HSK 1 Reading Practice: 28 Free Chinese Stories

Every free story on this site at an estimated HSK 1 level (HSK 3.0), sorted easiest first and grouped by theme. Each one has pinyin, sentence translations, tap-to-look-up and a Simplified/Traditional switch — no sign-up.

  • 28free stories
  • 300words through HSK 1
  • 248characters through HSK 1
  • 68characters in a typical story

What HSK 1 reading looks like

HSK 1 reading means short, concrete sentences built from the most basic characters: 你叫什么？ 我是学生。 小猫很可爱。 Most stories here are a few lines of dialogue or one small scene with two characters. The grammar stays at subject–verb–object, 是 and 有, 吗 questions, 不 and 没 for negation, 很 + adjective and simple time words like 今天 and 早上.

HSK 1 reading in numbers:
  • 300 words / 248 characters — everything in the 2026 HSK 3.0 lists through HSK 1.
  • 68 characters in a typical story here (26–198), with sentences averaging 9.0 characters.
  • 81% of the characters in these stories are among those 248 HSK 1 characters. Any word with an unfamiliar character is one tap away from its meaning.
  • 287 different characters appear across all 28 stories — 2,063 characters of reading in total.

New to this level, or not sure you're at it? Try the beginner path (15 hand-picked stories in order), or take the 2-minute character test to see where you are.

Big News (Part 1) — story illustration

Read an HSK 1 story right now

Big News (Part 1) · HSK 1 · 160 characters

Start with pinyin off and switch it on only if you get stuck. Tap any word for its meaning; turn on Translation to check yourself. Your settings carry over to every story.

Tap any word for its meaning

晚上wǎn shang，约翰yuē hàn在zài打电话dǎ diàn huà。In the evening, John is on the phone.他说tā shuō英文Yīng wén，说得shuō de很快hěn kuài，也yě很高兴hěn gāo xìng。He speaks English, very fast and very happy.小婷xiǎo tíng问wèn：“是shì谁shéi？”Xiaoting asks: "Who is it?"约翰yuē hàn说shuō：“是shì我wǒ妈妈mā ma！”John says: "It's my mom!"“我wǒ爸爸bà ba妈妈mā ma下个星期xià gè xīng qī来lái中国zhōng guó！”"My mom and dad are coming to China next week!"

小婷xiǎo tíng说shuō：“真的zhēn de吗ma？”Xiaoting says: "Really?"约翰yuē hàn说shuō：“真的zhēn de！他们tā men很hěn想xiǎng认识rèn shi你nǐ。”John says: "Really! They really want to meet you."小婷xiǎo tíng问wèn：“他们tā men会huì喜欢xǐ huan我wǒ吗ma？”Xiaoting asks: "Will they like me?"约翰yuē hàn笑了xiào le：“他们tā men会huì爱ài你的nǐ de。”John smiles: "They will love you."

小婷xiǎo tíng想xiǎng学xué一句yī jù英文Yīng wén。Xiaoting wants to learn one sentence of English.约翰yuē hàn用yòng英文Yīng wén教jiāo了le她tā一句话yī jù huà。John taught her a sentence in English.这zhè句jù话huà的de意思yì si是shì：“很高兴hěn gāo xìng认识rèn shi你们nǐ men。”The sentence means: "Nice to meet you."小婷xiǎo tíng说shuō了le一次yī cì又一次yòu yī cì。Xiaoting said it again and again.

米饭mǐ fàn听了tīng le，也yě大声dà shēng叫jiào。Mifan heard it and barked loudly too.约翰yuē hàn笑着xiào zhe说shuō：“你nǐ看kàn，米饭mǐ fàn也yě在zài学xué英文Yīng wén！”John laughs: "Look, Mifan is learning English too!"晚上wǎn shang，小婷xiǎo tíng想xiǎng了le很久hěn jiǔ：大dà日子rì zi要yào来了lái le！That night, Xiaoting thought for a long time: the big day is coming!

Check your understanding

  1. 谁shéi下个星期xià gè xīng qī来lái中国zhōng guó？

  2. 小婷xiǎo tíng想xiǎng学xué什么shén me？

  3. 谁shéi也yě在zài“学xué英文Yīng wén”？

Open “Big News (Part 1)” on its own page →

How to practise reading at HSK 1

  1. Read with pinyin on the first time, then switch it off and read again — the second pass is where characters start to stick.
  2. Read out loud. At this level, sounding a sentence out is how you check you actually know it.
  3. Don't look up every word. Tap only the ones that block the meaning of the sentence.
  4. Short and daily beats long and weekly: one tiny story a day is plenty.

