Chinese Cartoons for Kids to Learn Mandarin

Think back to your time in school, who was your favorite teacher? Someone who made that subject fun right?

What about cherished memories? Have you noticed they have something in common? You are happy!

I could reference plenty of studies that prove this but I don’t want to bore you! It’s a known fact, we learn faster when we are having fun. That’s why Chinese cartoons for kids is a good way to help your child to improve their Chinese skills. It’s something that requires no extra work on your part but actively engages with the child’s language skills. Cartoons are a fantastic tool to teach target language.  They usually involve a simple story and contain repeated words and expressions. Because they are short and fun, children can watch them without getting distracted. Chinese cartoons for kids can be a very effective way to reinforce Chinese language learning. For some of them it allows you to introduce cultural elements. 

Chinese games that your children often play can be changed to support Chinese language learning, and we encourage you to do this.

Legend of a Rabbit

If you want to teach your children about famous Chinese sights, then this is the cartoon for you. It features many of the famous sights and typical food. This cartoon revolves around a simple minded guy called Lord Rabbit who has one passion in life. Can you guess what it is? It’s to make the best fried cakes in the world. However, he is instead entrusted by a monk to deliver a very important token to the masters’ daughter in Beijing. If your child likes Kung Fu Panda, they will enjoy this cartoon. There is also a book based on Lord Rabbit!

Little Counselor

This story follows a young master named Shao Xing as he fights injustice. It is based on the Ming and Qing eras and therefore shows a glimpse of the rich Chinese history. The cartoons all wear typical clothes and even the buildings are similar to what would have been found.

Lotus Lantern

Based on a popular Han legend it features Chenxiang the son of a Goddess and a mortal. Because his parents love is forbidden in the heavens his mum is imprisoned under a mountain. Sound like a familiar punishment? That’s because it’s what happens in Journey to the West (spoiler alert The Monkey King features)! In this story we follow Chenxiang as he tries to save his mother. Although it sounds like a heartbreaking story it’s done in a very lighthearted way for kids. It includes some fantastic songs that will be sure to grab your child’s attention. Although they may be humming them for days!

Little Tadpoles look for their mom

This is a classic animation which is based on Chinese traditional water-color paintings. Although it’s quite old it is timeless. It follows the story of little tadpoles who are trying to find their mother after she has laid her eggs and swam away. They meet different creatures in the pond and ask around to try and find their mum. It has a happy ending as the little tadpoles find their mother, who was also looking for them. But they don’t quite believe she could be their mum because they don’t look very similar. That’s because mummy is a frog and the little tadpoles haven’t grown up yet!