them.

打开 · open; turn on

The verb 打 has many common uses; this is one of them.

过年 · to celebrate the New Year

The verb 过 has many common uses; this is one of them.

告诉 · to tell; to inform

Common structure: 告诉 + person + information.

个子 · height; body size

Usually appears in expressions about physical height.

公交车 · city bus

Common abbreviated form of 公共汽车.

花 · to spend (money or time); flower

Besides flower, as a verb it means to spend: 花钱.

教室 · classroom

The character 教 is highly productive: 教师, 教室, 教学, 教育.

介绍 · to introduce; to introduce someone

Important pattern: 介绍 + person + 给 + person = introduce someone to someone.

教 · to teach

Polysemous verb: to teach (教学生) and also appears in 教书.

酒店 · hotel

店 appears in commercial places: 书店, 商店, 饭店. It helps recognize many places.

记得 · to remember

Can mean remembering something or remembering to do something.

快乐 · happy; happiness

乐 has two pronunciations: lè (快乐), yuè (音乐).

开始 · to start, to begin; beginning

Verb or noun. Often used in the structure "开始 + verb" (开始学习, "start studying").

考试 · exam; to take an exam

Can function as a noun or a verb: 考试 (exam), 考试了 (to take an exam).

篮球 · basketball; basketball ball

球 is productive: 足球, 球场, 球鞋.

路上 · on the way; en route

路 appears in many movement-related compounds: 路口, 马路, 走路.

旅游 · tourism; to travel for pleasure

旅/游 form travel-related vocabulary: 游客, 旅游.

面 · noodles; flour

Besides being an independent word, it functions as a productive character in words related to surface, face or aspect.

面 · noodles; flour

Can be pronounced miàn and appears in many common compounds.

没意思 · boring, uninteresting

Colloquial expression indicating boredom or lack of interest.

门口 · entrance; doorway

口 appears in many compounds related to entrances/places: 门口, 路口, 入口.

每 · every, each

Must always be followed by a classifier or noun (每个, 每天, 每次).

男孩儿 · boy; lad

Erhua (儿) is common in northern China; it does not change the basic meaning.

女孩儿 · girl; young woman

Erhua is common in northern speech.

Formal term for "wife"; in everyday speech 老婆 is more commonly used.

上网 · surf the internet

网 appears in modern compounds: 网站, 网友, 网球.

事情 · matter; thing; event

The character 事 is highly productive: 事情, 故事, 事儿.

送 · give as a gift; deliver; accompany

Can mean to deliver, accompany or give as a gift depending on context.

跳舞 · to dance

Fixed compound verb meaning "to dance"; not interpreted literally as "jump + dance."

题 · question; exercise; topic

Very productive in vocabulary related to questions, exercises and topics.

Specific verb for hitting something with the foot, especially in sports.

忘 · to forget

Usually appears with the object of the forgotten action: 忘了, 忘记.

姓 · to have the surname

Usually used in the structure 姓 + surname.

姓名 · full name

名 appears in names: 名字, 名称, 有名.

药 · medicine

Appears in numerous compounds related to medicine and treatment.

药店 · pharmacy

药 appears in medical vocabulary: 药片, 药水, 医院.

颜色 · color

色 appears in colors: 红色, 白色, 蓝色.

一起 · together

Common pattern: 跟/和 + person + 一起 + verb.

意思 · meaning; intention

Polysemous word: it can refer to meaning, intention, or interest.

Base character with a broad meaning; rarely used alone in modern Chinese, usually appears in compounds.

游泳 · to swim

Fixed compound verb meaning "to swim"; not analyzed as two separate actions.

游泳 · to swim

Fixed compound verb meaning "to swim"; not analyzed as two separate actions.

运动 · sport; exercise

动 appears in many verbs related to movement: 动作, 活动.

阴 · cloudy; shade

Usually contrasted with 晴 in weather vocabulary.

眼 appears in body-part vocabulary: 眼睛, 眼前.

有意思 · interesting

Usually used to evaluate situations, people, or things.

站 · stand; station

Besides being a verb, it appears in the names of stations and stops.

站 · stand; station

Besides "to stand", it appears in the names of stations or stops: 火车站, 车站.

丈夫 · husband

Formal term for "husband"; more common in written registers.

准备 · prepare; get ready

Can function as a verb or adjective depending on the structure: 准备考试, 准备好了.

足球 · football, soccer

Sport name. Usually used with verbs like 踢, "to kick" (踢足球).

路 appears in movement-related words: 马路, 路口, 路上.

爱好 · hobby; interest; preference

Usually used as a noun and also in the structure 爱好 + activity.

Posición y dirección 33 notes

出 · go out; leave

Very productive character: 出来, 出去, 出门, 出国, 出现. Often indicates movement outward or appearance.

出国 · go abroad

出 + place indicates movement outward: 出国, 出门, 出院.

出来 · come out toward here

Directional complement indicating movement outward or the emergence of a result.

出去 · go out; go outside

Directional complement indicating movement outward from the reference point.

从 · from; follow; obey

Introduces the starting point: 从 + place/person/time. Example: 从北京来.

地 · adverbial particle

As dì it means ground, earth, or place. Appears in 地方 (place), 地图 (map), 地铁 (subway), 土地 (land), 地球 (Earth).

地铁 · subway

铁 appears in transport/material-related words: 地铁, 铁路.

过来 · come over here; come this way

Directional complement indicating movement toward the speaker.

过去 · pass; past; go over there

Can function as a directional verb, a temporal noun, or a reference to the past depending on the context.

回来 · come back here

Directional complement indicating movement back toward the speaker.

回去 · go back there

Directional complement indicating movement back away from the speaker.

后面 · behind, at the back

Indicates a position behind or after in space, time, or discourse (behind / afterward).

