HSK 1 · Chapter 1 · Hello
Chinese characters you won't forget
Flashcards, quizzes, phrases, and writing practice in five minutes a day. A proven spaced repetition method to master HSK words with diverse exercises.
Free, no sign-up, right in your browser.
Five minutes a day to make words stick
Every day, Bao puts together a quick round: new words from your chapter and what it's time to review. Regular practice with pictures, audio, questions, and other exercises — that's how you'll master Chinese.
Review on the day a word starts to fade
Every answer adjusts the next review: know it and the gap grows, miss it and the word returns sooner. You just press “Start”.
- LearningYou have met the word, but it does not stick yet.
- RememberYou recall the word after a few days.
- MasteredYou recalled it after three weeks without reviews, several times in a row.
today → 1 day → 2 → 4 → 8 → 16 → 30+ days
Theory with examples for every chapter
Each chapter includes short notes on sounds and grammar right when you need them. All examples use only words you have already met.
HSK 1 · Chapter 2 · Family
HSK 1 · Chapter 3 · Have and have not
Practise tones: listening and pronunciation
One syllable in four tones means four different words. Tap a tone: Bao draws the pitch line and shows the word it makes.
Say tones aloud and practise
Say the word into the mic: Bao draws your pitch line next to the right one and shows where the tone slipped. You train tones by ear and voice, and Bao tracks what you mix up to review it more often.
八 eight
Character structure — theory, stroke drawing, radical breakdown
- Stroke order. An animation and diagram show which stroke comes first and where it goes.
- Radicals and parts. 好 = 女 “woman” + 子 “child”. Component meanings help you remember the character faster.
- Pictures. Each card has its own illustration so the word is easy to remember.
One word from every angle
- 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.
- Listen You hear a word and pick its picture or characters. The options sound alike, so you listen for the tones.
- Read Pictures, sentences, questions with replies and short texts, like the new HSK 1 reading paper. Pinyin can be hidden.
- 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.
Practise and earn achievements together with Bao ❤️
Every learning success will be celebrated with an achievement 🚀 The most dedicated learners will unlock legendary achievements. (the entire path is available for free)
A closer look
Everything in one app
Learn for free. Go Pro for no limits
Free
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forever
- Unlimited flashcards and daily review
- Audio for every word
- Quiz: 2 rounds a day, 20 questions each
- Phrases: 2 rounds a day, 10 questions each
- Writing: 3 rounds a day
- Bao's path, experience and achievements
Baozi Pro
$5 a month
billed yearly at $59.99, save 50 %. Month to month: $9.99 a month
- 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
Free tools for learning Chinese
Pinyin, tones, numbers and characters: free, no sign-up, right in your browser.
- Chinese characters to pinyinChinese text → pinyin with tone marks or numbers
- Pinyin chart with audioEvery syllable in four tones, recorded by a native speaker
- Chinese tone testHear and say: a score for each tone in 2 minutes
- Chinese numbersCount 1–100 with audio, any number in characters
- Chinese radicals214 radicals: meaning, forms, stroke order, examples
- Simplified ↔ traditional Chinese简体 ↔ 繁體, converted word by word
Questions
What is HSK?
HSK is the international Chinese proficiency test. Baozi teaches the words of levels 1 to 9: 10,990 words in all, 500 of them at HSK 1. The new exam (HSK 3.0) has a shorter list of 300 words at level 1.
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 word audio have no limits. Quiz, phrases and writing have free rounds every day, and you can listen to 4 example sentences a day. Baozi Pro removes the limits and adds exams.
Where do I study?
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 to your first characters
A short first round shows how many words you already know. Nothing to set up.