HSK 1 cheat sheet

HSK 1 listening has four parts, 20 items total, about 15 minutes of audio; each recording is played twice, and the answer choices are printed, not read aloud.

Part 1 shows a picture with a short phrase or word; the decision rule is to match the heard word to the object or action in the image, not to translate the whole sentence.

Part 2 pairs a short recorded sentence with three printed pictures; the correct picture usually contains the noun or verb that carries the sentence's main information.

Part 3 gives a short dialogue followed by a printed question; the answer is usually stated directly in one turn, so listen for the question word 谁, 什么, 哪儿, 几, 怎么 before choosing.

Numbers 1-100, prices with 块/元, clock times with 点 and 分, and dates with 月/号 are high-frequency listening targets; write the digits as you hear them.

Negation flips meaning: 不 and 没 appear in distractors, so a sentence with 不是 or 没有 rules out the positive option.

Question particles matter: 吗 marks a yes/no question, 呢 returns a question, and 几 asks for a small number; the reply pattern tells you which printed option fits.

Measure words heard after a number identify the noun class: 个 (general), 本 (books), 口 (family members), 岁 (age), 点 (time), so match the measure word before the noun.

HSK 1 reading has four parts, 20 items total, about 17 minutes; Part 1 matches a picture to a printed word or phrase, so identify the key noun or verb in the sentence.

Part 2 is sentence completion with three printed options; test each option by grammar slot: a verb follows 我, a noun follows 有, an adjective follows 很.

Part 3 pairs a short question with a short answer; match the question word to the answer type: 谁→person, 哪儿→place, 几/多少→number, 什么→thing.

Part 4 is a short passage with a fill-in or comprehension item; the answer is stated in the text, so locate the repeated keyword rather than inferring.

Word order rule: subject + time + place + verb + object, as in 我明天在家看书; an option that puts time after the verb is wrong.

The particle 的 links a possessor or modifier to a noun (我的书, 很好的朋友); 了 marks a completed action and 在 marks location or ongoing action.

Common confusable pairs in options: 是/有, 看/见, 去/来, 大/多, 几/多少; choose by the grammatical slot and the noun that follows.

Yes/no questions ending in 吗 are answered with the verb repeated or with 是/不是, 有/没有, not with 对 or 好的 alone.