Have you decided to teach your child Mandarin Chinese?
Or have you decided to teach yourself?
Either way, smart move!
Speaking Mandarin is a very useful skill that offers lifelong benefits. After English and Spanish, Chinese is considered by many to be the third most important language to learn and it really comes in handy—especially in careers related to business and travel.
Ideally, it’s best to start learning multiple languages when you’re very young. The brain of a child is still developing and it can learn new information a lot faster and easier than the fully developed brain of an adult. Our list of awesome Chinese videos for kids on YouTube provides them with what they need to get started on learning this complex yet refined language.
If you don’t have children but you still want to learn Mandarin Chinese in a fun and simple way, watching these videos is definitely the way to go.
What’s so great about this particular set of Chinese videos for kids is that they’re watchable for everyone!
The concepts in each video are simple to understand and easy to follow. Each one holds a special uniqueness and originality to attract a large audience that other language learning videos just don’t have.
Yes, it may seem a bit silly watching videos that are intentionally for children, but sometimes these types of videos can be more effective than regular language learning videos aimed towards adults.
After all, watching children’s educational programs when you were younger probably helped you learn the language you’re speaking now! All the new linguistic content is introduced in an easily digestible manner, bit by bit. Kids shows are designed to teach and reinforce language lessons while as they go along.
Although all of these videos differ in what type of content is being taught, they’re all interactive by encouraging the viewer to talk (or sing) along with the speaker to retain the information.
These videos are perfect for those who are visual learners and audio learners.
7 Awesome Chinese Videos for Kids That Anyone Can Learn From
1. Chinese Pinyin in 6 Minutes
This fun video was made by YouTube user Ttplnn and focuses on teaching all of the pinyin. It’s a bright and happy video that has sort of a Nick Jr. feel to it. There’s some very nice animation that gets the main points across nicely.
Children will love the cute characters and will enjoy saying the pinyin along with them. Adults will love how uncomplicated it is to follow along with the video.
2. Mandarin for Kids – Learn Your Colours
A simple yet catchy song about colors (yán sè) in Chinese uploaded by Mandarin for Kidz. Viewers will learn the words for:
Red Hóng Sè
Green Lǜ Sè
Yellow Huáng Sè
Blue Lán Sè
White Bái Sè
Black Hēi Sè
Orange Chéng Sè
Purple Zĭ Sè
This song uses a basic repetition method to get the words engraved in your mind, so viewers of all ages should be able to pick these up quickly with little to no difficulty. According to the creator’s channel page, free online Mandarin courses are offered on its website which might be useful to further language learning
3. Twinkle Trails Episode 22 – Chinese Number Lanterns (Musical Version)
If you want to learn how to count from 1 to 10 almost instantly, then check out this video. Unlike other videos on this list, there’s some English as the teacher explains to viewers what they’re learning about. However most of the video focuses on counting lanterns in Chinese from one to ten while showing the actual number, its pinyin (with tones), its character and its physical amount (in flowers).
One Yī
Two Èr
Three Sān
Four Sì
Five Wŭ
Six Liù
Seven Qī
Eight Bā
Nine Jiŭ
Ten Shí
In the background there’s music to help the viewer focus on counting using a rhythm. The YouTube series doesn’t teach only Chinese, so if you look through its playlist you might find other helpful videos on other topics that interest you if you have children. The creator of the series is Sun Ho.
4. Learn Chinese in 3 Easy Steps: Animals – dongwu English – Pinyin Chinese Characters
This adorable, short video is one of many YouTube videos by Cambridge English Online Ltd. that teaches its audience how to say animal names in Mandarin. Some of the different animal names that viewers will learn include:
Dog Gŏu
Fish Yú
Rabbit Tù
Pig Zhū
Horse Mă
The owners of this channel also have an app for those interested in learning Mandarin on the go.
5. lanmao001
In addition to learning about colors, numbers and animals, beginning learners should, of course, also strive to become familiar with other vocabulary. You’ve got to step out of your comfort zone right from the very start. That’s where this video comes along. At five minutes long, viewers will soon learn how to not only say, but write words in Chinese.
That’s right. This video actually shows the audience step by step how to write out the words, so people can easily follow along and write them down on paper. Some words that will be taught in this video are:
Sun Rì
Moon Yuè
Water Shuĭ
Fire Huŏ
As of April 2019, there are a total of 277 videos on this channel by user w7161684. The video listed here is the first.
6. Beginner Conversational Chinese – Phrases on Chinese Greetings
After one begins to understand certain words, the next learning step is common phrases. In this video, viewers will learn how to carry a basic conversation by learning all of the greetings along with a few other helpful phrases.
Hello Nĭ Hăo
Thank You Xiè Xiè
You Are Welcome Bù Kè Qì
Sorry Duì Bù Qĭ
Fortunately, this particular video can easily by anyone. The rest of the Chinese language learning videos on this channel are actually targeted towards adult learners instead of young children. If you’re the one trying to learn Mandarin, then consider watching some of the other videos on their playlist.
There’s also a website where you can find more videos along with other helpful information. The creator of this channel is Yangyang Cheng.
7. Sesame Street: “Fun Fun Elmo,” A Mandarin Language Learning Program – Episode 1
These videos don’t have any subtitles to help you follow along with, so you may want to introduce yourself or your child to this series after getting the hang of the basics.
Just like the original “Sesame Street” show, there’s a catchy theme song, various funny educational skits and plenty of songs in each ten minute episode. Kids will have a blast watching Elmo and his friends explore Sesame Street while learning about the world around them and singing along with his tunes. Adults will enjoy being exposed to true Chinese audio without subtitles so they can have fun trying to figure out what everyone’s saying without any help.
Besides watching these YouTube videos, there are plenty of other interesting ways for your child (and you) to learn Mandarin Chinese through media. Watching movies, watching TV and listening to music are other enjoyable ways of learning Mandarin.
And, of course, you can always count on FluentU Chinese to provide you with even more great video content and creative methods to learn.
Good luck on your language learning journey!
And One More Thing…
If you liked these videos, then you’ll love FluentU.
FluentU lets you learn real Chinese from music videos, commercials, news and inspiring talks. It naturally eases you into learning Chinese language. Native Chinese content comes within reach, and you’ll learn Chinese as it’s spoken in real life.
FluentU has a wide range of contemporary videos—like dramas, TV shows, commercials and music videos. In fact, below you’ll even see the song “Let It Go” from the hit movie “Frozen”:
FluentU brings these native Chinese videos within reach via interactive captions. You can tap on any word to instantly look it up. All words have carefully written definitions and examples that will help you understand how a word is used. Tap to add words you’d like to review to a vocab list.
FluentU’s Learn Mode turns every video into a language learning lesson. You can always swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you’re learning.
The best part is that FluentU always keeps track of your vocabulary. It suggests content and examples based on the words you’re learning. You have a 100% personalized experience.
Start using FluentU on the website with your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or the Google Play store.
If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to learn Chinese with real-world videos.
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