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Primary 1 to Primary 5 · 听写

听写 word lists for Singapore primary school

Quick answer

21 free 听写 word lists covering 352 words from Primary 1 to Primary 5. Every word carries its pinyin, an English meaning and an example sentence. 103 of the 352 words came from a tingxie paper a Singapore school actually set at that level.

Reviewed by the Geniebook Curriculum TeamSource: MOE Mother Tongue Language syllabus

Every list, by level

Primary 1

Primary 2

Primary 3

Primary 4

Primary 5

Primary 6 has no list yet. Too few words in our data level there for a list worth publishing, and padding one would make it worse.

What 听写 is, and where these lists come from

听写 (tingxie) means listen-write. The teacher reads a word aloud, usually two or three times. The child writes it from memory in Chinese characters. It starts in Primary 1 around week 2 or 3 and runs most weeks, with roughly 8 to 10 items each time.

Every word in these lists came from a real tingxie paper a Singapore parent sent to Hua Hua, GenieOne’s 听写 assistant, then checked against MOE Primary Chinese level expectations by the Geniebook Curriculum Team.

This is not an official MOE word list. MOE publishes the Primary Chinese syllabus and it is the authority on curriculum. Schools also work from the MOE character list in the 欢乐伙伴 textbook. What these pages add is the part nobody publishes: the words schools actually set.

How we build these lists

Every word came from a real tingxie paper a Singapore parent sent to Hua Hua, GenieOne’s 听写 assistant, then checked against MOE Primary Chinese level expectations by the Geniebook Curriculum Team.

Two signals are kept separate, because they are not equally strong. Level is a curriculum judgement of when a Singapore student is typically expected to write a word. Set by a school is the stronger claim: the word appeared in a paper a school actually set at that level. Each list shows both, and the second is counted rather than asserted.

We count schools; we never publish which school set which word. A school’s paper is its own material, and the count carries the evidence without republishing it.

A list is only published when it has at least 12 words that each carry a meaning, an example sentence and pinyin, and at least 6 illustrations. Primary 6 has no list for exactly this reason. Padding one to reach the threshold would make it worse.

This is not an official MOE word list. MOE publishes the Primary Chinese syllabus and the textbook character lists and is the authority on curriculum: Mother Tongue Language learning, MOE.

How to practise 听写 at home

  1. Read the word aloud two or three times, the way a teacher would in class. Do not show your child the characters yet.
  2. Let your child write it once from memory on grid paper. Writing it by hand is the part that sticks.
  3. Check it against the character on the list, stroke by stroke.
  4. Put anything wrong to one side and come back to it the next day, rather than repeating it ten times now.
  5. On the day before the test, run the whole list once more in a different order.

Practise your child’s own list

Every school sets a different list. Send a photo of the one that came home and Hua Hua builds a practice from exactly those words: each one read aloud, a picture that helps it stick, and a sheet you can print and write on.

Send your word list on WhatsAppSee how gtx works100分 papers from other students

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is 听写 (tingxie)?
听写 means listen-write. It is the Chinese dictation test Singapore primary schools set most weeks: the teacher reads a word aloud two or three times and the child writes it from memory in Chinese characters. It usually starts in Primary 1 around week 2 or 3, with roughly 8 to 10 items per test.
Are these the official MOE word lists?
No. MOE publishes the Primary Chinese syllabus and the textbook character lists; this is a different thing. These lists are the words Singapore schools actually set in tingxie papers that parents sent us, checked against MOE level expectations. Use them alongside the MOE syllabus, not instead of it.
How do I get the exact list my child's school set?
Send a photo of the list that came home to Hua Hua on WhatsApp. It reads the words off the photo and builds a practice from exactly those words, including audio and a printable sheet. That is free and needs no sign-up.
Which levels are covered?
Primary 1 to Primary 5 today, across 21 lists and 352 words. Primary 6 is deliberately empty: too few words in our data level there for a list worth publishing, and padding it would make the page worse.
How can my child practise these words at home?
Read each word aloud and let your child write it once from memory, then check it against the character on the list. Print the practice sheet for the grid-paper version. Anything wrong is best left to the next day rather than repeated ten times on the spot.
Do these lists cost anything?
No. Every list, meaning, example sentence and printable sheet is free, and free to forward to other parents. No sign-up is needed to read any of them.