进 · to enter; to advance

Directional character: 进去 = enter inward, 进来 = come inward.

进来 · come in toward here

Directional complement: verb + 进来 indicates movement toward the speaker. Example: 请进来.

进去 · go in; enter

Directional complement: verb + 进去 indicates movement inward away from the speaker.

离 · be separated from; from

Usually forms the structure 离 + place/person + distance.

旁边 · beside; next to

Common structure: A + 的 + 旁边. Example: 学校旁边.

前面 · in front, ahead

Indicates a position in front, in space, time, or discourse.

起来 · get up; rise

Directional complement with many uses: stand up (站起来), begin (热起来).

上来 · come up, move up toward the speaker

上来 and 上去 are compound directional verbs. 上 indicates upward movement; 来 means the movement is toward the speaker (上来 = come up), while 去 means it moves away from the speaker (上去 = go up). This pattern is systematic in Chinese: 下来/下去, 进来/进去, 出来/出去 follow the same logic.

上来 · come up, move up toward the speaker

上来 and 上去 are compound directional verbs. 上 indicates upward movement; 来 means the movement is toward the speaker (上来 = come up), while 去 means it moves away from the speaker (上去 = go up). This pattern is systematic in Chinese: 下来/下去, 进来/进去, 出来/出去 follow the same logic.

上面 · above, on top, upper side

Indicates a position above, or something earlier in a text or conversation.

上去 · go up, move upward away from speaker

上去 indicates moving upward away from the speaker. It contrasts with 上来 (come up here). The element 去 appears in all directional verbs indicating movement away: 下去 (go down there), 进去 (go in there), 出去 (go out there).

上去 · go up, move upward away from speaker

上去 indicates moving upward away from the speaker. It contrasts with 上来 (come up here). The element 去 appears in all directional verbs indicating movement away: 下去 (go down there), 进去 (go in there), 出去 (go out there).

头 · nominal suffix (neutral tone)

As a suffix, tou loses its tone (neutral syllable) and attaches to position words: 里头 (inside), 外头 (outside), 上头 (above), 下头 (below).

外国 · foreign country

外 appears in opposing compounds: 外国, 外边, 外语.

往 · towards; go to

Usually introduces direction or destination: 往前走.

下来 · come down, descend toward the speaker

Movement from top to bottom; can also indicate a result or conclusion (定下来).

下面 · below, under, lower side

Indicates a lower position, or what comes next in discourse.

下去 · go down; to continue

下去 has two main uses: (1) physical movement downward away from the speaker: 走下去 (walk down away from here); (2) a very common extended use indicating the continuation of an action, equivalent to "keep doing, continue": 坚持下去 (keep persevering), 说下去 (keep talking). In this second use it expresses persistence rather than physical direction.

下去 · go down; to continue

下去 has two main uses: (1) physical movement downward away from the speaker: 走下去 (walk down away from here); (2) a very common extended use indicating the continuation of an action, equivalent to "keep doing, continue": 坚持下去 (keep persevering), 说下去 (keep talking). In this second use it expresses persistence rather than physical direction.

Often appears in orientation expressions: 左右.

走 · walk; leave

Besides being a main verb, it appears in many directional complements and movement expressions.

Pronouns 4 notes

那样 · in that way; like that

Pattern: 这样/那样 form a reference pair.

这样 · in this way; like this

Pattern: 这样/那样/什么样 are very common structures.

自己 · oneself; oneself

Frequently used for emphasis: 我自己做.

自己 · oneself; oneself

Reflexive pronoun; can refer to the subject of the sentence or of a subordinate clause.

Time 15 notes

从小 · since childhood

Time pattern: 从小 = since childhood. 从 + starting point.

就 · then; precisely; immediately

Very frequent grammatical word: can indicate immediacy (马上就), emphasis or consequence.

经常 · often; frequently

Similar to 常常; both indicate habitual frequency.

快 · fast; quick

Besides fast, it forms structures indicating the near future: 快要, 快点儿.

快要 · be about to

Pattern: 快要 + verb + 了 indicates that something is about to happen.

开学 · to start school; classes begin

开 appears in expressions indicating the start of something: 开学, 开始, 开会.

时 · when, at the time of

时 (shí) works as a suffix added to a verb or verb phrase to mean "when/while doing X": 吃饭时 (while eating), 上课时 (during class). It is more formal and written than 的时候 (de shíhou), its colloquial equivalent. Both are correct, but 时 appears more in written texts and 的时候 in everyday speech.

时 · when, at the time of

时 (shí) works as a suffix added to a verb or verb phrase to mean "when/while doing X": 吃饭时 (while eating), 上课时 (during class). It is more formal and written than 的时候 (de shíhou), its colloquial equivalent. Both are correct, but 时 appears more in written texts and 的时候 in everyday speech.

小时候 · when one was little

后 can refer to time when it appears in temporal expressions.

一会儿 · a moment; a while

Time expression: can mean a short while or in a little while depending on context.

一会儿 · a moment; a while

Short time pattern: 等一会儿, 一会儿以后.

已经 · already

通常和了搭配表示状态变化完成: 已经吃了.

有时候 · sometimes

有时候/有时 indicate occasional frequency; they are usually used with verbs.

正 · exactly; correct; to be doing

Forms common patterns such as 正在.

In addition to being a unit of time, 周 appears in compounds related to cycles and surroundings.

Modal verbs 4 notes

可能 · possible; may

It can function as an adverb before a verb: 可能会下雨.

让 · let; allow; yield

Common structure: 让 + person + verb.

让 · let; allow; yield

Can mean to allow, let, or make someone do something.

希望 · to hope, to wish; hope

Verb or noun. Used in the structure "希望 + clause/verb" to express a wish.

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