Thinkabara🐉 Learn Chinese (Mandarin) for kids 中文
Mandarin Chinese has more native speakers than any other language in the world. It is written with characters, and its sounds are written in the Latin alphabet with pinyin, which uses marks to show the four tones.
Topics
Did you know?
- Mandarin has four tones (plus a neutral tone): mā, má, mǎ, mà mean different things.
- Each character is one syllable. 大象 (elephant) is literally "big" + "elephant/image".
- There are no plural endings: 一只猫 one cat, 两只猫 two cats.
Pronunciation tips
- Tone 1 (ā) is high and flat, tone 2 (á) rises, tone 3 (ǎ) dips and rises, tone 4 (à) falls.
- In pinyin, x sounds like "sh" and q like "ch": xiè xie (thank you).
- Listen to each word several times and copy the melody.
All Chinese (Mandarin) words on this site
👋 Greetings & manners: 你好 (hello), 再见 (goodbye), 请 (please), 谢谢 (thank you), 是的 (yes), 不是 (no), 不好意思 (excuse me), 晚安 (good night), 你好吗？ (how are you?), 我叫… (my name is…)
🎨 Colors: 红色 (red), 蓝色 (blue), 绿色 (green), 黄色 (yellow), 橙色 (orange), 紫色 (purple), 粉红色 (pink), 黑色 (black), 白色 (white), 棕色 (brown)
🔢 Numbers 1–10: 一 (one), 二 (two), 三 (three), 四 (four), 五 (five), 六 (six), 七 (seven), 八 (eight), 九 (nine), 十 (ten)
🐾 Animals: 狗 (dog), 猫 (cat), 鸟 (bird), 鱼 (fish), 马 (horse), 牛 (cow), 兔子 (rabbit), 狮子 (lion), 大象 (elephant), 熊 (bear)
🍎 Food: 苹果 (apple), 香蕉 (banana), 草莓 (strawberry), 面包 (bread), 奶酪 (cheese), 鸡蛋 (egg), 牛奶 (milk), 水 (water), 蛋糕 (cake), 冰淇淋 (ice cream)
🙋 My body: 头 (head), 眼睛 (eye), 耳朵 (ear), 鼻子 (nose), 嘴 (mouth), 手 (hand), 脚 (foot), 头发 (hair), 牙齿 (tooth), 胳膊 (arm)
👨👩👧 Family: 妈妈 (mom), 爸爸 (dad), 姐姐 (sister), 哥哥 (brother), 奶奶 (grandma), 爷爷 (grandpa), 宝宝 (baby), 朋友 (friend)
🏫 School: 书 (book), 铅笔 (pencil), 学校 (school), 老师 (teacher), 椅子 (chair), 桌子 (table), 纸 (paper), 书包 (backpack)
Frequently asked questions
How can my child start learning Chinese (Mandarin)?
Start with greetings and numbers, then colors and animals. Listen to each word, say it out loud and play the picture game. A few minutes a day is plenty. Printable flashcards make it easy to practice away from the screen.
How do you say hello in Chinese (Mandarin)?
你好 (nǐ hǎo).
How do you say thank you in Chinese (Mandarin)?
谢谢 (xiè xie).
I hear an English voice. How do I fix the audio?
Your device needs a Chinese (Mandarin) voice. On most phones and computers you can add one in the language or text-to-speech settings. The words and pronunciation hints work without audio too.
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