Last Updated on June 16, 2022 by Bilingual Kidspot
Best Chinese Learning Apps for Kids
Have a child learning Chinese? Looking for Chinese learning apps for kids? Below you will find a list of the best apps for kids to learn Chinese Mandarin!
Learn Chinese with Mandarin Learning Apps
Did you know Chinese is the most spoken language in the world? No wonder it is a popular language to learn.
If you are looking for Chinese resources, language apps can be a great way to help kids learn Mandarin. They provide children with the chance to hear native speakers, respond to requests in Chinese, and for some, a more engaging way to practice their reading and writing in Chinese.
Particularly if you live in a monolingual area, finding a way to hear Chinese native speakers can be a challenge and Chinese learning apps for kids can often help with that.
Take a look at this list of 10 Chinese learning apps for kids to help teach your child Mandarin Chinese.
Top 12 Chinese Learning Apps for Kids
Our top 10 best Chinese Mandarin learning apps for children.
1. Miaomiao’s Chinese for Kids
Ages 3-7
Miaomiao Chinese learning app for Kids app has more than 50 videos introducing kids to their first 100 words in Mandarin. The characters are divided into sections such as nature or animals and the screen displays the image, the character and an animated Miaomiao saying the both the English and Chinese word for kids.
Kids can practice writing the words that they learned with correct stroke order. Miaomiao with her dog and buddy DouDou ask the kids questions first in English and then in Mandarin such as what their name is as well to prompt the childs comprehension.
Miaomiao is also a childrens show. There are also several other Miaomiao applications such as “Learn Chinese with Miaomiao,” “Around the World with Miaomiao,” “The Great Dumpling Adventure,” “Playdate with Miaomiao,” and “Fun with Colors.” The first season, 36 episodes, is available on Amazon Prime. Each episode is about 7 minutes long. Miaomiao also has a parents resource blog to help parents as they teach their child Mandarin Chinese.
See our full review here
2. Miao Mi- Learn Chinese Kids
Ages 4-7
Miao Mi was created to give parents a wide range of entertaining and educational programs and games to help give their pre-schoolers a head start learning Mandarin Chinese, an increasingly vital global language.
The “Watch” section featuring over 500 child-friendly videos and LEARN section showcasing basic Chinese words, phrases and interactive games. The “Learn” section showcasing basic Chinese words, phrases and interactive games. The Watch section features programs that are a part of Chinese culture and actually viewed by children in China.
This is a big advantage as the phrasing and vocabulary the children will view on this application is what people are actually saying in the language.
In the Learn section of this Chinese learning app for kids, there are 5 categories: Greetings, Body Parts, Family, Pets, and Transportation. You have six to eight animated flashcards of commonly used Chinese words and phrases in each category. You will see Chinese characters (simplified form), Pinyin and English on each card and you will hear clear Mandarin pronunciation of the term.
Each Chinese words/phrase is repeated four times to enhance language input. The vocabulary level with the Miao Mi app mostly mirrors what children learn in a K-2 Chinese immersion program, making it a great resource for early elementary school learners.
3. Kids Write Chinese
Ages 4-8
Kids Write Chinese (KWC) is a fun Chinese character tracing program designed to keep the kids engaged. It is designed for kids around the age of four who are just learning to write characters but if you have a slightly older child learning to write characters, this is a great option for them as well.
Young children easily lose interest and confidence in learning when facing complex characters. To avoid frustration while learning, the characters don’t have many strokes- no more than 5. To make it more engaging, the children trace not just the stroke of the character but small images and shapes to keep their attention.
This Chinese app for kids teaches about 50 characters and is a tool to teach beginners how to write basic characters in Mandarin Chinese. A total of 50+ characters are included so it does not put too much pressure on kids. This app serves as a beginner’s guide for kids who do not know how to use a pen or pencil by making writing characters a fun game!
4. Galaxy Kids
Ages 3-8
Galaxy Kids is a Mandarin Chinese learning app that parents can use to teach their kids without knowing the language at home.
The app features fun speaking activities for preschool ages using advanced speech recognition to listen, detect mispronunciation, and provide instant feedback.
There are more than 400 lessons and 200 activities to get through so there is a lot of variety.
Read More Here
5. 2Kids学汉字 – 儿童快乐识字的早教认字游戏App
Ages 4-7
This is a great Chinese learning app for kids that have a fair amount of experience with Mandarin already. It is a great resource for character recognition and use. The games allow children to learn new characters and vocabulary while seamlessly reviewing old characters. The integrated review is an A+ feature.
