Chinese grammar: every main topic by HSK level

October 9, 2026 · 8 min read

Chinese grammar is not a set of conjugation tables. It is word order plus a handful of function words and patterns. The easiest way to learn them is level by level, the way HSK lays them out: HSK 1 and 2 give you the basic sentence, questions, negation and particles; HSK 3 and 4 bring in 把, 被 and complex sentences; HSK 5 and 6 add the connectors of written Chinese. Below is a map of all the main topics, with examples and links to the detailed guides.

Chinese grammar basics: how it differs from English

A Chinese word never changes its form. No plural -s, no -ed or -ing, no "is/are/was": 我 is "I", "me" and "my" (with 的), and 去 is "go", "goes", "went" and "will go". English has already dropped most of its endings, so in a sense you're halfway there. What little work English endings still do is taken over by two things.

• Word order. Who, when, where, does what, to what. It is stricter than in English, and it differs in one big way: time, place and manner all come before the verb, not at the end of the sentence. The full scheme is in the guide to Chinese word order.
• Function words. Short particles and connectors next to the verb or at the end of the sentence: they say that an action is finished, that the sentence is a question, who something belongs to. See the guides to Chinese particles and tenses in Chinese.

If you're just starting out, read Chinese grammar for beginners first: eight rules that are enough for your first sentences. This article is the next step: what comes later, and in what order.

Chinese grammar by HSK level: a chart

The topics come from the syllabus of our course, which follows HSK 3.0. Each level has more of them; here are the seven main ones. Other textbooks may draw the line between levels a little differently, but the order of topics is almost always the same.

HSK 1 and HSK 2 grammar: the basic sentence

Level 1 rests on three verbs that hold a simple sentence together, and together they cover what English does with "to be" and "to have": 是 links two nouns ("I am a student"), 有 means "to have" and "there is", and 在 means "to be somewhere". Negation is 不 before the verb, with one exception: 有 takes its own, 没有.

A question doesn't change the word order and needs no "do": either you put 吗 at the end, or the question word goes where the answer will be (more in the guide to Chinese pronouns). And between a number and a noun you always need a measure word, a bit like "a glass of water" or "two pieces of paper", except that in Chinese it's never optional.

• 我有哥哥，没有姐姐。wǒyǒugēgeméiyǒujiějieI have an older brother but no older sister.
• 你想喝什么？nǐxiǎnghēshénmeWhat would you like to drink?
• 请给我一杯水。qǐnggěiwǒyìbēishuǐA glass of water, please.
• 哥哥比我高。gēgebǐwǒgāoMy older brother is taller than me.

Level 2 adds "tails" to the verb. 了 means the action is done, 过 means it has happened before (English uses "have you ever…?" for this), 着 means a state continues, and a short word after the verb gives the result: 卖完 "to sell out", 听懂 "to understand by listening". Here too comes comparison: who + 比 + whom + adjective, with no "-er" or "more" anywhere. And the first paired connectors: "because… so…", "although… but…". English would say only one half of each pair; Chinese happily says both.

HSK 3 and HSK 4 grammar: 把, 被 and complex sentences

Level 3 brings two patterns. 把 has no English counterpart: it moves the object forward, before the verb, when something is done to it: moved, closed, broken. After the verb there must then be an outcome: where it ended up, or what became of it. 被 is the passive: something was done to the object by someone else. It's close to the English "was eaten by", but used less often, mostly when the outcome is unwelcome.

• 请把书放在桌子上。qǐngbǎshūfàngzàizhuōzishàngPlease put the book on the table.
• 蛋糕被弟弟吃完了。dàngāobèidìdichīwánleThe cake was eaten up by my little brother.
• 天气越来越冷了。tiānqìyuèláiyuèlěngleIt’s getting colder and colder.
• 即使下雨，我也要去。jíshǐxiàyǔwǒyěyàoqùEven if it rains, I’m still going.

The result and direction after a verb get a third form, the potential one: 听得懂 "can understand", 听不懂 "can't understand". 越来越 means "more and more".

But the main thing at these levels is paired connectors. A Chinese complex sentence usually rests on two words, one in each half: 如果…就… "if… then", 不但…而且… "not only… but also", and at level 4 即使…也… "even if", 不管…都… "no matter how", 连…都… "even". The second half of the pair (就, 也, 都) goes after the subject and before the verb. English speakers tend to put it at the start of the clause, like "then" or "still", and that's the most common mistake here.

HSK 5 and HSK 6 grammar: written connectors and set frames

There are hardly any new "mechanisms" here: by the end of level 4 you know everything you need to build a sentence. What changes is style. The connectors of written Chinese appear (articles, instructions, business letters), and familiar meanings get finer shades: instead of a plain "if", you get "unless", "rather than… might as well", "even supposing".

• 他不但不生气，反而笑了。tābúdànbùshēngqìfǎn’érxiàoleFar from getting angry, he actually laughed.
• 除非你去，否则我不去。chúfēinǐqùfǒuzéwǒbúqùI’m not going unless you go.
• 与其在这儿等，不如走路去。yǔqízàizhèrděngbùrúzǒulùqùRather than wait here, we might as well walk.
• 他之所以成功，是因为一直很努力。tāzhīsuǒyǐchénggōngshìyīnwèiyìzhíhěnnǔlìThe reason he succeeded is that he always worked hard.

除非…否则… names the only condition: "unless… otherwise". 与其…不如… weighs two options and picks the second. 之所以…是因为… turns the usual order around: first the result, then the cause, much like the English "the reason… is that…". It's what you write when the explanation is the point.

The other half of these levels is the set frames of spoken Chinese that you fill with your own words: 贵归贵 "pricey, sure, but…". You don't derive them from rules; you memorize them whole, together with an example.

How to learn Chinese grammar

With model sentences, not rules. There's nothing to conjugate in Chinese, so a rule almost always comes down to "what goes after what", and that's easier to remember as a sentence than as a formula. Three steps work well.

• The topic. One pattern at a time and one sentence of explanation: what it means and where it goes.
• A model sentence. Short, made of words you know. Listen to it, say it out loud and put it together from memory.
• Your own sentence. Swap one or two words in the model: "my brother is taller than me" → "today is colder than yesterday". Until you've made a sentence of your own, the topic isn't learned.

And don't skip ahead: the level-3 patterns rely on the results after the verb from level 2, and the written connectors rely on the paired connectors from levels 3 and 4.

A Chinese grammar book: what it should have

A good grammar book or course is easy to spot by four signs. Check them before you start.

• Topics go by level. From the simple sentence to the complex one, not by parts of speech like a reference grammar. A reference book is useful later, to look things up, not to learn from.
• Examples with audio. You learn grammar in order to speak, and a sentence you've never heard is one you won't recognize or say in a conversation.
• Exercises in building sentences. Put words in order, choose the right particle, translate from English. "Pick the right answer" tests check recognition, not whether you can build a sentence.
• Examples made of familiar words. If a model sentence has three new words in it, you're learning words, not the pattern.

Studying without a teacher? See how to put your study time together in the guide to teaching yourself Chinese.