Chinese for Kids is featuring 11 Chinese Songs and Nursery Rhymes for Kids. Singing Chinese songs is a fun way to enjoy Chinese playtime at home! Research shows that music and songs help language acquisition. Many Chinese songs for kids are usually short and with a lot of repetition of simple words. Chinese songs for kids listed here go well with movements for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers.
What you should know about Chinese Kids Songs! Look inside of each Chinese songs and nursery rhymes for kids and pick the ones that fit the needs of your child. Grab a microphone if you have one at home. If you don’t have a mic use your imagination and grab a soup ladle for a mic. You will be surprised how kids love this ladle mic. I have put together a list of Chinese songs for kids with video and lyrics support here. You may also enjoy Sing, Rap, Speak Chinese! Teaching Children Chinese with Songs and Movement.
11 Chinese Songs for Kids: Ready, Set, Sing!
I am starting with easy nursery rhymes and following by Chinese songs for older kids.
*English – Pinyin [Traditional Chinese|Simplified Chinese]. When there is only one version of Chinese characters that indicates traditional Chinese is also used in the simplified form.
1. Ugly Little Duckling- chǒu xiǎo yā [醜小鴨|丑小鸭]
This is a classic Chinese kids song. See the energy of my students singing this song. Sing this Chinese kids song at home and follow the movements in Miss Panda’s Happy Chinese Playgroup video!
2. Head Should Knees and Toes-
tóu jiān bǎng xī gài jiǎo zhǐ tou [頭 肩膀 膝蓋 腳指頭|头 肩膀 膝盖 脚趾头]
This is a song in many languages and it is easy to follow. Sing and follow the movements in Miss Panda’s Happy Chinese Playgroup video!
3. Eensy Weensy Spider- xiǎo xiǎo zhī zhū [小小蜘蛛]
When kids can related to a song because they know the tune and they sing in a different language they can quickly pick it up in a new language. Sing with Miss Panda’s cub and follow the movements in Miss Panda’s Happy Chinese Playgroup video!
4. London Bridge-lún dūn tiě qiáo [倫敦鐵橋|伦敦铁桥]
This has always been a hit in Miss Panda’s Babies and Tots Mandarin Chinese program. Watch Miss Panda’s Happy Chinese Playgroup video and hear the giggles! Learning Chinese is filled with joy and fun. Now, let’s sing Chinese London Bridge together.
Let’s Learn Mandarin Chinese with Miss Panda! CD/MP3 albums uses English-Chinese bilingual approach with engaging story adventures to guide young children to learn Mandarin Chinese through songs, music, games, and fun movements! Sample this top-rated album on Amazon
5. Look For Friends- zhǎo péng yǒu [找朋友]
6. Happy Birthday- shēng rì kuài lè [生日快樂|生日快乐]
This is a must-know song for the whole family. Click the title above for audio by Jay Chou and lyrics support.
7. Two Tigers- Liǎng zhī lǎohǔ [兩隻老虎|两只老虎]
This is a classic Chinese kids song. I designed the movements to go with this nursery rhyme and young students love it. Click the title for lyrics support.
8. Hakuna Matter- hā kù lā mǎ tǎ tǎ [馬庫納塔塔|马库纳塔塔]
Here is the theme song from the movie, Lion King. Turn on the music and sing in Chinese this time! Click the title for lyrics in Chinese and pinyin support.
9. I Miss You- hǎo xiǎng nǐ [好想你]
This is a cute song with a lot of repletion and kids of all ages can sing along. Click title for video and lyrics in Chinese and pinyin.
10. Sorry, My Chinese Is Not Good [對不起 我的中文不好|对不起 我的中文不好]
Is Chinese new to your child? Not a problem! Making mistakes is a part of the learning journey. Here is a song that will help you and children speak and sing in Chinese at ease. You are not the only one on this learning adventure. When you sing this song to a Chinese-speaking person they will very likely tell you that “Your Chinese is good.” Chinese people are very kind to foreign friends. The only thing you need to remember is to keep speaking Chinese to them.
Sing with the Transition Band! This catchy song tells the story of the mistakes the bane members made when they started learning Mandarin Chinese. This British band has many songs that you will enjoy with simple lyrics and useful phrases in each other their songs. Click title for video and lyrics in Chinese and pinyin.
11. Chinese Language-zhōng guó huà [中國話|中国话]
This is a beautiful song and my older students enjoy this one very much. The tongue twister part of this song is fun to try. There are many culture topics you can touch on with this song. Are you ready to give it a try? Click the title link for lyrics with Chinese, pinyin and English support.
There are firm scientific grounds for a link between musical abilities and first and/or second language proficiency. First, musical and speech sounds are segmented and processed similarly by the auditory system
-François, Chobert, Besson, & Schön, 2012 -Schön et al., 2010
Chinese for Kids: 11 Chinese Songs for Kids