One of the most loved features of this language learning app is that after a child completes one story for the day the app will not allow the child to do another story on the same day. This is a great ending point and a natural way to limit screen time.
6. Bilingual Story Time by Hao-Ming Yeh
Ages 3-8
Hao-Ming Yeh has several story time apps that feature traditional anglophone stories that anglophone readers are used to hearing but translated into Chinese. Stories include the Gingerbread Man, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the Three Bears and more. The stories are available to read in both English, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese and also to hear in English and Chinese.
7. Ximalaya
All Ages
Ximalaya is a great go to app that has an extensive and high-quality library of TED Talks, Buddhist chants, Chinese oldies, audiobooks, lectures on a variety of topics and a wide variety of Chinese audiobooks in Chinese.
This is probably the most extensive app collection available with Chinese sources that are open to purchase for those living outside of mainland China. If you download one thing from reading this post today, make it Ximalaya!
8. Pleco
Ages 6 and up
Pleco is an excellent dictionary resource for kids that are able to read and for parents and teachers who are working with them to learn Chinese. There are a few things that make this dictionary so great.
Firstly, the interface is clean, quick, responsive, and intuitive. Pleco has been around for 17 years and they offer regular and free updates frequently.
Secondly, you can look up a character that you saw but didn’t know by drawing it in the provided area- it’s very tolerant of stroke order mistakes and surprisingly accurate.
Thirdly, Pleco offers flashcards and you can import or pre-assemble your own vocabulary lists which is incredibly handy.
And finally, they have not one but two native speakers for over 34,000 words in Mandarin and there’s additional support for Cantonese, though there’s less. This is a very handy dictionary app!
9. Gus on the Go – Gus Learns Mandarin for Kids:
Ages 2-6
Gus on the Go is a favorite language learning app among parents and teachers that comes in 14 languages including Mandarin! Kids help Gus the owl on his adventures through actions such as picture matching and other games. Before advancing to the game and story component of each section, users complete a short vocabulary orientation session.
This language app is easy to navigate from the beginning- a huge plus with kids and something that makes it easy to pull out for a few quick minutes of language learning while waiting at the doctor’s office. One of the nicest things about Gus on the Go is that they also offer free pintables. It makes learning Chinese fun for kids!
10. Skritter
Ages 6 and up
Skritter is a great resource for learning to write Mandarin Chinese. Skritter is a great resource for a few reasons. One of the best features of this Chinese learning app is the handwriting recognition software.
The app will give learners immediate feedback on stroke order and other character mistakes. Skitter also has great vocab lists according to item to help students learn vocab in a more efficient manner.
11. Kids Learn Mandarin KLM
Ages 2-8
Kids Learn Mandarin KLM is a great educational game that can help kids learn to read, write and speak over 200 characters/words in Mandarin Chinese. Pei Pei the Panda hosts a fun learning adventure with 9 unique games.
Each lesson also features a Music Video, Chinese Character Writing Practice and a Playground that kids can decorate with Stickers they earn as they play. The lessons are progressive and kids learn things such as shapes, colors, animals, fruits and vegetables, things at home, nature, eating and drinking and more.
12. Wukong Literacy (悟空数学)
Ages: 3 – 8yrs
Wukong Literacy (悟空数学) is a Chinese literacy app, advertised for children from 3-8 years old. It’s been thoughtfully designed and illustrated, and really brings simplified Chinese characters and words to life for a primary schooler.
The course systematically covers 1300 Chinese words, focusing on character recognition through play, and it includes test reading, writing and comprehension activities.
The animation in Wukong Literacy is most impressive and really brings the meaning behind the characters to life, as the child completes their quest with the Monkey King.
13. iHuman
Ages: 3yrs +
A popular favourite among many families is the Chinese learning app iHuman which is a combination of three different apps which all go together:
- iHuman Chinese: (aka HongenShizi 洪恩识字) for learning
1300 Simplified Characters - iHuman Pinyin: for learning the Hanyu Pinyin of all 63
elements, through interactivr scenarios - iHuman books: for interactive reading practice
Each of the apps is well designed, focussing on teaching 1300
Chinese characters level-by-level, and supporting the learning
through stories.
It’s gamified learning at its best, in a highly polished format, which including reading, writing and listening. Each level is divided into 4 units, covering each of these topics, with lots of repetition.
What are your favourite Chinese Learning Apps for Kids?
These are some of our favourite Mandarin learning apps for children. Do you know of any others? What are your favorite Chinese language apps for kids? Take a look at our main page with other language learning apps for other languages HERE!
If you are looking for more Chinese learning resources make sure to take a look at our Learn Chinese for Kids series!
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