You can learn Chinese for kids here in short, playful sessions, even if nobody at home speaks Mandarin fluently. Every game on this page speaks each word aloud in Mandarin and English, shows a big picture, and gives you the pinyin (the Latin spelling with tone marks) so you can say it along with your child. Start with whatever your child already loves, animals or fruit or counting, and let the characters come later.
What your child can learn here
The Chinese learning hub has seven games. Each is its own page, so you can bookmark the one your child asks for most.
- Chinese characters and pinyin for kids: 40 first characters such as 人 (rén, person), 日 (rì, sun), 月 (yuè, moon) and 山 (shān, mountain), each with a picture word.
- Numbers in Chinese 1 to 100: from 一 二 三 (yī, èr, sān) to 一百 (yìbǎi), with a "Count with me" button.
- Animals in Chinese: 60 animals, from 熊猫 (xióngmāo, panda) to 海马 (hǎimǎ, seahorse).
- Fruits in Chinese and vegetables in Chinese: 30 of each, with clear audio.
- Colours in Chinese: 12 colours, all ending in 色 (sè).
- Body parts in Chinese: 30 words from 头 (tóu, head) to 脚 (jiǎo, foot).
Every game ends with a marble for Golu's Goli Jar. The language button in the header lets you choose Chinese first, English first, or one language only. Nothing needs to be installed and there is no sign-up.
How to learn Chinese for kids at home, step by step
Children do not learn Mandarin the way adults do. They copy sounds first, understand long before they speak, and only much later care how a word is written. A simple order works well for beginners aged 2 to 6:
- Listen and point (age 2-3). Tap pictures together and repeat the word once. Do not ask your child to say it back yet. Hearing 小狗 (xiǎogǒu, puppy) ten times in a week matters more than saying it once.
- Find it (age 3-4). When a few words feel familiar, play Find it. Golu asks for a picture in Mandarin and your child taps it. This is listening practice, and it never says "wrong".
- Say it (age 4-5). Name things around the house in Chinese: 苹果 (píngguǒ) at snack time, 红色 (hóngsè) when you see a red car.
- Look at characters (age 5-6). Start with picture-like characters such as 口 (mouth), 木 (tree) and 雨 (rain). Pinyin helps you read them, and your child learns the shape.
Five to ten minutes a day is plenty. Sit with your child, play together and stop while it is still fun. Children under two learn more from you, a song and a real object than from any screen.
Why Mandarin tones matter, and why children find them easy
Mandarin has four main tones plus a light neutral tone. The same syllable changes meaning with the tone: mā (妈, mum), mǎ (马, horse). Adults often find tones hard, but young children hear pitch very well and simply copy it. The best way to learn tones is to listen to clear audio many times, so tap the same word again rather than reading pinyin aloud with an English accent. The tone marks in pinyin (ā á ǎ à) are there for you, the grown-up.
Simplified or traditional Chinese?
This site uses simplified characters and Mandarin pronunciation, as taught in mainland China and Singapore. Families from Taiwan or Hong Kong often use traditional characters, and many Hong Kong families speak Cantonese at home. The spoken Mandarin words here are the same in Taiwan for almost everything on these pages; only some character shapes differ (for example 马 and 馬). If you speak Cantonese, Hokkien or another Chinese language at home, keep speaking it: a strong home language helps, and Mandarin can be added alongside.
Chinese culture for kids: festivals to learn with
Festivals give you a reason to use new words, which is how small children remember them.
| Festival | When | Words to try |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese New Year 春节 | January or February | 红包 (hóngbāo, red envelope), 饺子 (jiǎozi, dumplings), 红色 (red) |
| Lantern Festival 元宵节 | 15 days after New Year | 灯笼 (dēnglong, lantern), 月亮 (moon) |
| Dragon Boat Festival 端午节 | May or June | 龙舟 (lóngzhōu, dragon boat), counting paddlers 一二三 |
| Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节 | September or October | 月饼 (yuèbing, mooncake), 兔子 (rabbit on the moon) |
The Chinese zodiac is another favourite with children: twelve animals, one for each year, including the 老鼠 (rat), 牛 (ox), 老虎 (tiger), 兔子 (rabbit) and 马 (horse). Find your child's zodiac animal in the Chinese animals game and say its name together. A paper lantern craft for Mid-Autumn, with the colours named in Chinese as you paint, turns culture into language practice.
Tips for heritage and diaspora families
Many children who use this page live in the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia or the Gulf, with grandparents who speak Chinese and a school that speaks English. Children in these homes often understand Mandarin but answer in English. That is normal and not a failure.
- Protect one Chinese time or place. Bedtime story in Chinese, or Chinese at grandma's, is easier to keep than "Chinese all day".
- Let grandparents lead. Play the games with a grandparent on a video call: they can say the word, your child taps the picture.
- Use the language button. Set Chinese only when the child is ready, and English first while the words are new.
- Link to weekend Chinese school. If your child attends a weekend class, use the same topic here during the week.
If your child mixes Chinese and English in one sentence, reply warmly in Chinese and keep going. Mixing is a normal stage for bilingual kids, not confusion.
Chinese flash cards and worksheets you can print
There is no PDF download, but every vocabulary page has a word list for grown-ups with pictures, characters, pinyin and a sound button. Print the page from your browser to make simple Chinese flash cards, a matching game or a colouring sheet. Cut out the pictures, stick them on the fridge and say one word each morning.
写给爸爸妈妈的话
孩子学中文，最重要的是多听、多玩、多说。每天花五到十分钟，陪孩子一起点一点图片，听一听普通话的发音。刚开始不用要求孩子开口，只要他们听得开心，慢慢就会跟着说。
在家里，可以把中文放进生活里：吃水果的时候说“苹果”“香蕉”，出门的时候数一数台阶“一、二、三”，洗澡的时候指一指“头发”“肩膀”“膝盖”“脚”。过春节、中秋节的时候，和孩子一起说说红包、月饼和灯笼。
如果孩子用英文回答，也没有关系。请继续用中文温柔地回应，多鼓励，少纠正。每完成一个游戏，孩子都会得到一颗弹珠，放进咕噜的罐子里。
How to use this page at home
Say it, then find it
Play for a few minutes, then look for the same thing away from the screen: chinese words on the shelf, in the kitchen, on the way to school. A child learns a word properly when they meet it twice, once on the screen and once in their hand.
Ten minutes is enough
Short and happy beats long and tired. Stop while your child still wants more, and come back tomorrow: the same page on five short days teaches far more than one long sitting. Nothing here is scored, so there is no reason to push.
Use both languages
Tap the language button at the top to hear the words in your home language first and the second language after. Hearing the same picture named in two languages is one of the few things research agrees builds attention as well as vocabulary.