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Learn Mandarin Chinese, one card at a time

Practise the complete HSK 1–6 vocabulary and everyday words — with characters, pinyin, audio and smart spaced repetition. Start in seconds, right here.

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Word lists by theme

All 5,000 HSK words plus everyday extras, organised in 30 themes. Open a theme and filter by HSK level.

Greetings & expressions · 79 Hello, thank you, sorry and the set phrases you use every day. Function words & particles · 224 Pronouns, particles, conjunctions, prepositions and question words that hold sentences together. Measure words & quantities · 67 Classifiers and quantity words for counting things. Numbers · 29 Learn to count in Chinese. Time, dates & frequency · 166 Clock words, days, months, seasons and how often. Everyday verbs · 330 Common everyday actions: eat, go, buy, open, take. Speaking & thinking · 373 Verbs for saying, asking, thinking, knowing and deciding. Adjectives · 327 Describing words to expand your sentences. Adverbs & degree · 178 Very, also, already, always and other words of degree and manner. People & family · 121 Family members, friends, relationships and titles. Body & health · 201 Body parts, illness, medicine and the doctor. Feelings & emotions · 243 Words to say how you feel. Personality & behaviour · 332 Character traits, attitudes and manners. Food & drink · 139 Dishes, ingredients, drinks, tastes and eating out. Home & household · 86 Rooms, furniture, household items and chores. Clothing & shopping · 74 Clothes, shops, sizes and paying. Money, business & economy · 198 Prices, banking, companies, trade and the economy. Work & career · 198 Jobs, the office, meetings and careers. Education & learning · 115 School, university, exams and studying Chinese. Travel & transport · 119 Planes, trains, directions and getting around China. Places & city · 76 Buildings, places around town and location words. Nature & weather · 141 Weather, seasons, landscape and the environment. Animals & plants · 64 Common animals, insects, trees and flowers. Technology & internet · 99 Phones, computers, apps, Wi-Fi and mobile payment. Media, arts & entertainment · 130 Films, music, books, news and performances. Sports & leisure · 79 Sports, hobbies, games, holidays and celebrations. Society, politics & law · 318 Government, law, history and social life. Science & abstract concepts · 545 Reasons, results, methods, situations and other abstract words. Countries & languages · 20 Countries, nationalities, cities and languages. Objects & materials · 130 Everyday objects, tools, materials and shapes.

Word lists by HSK level

Preparing for the exam? Practise the complete official word list of each level.

What else can you practise?

Extra ways to work on your Chinese, alongside the word lists.

What learners say

People around the world use ChineseMandarinSystem.com to learn Mandarin.

“The flashcards finally made Chinese characters click for me. Ten minutes a day and I can actually read menus now.”
Megan United States
“I tried a few paid apps, but this is the one I kept using. The spaced repetition is spot on and it’s free.”
James United Kingdom
“Having the pinyin and the audio on every card sorted out my tones. Hearing the word each time makes a huge difference.”
Chloe Australia
“I worked through HSK 1 to HSK 3 level by level and passed HSK 3 first time. The complete word lists are exactly what I needed.”
Lukas Germany
“Syncs across my phone and laptop, so I review on the train and study properly at home. Really well made.”
Sarah Canada
“The clock and date trainers are brilliant — 两点半 versus 二点 used to trip me up every single time.”
Wei Ling Singapore
“Being able to switch between simplified and traditional characters is perfect — I study Mandarin but visit Taiwan a lot.”
Camille France
“The daily-life topics cover the words HSK skips — WeChat, QR codes, ordering bubble tea. Fantastic free resource.”
Rafael Brazil

Learn Mandarin Chinese for free with HSK flashcards

At ChineseMandarinSystem.com you learn Mandarin Chinese vocabulary in a simple and free way. With interactive flashcards you work through the complete HSK 1–6 vocabulary plus everyday extras, organised in 30 themes such as food, travel, work and feelings — and you can filter every theme by HSK level, from the first 150 words of HSK 1 to the 2,500 words of HSK 6. Every word shows the characters (simplified or traditional), pinyin with tone marks, the English meaning and audio. Whether you're preparing for an HSK exam, planning a trip to China or Taiwan, or brushing up for work: you practise exactly what you need, at your own pace and without an account.

Why practise with ChineseMandarinSystem.com?

Completely free

All exercises and flashcards are free. You don't need to sign up for anything and can start right away.

Characters, pinyin and audio

Every word shows the Chinese characters with pinyin and tone marks. Listen to the pronunciation with one click.

Simplified and traditional

Switch between simplified and traditional characters at any time — study for mainland China, Taiwan or both.

HSK 1–6 complete

The full HSK vocabulary, about 5,000 words, level by level — plus 200 everyday words the exam leaves out.

In both directions

Practise from English to Chinese and back, so you train both recognition and active vocabulary.

Smart spaced repetition

Interval Study brings back the tricky words at the right moment, with the same FSRS algorithm as Anki.

How does it work?

  1. Choose an HSK level or topic, pick the direction (English → Chinese or Chinese → English) and decide how many words you want to learn.
  2. Look at the flashcard, say the word out loud, think of the translation and flip the card.
  3. Say whether you knew the word — whatever you don't know yet comes back later, and Interval Study schedules the reviews for you.

Frequently asked questions

Is it free?

Yes — all HSK flashcards, characters, pinyin, audio and exercises are free forever, with no account needed to start. Optional Premium removes the free daily limits.

Do I need an account?

No. Start straight away; your progress is saved in your browser. Create a free account only if you want to sync across your phone and laptop.

Which words are included?

The complete HSK 1–6 vocabulary (about 5,000 words) with simplified and traditional characters, pinyin and English, plus 200 everyday words that HSK leaves out.

Does it teach characters and pronunciation?

Yes. Every word shows the characters with pinyin and audio, so you learn to read and pronounce from day one. You can switch between simplified and traditional characters.

How do I remember Chinese words best?

Do short daily sessions and let the spaced-repetition system bring back the tricky words at the right moment — that beats one long session a week.

Ready to learn Mandarin?

Start with HSK 1 flashcards for free today and learn your first Chinese words — no account and at your own pace.