Grammar you will practise here

Patterns from our Chinese grammar guide that have a story on this page built around them:

All 28 HSK 1 stories

Grouped by theme and sorted from easiest to hardest within each group (by length and word difficulty). Parts of a series stay together and in order. Reading times are rough estimates at a comfortable HSK 1 pace.

John and Xiaoting 12 stories

Kitten and Puppy Adventures 5 stories

Daily Life & Work 2 stories

Grammar in Context 5 stories

Chinese Jokes 1 story

AP Chinese Themes 3 stories

Key HSK 1 words in these stories

These are the HSK 1 words (HSK 3.0 list) that turn up most often across the stories on this page, so they are the ones worth knowing before you start — you'll see each of them again and again. Browse the full HSK 1 word list for everything else.

  • 我wǒIin 22 of 28 stories
  • 你nǐyouin 21 of 28 stories
  • 了le(particle indicating completed action or change in 16 of 28 stories
  • 说說shuōto speakin 15 of 28 stories
  • 很hěnveryin 15 of 28 stories
  • 吗嗎ma(question particle)in 15 of 28 stories
  • 是shìto bein 13 of 28 stories
  • 好hǎogoodin 13 of 28 stories
  • 也yěalsoin 12 of 28 stories
  • 妈妈媽媽mā mamomin 10 of 28 stories
  • 想xiǎngto thinkin 10 of 28 stories
  • 问問wènto askin 9 of 28 stories
  • 的depossessive particlein 9 of 28 stories
  • 今天jīn tiāntodayin 9 of 28 stories
  • 我们我們wǒ menwein 9 of 28 stories
  • 去qùto goin 8 of 28 stories
  • 他们他們tā mentheyin 8 of 28 stories
  • 什么什麼shén mewhatin 6 of 28 stories
  • 爸爸bà ba(coll.) fatherin 6 of 28 stories
  • 家jiāhomein 6 of 28 stories
  • 还還háistillin 6 of 28 stories
  • 吧bamodal particle indicating suggestionin 6 of 28 stories
  • 看kànto lookin 6 of 28 stories
  • 朋友péng youfriendin 6 of 28 stories

More HSK 1 stories, with audio, in the app

The Literate Chinese app has 42 more stories at this estimated level beyond the 28 here, out of 1,000+ graded stories in total. It doesn't sort them by HSK band, though — it tracks the words you actually know and shows how familiar each story is, so you can pick ones that are just hard enough.

Every story is narrated by native speakers in Mainland or Taiwan Mandarin, in Simplified or Traditional characters, and any word you tap can become a flashcard.

Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play
The Literate Chinese app reading a story with pinyin and tap-to-define

Frequently asked questions

How many characters do I need for HSK 1 reading?

The 2026 HSK 3.0 syllabus has 300 words through HSK 1, written with 248 different characters. You can start these stories well before you know them all: 81% of the characters in the 28 stories on this page are HSK 1 characters, and you can tap any word for a definition.

Is HSK 1 reading hard?

Not if the text is graded. The hard part at HSK 1 is that nearly every character is still new, so the trick is repetition rather than difficulty: read each story twice, once with pinyin and once without, and you will recognise the same 50 or so core words everywhere.

How long are HSK 1 reading passages?

The 28 stories here run from 26 to 198 characters, with a typical story of about 68 characters and sentences averaging 9.0 characters. Together they add up to 2,063 characters of reading at this level.

Can I read these stories in traditional characters?

Yes. Every story has a 简/繁 switch at the top; it changes the whole text to traditional characters and remembers your choice. See traditional reading practice for more.

Do the stories have audio?

In the browser you can hear any single word with your device's voice from the tap-to-define card. Full narration by native speakers, in Mainland or Taiwan Mandarin, is in the free Literate Chinese app.

Also useful: Not sure of your level? Take the 2-minute character test · HSK 1 word list · Traditional reading practice · All Chinese reading practice

Try reading your first story

The fastest way to make characters stick is to meet them in a story you can actually finish. Literate Chinese has 1,000+ graded stories matched to the words you know — in Mainland or Taiwan Mandarin, Simplified or Traditional. Free on iOS and Android.

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Prefer the browser? Read a free story on the web →