🐼 Chinese for Kids

These ten are the ones a child can actually draw: one to three strokes each, and every one of them is a picture of the thing it means. 人 is a person walking. 口 is an open mouth. 木 is a tree.

Chinese has only about 400 different syllables, and every one of them is on the pinyin chart — click any square and hear it. For a small child, working across one row at a time and repeating it back is enough; nobody needs to memorise the grid.

The four tones are the part children pick up fastest and adults find hardest. Try the Tone Trainer together — it plays one syllable in each tone and asks which one you heard. Make it a guessing game and it works.

What age is this for?

Roughly four to ten. Younger children will want an adult tapping along with them; by eight or nine most can use the games on their own. Everything is designed for a finger on a phone or tablet.

Is there anything I need to sign up for or install?

No. There are no accounts anywhere on this site, nothing is installed, and no scores or progress are sent to a server. The games keep score only for the round you are playing and forget it when you leave.

What about adverts?

This site is funded by advertising and these pages carry the same ad units as the rest of it. They sit outside the game area — never between a child and the button they are about to tap — and nothing on this site is targeted at children or collects data about them. See the privacy policy for exactly what is and is not collected.

My child is ready for more — where next?

Move to the HSK 1 flashcards (the first 150 words), read a short story together, or print 田字格 practice sheets for handwriting. If you would like a structured order to work through, the Chinese from Zero path lays one out.