7 Chinese Cartoons to Help You Learn the Language
A great way to help you learn a language is by watching cartoons in that language. While it may seem silly to watch children’s shows, they are a great way to learn vocabulary, colloquial language, and cultural insights. Moreover, they are usually easier to understand, using basic language skills and a pace of speech that can help train your ear to listen to the spoken language.
In this post, we will share with you seven Chinese cartoons to help you practice your listening and speaking skills in Chinese. If you have children, it’s also a great way to learn and practice the language together!
Before we get started, let me show you how to create LingQ lessons with your favourite Chinese cartoons on Youtube. Is so easy and it will revolutionize your Chinese study!
How to Import Chinese YouTube Videos into LingQ
You can import your favourite Chinese cartoons, or any other content you like, from YouTube and create interactive lessons to help you learn Chinese.
Here’s how:
Download the LingQ extension (Chrome, Safari, or Firefox) for your browser and head over to YouTube. Once you’ve selected a video, simply click the LingQ extension and hit the import button. Within seconds, LingQ will import the video’s content (audio, transcript) and create an interactive lesson that you can read and listen to. It’s that easy.
LingQ will turn your favourite content into easy-to-read interactive lessons that you can study on your desktop and mobile device.
Keep all your favorite Chinese cartoons or other content stored in one place, easily look up new words, save vocabulary, and review.
Ni Hao, Kai Lan 你好,凱蘭 (Nǐ Hǎo, Kǎi Lán!)
Ni Hao, Kai Lan is an interactive preschool show created to teach Chinese language, as well as Chinese culture and values. Kai Lan, our main character speaks both English and Chinese, and we learn about her life living in an intergenerational family. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States, and is now available on Amazon Prime.
HeavenKid 小乾坤 (Xiǎo Gàn Kūn)
HeavenKid is completely in Mandarin. What is unique about this show is that it teaches traditional Chinese culture, and draws heavily from the teachings of Confucius and ancient China. So, it is a great series to not only learn Chinese language, but also Chinese history and culture. It can be easily watched on YouTube.
Big Ear TuTu 大耳朵圖圖 (Dà Ĕr Duǒ Tú Tú) (
This may seem like a silly title, and the series is full of silly antics of our main character TuTu finds himself in, and who as you may have guessed, has big ears. TuTu asks many questions and is very curious about the world around him. It is a popular preschool series in China, and can be watched on YouTube.
Our Friend Remy Bear 我們的朋友熊小米 (Wǒ Men De Péng You Xióng Xiǎo Mǐ)
Remy Bear is a panda full of positivity. The series teaches children about social skills and kindness through Remy’s stories about his other animal friends, and is completely in Chinese, so is good for those with basic Chinese language skills. It also seems to be popular and engaging to audiences across various ages. Watch Our Friend Remy Bear on Amazon Prime.
Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf 喜羊羊与灰太狼 (Xǐ Yáng Yáng Yǔ Huī Tài Láng)
This is a well-known, comedic animated series from mainland China, and revolves around a pasture of goats and a clumsy wolf who wants to eat them. It was widely popular with Chinese school children, but is great for adults as well and includes hidden adult humor to make this a fun co-viewing show. Since this series is also all in Chinese, it is best watched to improve your Chinese language skills if you already have some basic understanding of the language. However, there is a lot of repetition in the series, making it easy to learn and understand Chinese. The series can be streamed on YouTube.
GG Bond / 猪猪侠 (Zhū Zhū Xiá)
GG Bond is an intelligent and mischievous pig with superpowers. Inspired by his inventive teacher, GG Bond sets off on various adventures, and the series is infused with lessons of science, time-travel, environmental issues, and social values. It’s a fun 3D animated series that engages the imagination and inspires Chinese language learners by expanding language skills and vocabulary. The series can be streamed on YouTube.
Enjoyed this post? Check out polyglot and LingQ cofounder Steve Kaufmann’s blog post to learn about the similarities and differences between learning Korean vs Japanese vs Chinese!
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Justine Wentzell is a writer based in Los Angeles. She works in the entertainment industry and has a deep love for learning languages. As a native Angeleno and daughter of immigrants, Justine grew up learning Mandarin and Spanish, and studied Russian at university.