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WillyChina Kids

Mandarin for kids, and the culture behind it 儿童学中文Értóng xué Zhōngwén

Free Mandarin activities for children aged 5 to 10: first words, tones, numbers and characters, plus festivals, zodiac animals, stories and recipes from Chinese culture. Hui Hui 会会 (Huìhuì), our red panda, leads the way.

Start free Week 1

Hi! Tap a picture!Kids’ corner: big buttons to play, listen and explore.

Play Week 1Hui Hui’s pack Find your animalWith a grown-up Hear a storyWith a grown-up Cook togetherWith a grown-up

Tap to hear Hui Hui

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Three ways into Mandarin for kids

Pick the path that fits your child today.

Brand new to Mandarin

  1. Free Week 1 pack with Hui Hui
  2. The four tones
  3. Numbers 1 to 100

Already learning

  1. HSK 1 word list with audio
  2. Character worksheets to print
  3. HSK 1 Complete Pack for more practice

Culture explorers

  1. Find your zodiac animal
  2. The Spring Festival story
  3. A story behind an idiom

Free for ages 5 to 10

Hui Hui’s weekly packs

Hui Hui, the WillyChina red panda, waving

Week 1

Hello and numbers

Say 你好 (nǐ hǎo, hello), 再见 (zàijiàn, goodbye) and 谢谢 (xièxie, thank you), count from 一 (yī, one) to 五 (wǔ, five), hear the four tones, and finish with a certificate.

Start Week 1
Hui Hui, the WillyChina red panda, cheering

Week 2

Me and my family

Say 妈妈 (māma, mum), 爸爸 (bàba, dad), 我 (wǒ, me) and 你 (nǐ, you), count from 六 (liù, six) to 十 (shí, ten), say your name with 我叫 (wǒ jiào, my name is), and finish with a certificate.

Start Week 2

Learn Mandarin

Mandarin for kids, step by step

Free guides with pinyin, meanings and, on many pages, native audio. Every Chinese word comes with its pinyin, so you can learn alongside your child.

Sounds and tones

Mandarin has four tones, and pinyin shows how every word sounds.

First words and phrases

Everyday words children can use straight away.

Numbers and time

Count to 100, then tell the time.

Characters and writing

How characters are built, and how to write them stroke by stroke.

The zodiac animals

Tap an animal to hear its Chinese name

Twelve animals take turns, one for each year. Which one is yours? Find your zodiac animal.

About the Rat
About the Ox
About the Tiger
About the Rabbit
About the Dragon
About the Snake
About the Horse
About the Goat
About the Monkey
About the Rooster
About the Dog
About the Pig

Chinese culture for kids

Festivals, animals, stories and food

Explore the culture behind the words.

Make it yours

Make Mandarin personal

Get a Chinese name

Find a Chinese name with a meaning your child can explain.

Print your own worksheets

Choose the characters, then print tracing sheets for pencil practice.

Our red panda

Meet Hui Hui

Hui Hui 会会 (Huìhuì) is the WillyChina red panda. In Chinese, a doubled name like this is a friendly nickname. Hui Hui says every Mandarin word in a child’s voice, cheers every try, and calls 太棒了 (tài bàng le, great!) when your child gets it right.

Tap Hui Hui to hear hello.

Hui Hui’s story

Hui Hui grew up high in the misty bamboo forests of Sichuan, where real red pandas live. While the other red pandas munched bamboo, Hui Hui sat in the treetops and listened: to the birds, to the wind, and to children chattering on the paths below.

One day Hui Hui heard a child say 你好！(nǐ hǎo, hello) and wanted to say it back. Hui Hui practised and practised until it came out just right, then shouted proudly: 我会！(wǒ huì, I can!).

That’s how Hui Hui got the name 会会 (Huìhuì). Now Hui Hui helps children everywhere say their first Mandarin words, and cheers 太棒了！(tài bàng le, great!) at every try.

Hui Hui the red panda sitting on a high branch in a misty bamboo forest, listening to a bird sing
1 High in the bamboo forest, Hui Hui loved to listen.
A child on a forest path waving up at Hui Hui the red panda, who peeks down through the leaves
2 One day a child on the path waved and said hello.
Hui Hui the red panda standing on a branch with both arms raised, shouting happily while a child claps below
3 Hui Hui practised and practised, then shouted proudly: 我会！(wǒ huì, I can!)

Real red panda facts

  • Red pandas live in the mountain forests of the Himalayas and south-west China, including Sichuan and Yunnan.
  • About 95% of what they eat is bamboo.
  • Their long, bushy tails help them balance in the trees and keep warm.
  • In Chinese, a red panda is 小熊猫 (xiǎo xióngmāo), which means “little panda”. Word for word, it’s “little bear cat”.

Source: Smithsonian’s National Zoo

Parents and carers

For parents

Guides to help you plan Mandarin for kids at home, and one-to-one lessons when you want a teacher.

Plan it

Get a teacher

“My son, Max, has been learning Mandarin with WillyChina for three years now. Not only is he learning a new language, he is also discovering a new culture, and I’ve seen his growth as a young human continue to flourish with each lesson. I am excited about his future and I’m happy that he’s fallen in love with the Chinese language and culture.”

Gabrielle, Max’s mum

Questions

FAQs about Mandarin for kids

What age can children start learning Mandarin?

There’s no single best age. Research on classroom learners found that an early start pays off only with enough exposure, so regular practice matters more than the age a child starts. Our free Week 1 pack is for ages 5 to 10, and WillyChina’s one-to-one lessons start from age 5.

Should my child learn Mandarin or Cantonese?

If your family speaks Cantonese, that’s a natural choice for talking with relatives. Otherwise, choose Mandarin, the standard language of China. Our guide to Mandarin vs Cantonese compares the two.

How much time a week should children spend on Mandarin?

Short and regular works best. As a benchmark, Victoria’s education department recommends that schools teach a language for at least 150 minutes a week, spread as evenly as possible. At home, a few short sessions spread across the week is a good start. Our homeschool Mandarin guide has a sample 10-week plan.

Do I need to speak Mandarin to help my child?

No. Our guides give the pinyin and English meaning of every Chinese word, many have audio, and in the Week 1 pack Hui Hui says every Mandarin word. You can learn alongside your child.

Is WillyChina Kids free?

Weeks 1 and 2 and the guides on this page are free. In Week 1, Session A is open to everyone; the rest of Week 1 and all of Week 2 unlock free when a parent or carer adds their details. The HSK 1 Complete Pack and one-to-one lessons are paid.

Will there be more weeks?

Yes. Weeks 1 and 2 are ready now, and more are on the way. Sign up and we’ll email you when the next week is ready.

Is there a Mandarin test for children?

Yes. The YCT (Youth Chinese Test) is the official test for primary and secondary school students learning Chinese as a second language. It has four written levels and two speaking levels.

Sources: Carmen Muñoz, University of Barcelona, GALA conference paper (2010); the Victorian Department of Education languages policy; and Chinese Testing International for the YCT.

Start today

Start Mandarin for kids with Hui Hui

Three short sessions and a family finale, free. Hear and say your first Mandarin words with Hui Hui.

Start free Week 1