HSK 1 · 500 words · 300 characters
Chinese characters you won't forget
Flashcards, quizzes, phrases and writing practice — five minutes a day. Baozi decides what to review today, so HSK 1 words stay in your memory, not in a list.
Free, no sign-up: in Telegram or right in your browser.
How memory works
Review on the day a word starts to fade
Every answer moves the next review: know it and the gap grows, miss it and the word comes back soon. You just press “Start”.
Learning
You've met it, but it doesn't stick yet.
Remember
You recall it after a few days.
Mastered
Recalled after a month without reviews — several times in a row.
today → 1 day → 2 → 4 → 8 → 16 → 30+ days
“I know it” is sometimes checked with a quick question, and misses come back in the same round — so only what you really remember reaches “Mastered”.
Five ways to recall
One word, seen from every side
Cards
Character, pinyin, meaning and a picture to remember it by. You answer honestly: know it or not.
Quiz
Four options: pick the meaning or the reading. Miss one and it comes back later in the same round; you finish with one to five stars.
Phrases
A phrase with a gap and its translation: fill in the right character. Words start working in sentences.
Draw
Write stroke by stroke with your finger while Baozi shows the order and direction.
Exam
20 questions per chapter, no hints, pass mark 80 %. Mistakes are reviewed separately afterwards.
Baozi ProA closer look
Everything in one small app
Bao's path
21 chapters, from hello to the little grammar words
Words are grouped by topic in the order you need them: greetings, family, numbers, food, time… New cards come from your current chapter, and the map moves in your very first week.
- 你 Hello
- 家 Family
- 三 Numbers
- 饭 Food
- 时 Time
- 早 My day
- 学 Study
- 字 Language
- 爱 Feelings
- 友 People
- 来 Come and go
- 左 Where is it?
- 城 Places
- 车 On the road
- 买 Shopping
- 玩 Free time
- 医 Health and weather
- 这 This and that
- 大 What is it like?
- 了 Little words
- 有 Have and have not
A chapter is passed when 80 % of its words are in “Remember”. It gets a star when all are mastered.
Bao grows with you
Experience for every answer — even a wrong one
Bao starts as a lump of dough and grows into a dim sum master. Experience rewards effort, not only perfect answers:
- +10 XPfor a right answer
- +3 XPfor a miss — you still practised
- +5 XPfor a new word
- +25 XPfor the daily goal
- +50 XPfor a passed exam
- Dough
- Filled
- Folded
- Steaming
- Fluffy
- Golden
- Dim sum master
21 achievements
Goals for your first week and for the months ahead
Streak and daily goal
A day counts when the work is done, not when the app is opened
The daily goal is 5 to 15 reviews, depending on how many words are due. Days follow your local time, and a missed day never erases progress: your words stay put.
Stroke order
An animation and a chart: which stroke comes first and where it goes.
Radicals and parts
好 = 女 “woman” + 子 “child”. Parts with meanings make a character easier to remember.
Audio
Native speaker recordings for 494 of 500 words.
Phrases
Every word comes with example phrases, pinyin and a translation.
Pictures
Each card has its own illustration to remember it by.
Topic decks
Only food or transport today? You can do that too
Weak spots
Baozi notices which words slip away and what you mix up
A separate round for words that are fading, and practice for look-alike characters you confuse.
Your progress is safe
In Telegram everything is saved to your account, so you can continue on another phone or computer.
Free and Baozi Pro
Learn for free. Go Pro for no limits
Free
$0
forever
- Unlimited flashcards and daily review
- Audio for every word
- Quiz: 1 round a day, 20 questions each
- Phrases: 1 round a day, 10 questions each
- Writing: 3 rounds a day
- Bao's path, experience and achievements
Baozi Pro
$59.99 a year
≈ $5 a month, save 50 % · $9.99 a month
3 days free- Every mode with no daily limits
- Chapter exams: 20 questions, pass mark 80 %
- Rounds for words that are fading
- Practice for look-alike characters you confuse
Questions
What is HSK 1?
The first level of HSK, the international Chinese proficiency test. In the new version of the test (HSK 3.0) it is 500 words — where every Chinese course begins.
How much time a day does it take?
Five minutes is enough: the daily goal is 5 to 15 reviews. Want more? New words come from your current chapter.
Do I need to know any Chinese first?
No. Every word has pinyin, a translation and a picture, and a short first round shows what you already know.
Is it free?
Yes. Flashcards, daily review and audio have no limits. Quiz, phrases and writing have free rounds every day. Baozi Pro removes the limits and adds exams.
Where do I study?
In Telegram — the @HSK_cards_bot bot — or right in your browser at app.hsk.cards. Nothing to install.
How does Baozi decide what to review?
Every word has its own memory strength. A right answer pushes the next review further away, a miss brings it closer. So today you see exactly the words that are starting to fade.
Five minutes today, and your first characters are yours
A short first round shows how many words you already know. Nothing to set up.