磁性拼字拼图 Chinese Characters Magnetic Spelling Game

I am always looking for fun ways to teach my kids Chinese, and I love the 磁性拼字拼图 Chinese Characters Magnetic Spelling Game. We have had this educational Chinese toy for almost 2 years, and my kids really enjoy it.

Update: This set has been discontinued, but you can have fun building Chinese characters with the versatile LEGO DOTS message board kit.

What’s included with the Chinese Characters Magnetic Spelling Game?

• 6 different colors of magnetic Chinese radical pieces (pink, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple)
• Magnetic board with 2 grids
• Chinese characters booklet in simplified Chinese and Pinyin

Although the quality isn’t the greatest, I still recommend this set because it teaches the spatial relationship of the strokes and how to center it in the grid. I was so impressed that my daughter was able to notice that some strokes were too long and others too short for a character, even though the differences were only a few millimeters.

The 40-page booklet serves as a guide for 804 simplified Chinese characters that you can build with the colorful pieces.

Read this: 5 Basic Tips for Memorizing Chinese Characters

Benefits of 磁性拼字拼图 Chinese Characters Magnetic Spelling Game!

I believe this set is beneficial for improving:

• Eye-hand coordination
• Fine-motor skills
• Visual discrimination
• Independence
• Enjoyment!!! This puzzle is like a toy!
• Reading and writing through tactile learning of each stroke

Younger kids can learn pre-writing Chinese skills with the help of parents/teachers while older kids can work on this activity independently. The colors are also very pretty and attractive!

Since we have a Montessori-inspired home, I keep the materials in an open tray so that my daughter can choose to work on this on her own.  The magnet keeps the strokes and characters in place so they don’t accidentally move or fall off the board.

Downsides of 磁性拼字拼图 Chinese Characters Magnetic Spelling Game

Small parts

Since there are very small parts, it’s easy to lose pieces if they are not stored properly. Also, please keep the pieces out of reach from infants and toddlers.  This is a choking hazard risk.  I always this on a table so my 4-year-old daughter can see it but my 21-month-old son cannot reach it.

Mediocre quality

The quality of the cardboard is mediocre.  You can see in the pictures that there are some creases on some characters.  The cardboard is thick but can tear if removed hastily.  Notice how the 春 character and 犭radical are broken in the photos below. You have to remove the pieces slowly and carefully so that the longer strokes do not break.

During the first use, your child might need help removing the pieces until they become loose with use.  Also, because some of the Chinese strokes were not cut properly, I had to cut 2 or three of the pieces out with an X-acto knife.

Sometimes the magnet backing sheds at the edge of the character.

Random color system

The color system for the pieces are totally random.  The order of the characters in the booklet is also completely random.  It’s not easy to find the word that you want.

Montessori purists may consider this Chinese magnetic spelling set to be too colorful.  In our experience, my daughter and I have no trouble reading the whole character despite the different colors.

While it would be preferable to see the Chinese character in a single neutral color, I think it would be difficult to find the correct piece.

What I would suggest is providing a “control” for your child, such as a print out of a Chinese character in the standard black Kaiti font.

Disorganized booklet

The Chinese characters are totally random, and finding a desired character is not easy. Instead of searching for particular characters, I just encourage my daughter to scan each page and find some characters she wants to create.

Error in Chinese character reference booklet

One stroke was the wrong color in the 季 character below.

No traditional Chinese language version available

I have only seen this available in simplified Chinese.  The closest thing I have seen are Zhuyin magnets such as this and this.

If you know of any products like this in traditional Chinese, please share in the comments below this post!

Benefits outweigh shortcomings

Whew! That was a lot of complaining which I only do if absolutely necessary! But I am sharing all of these honest details so you are not surprised by the drawbacks.

Despite the many shortcomings, I think this educational toy has far more pros than cons!  Both of my children love it, and many of my friends who have since purchased the set also rave about it.

Tips for using 磁性拼字拼图 Chinese Characters game

Demonstrate to your child how to remove the pieces carefully and place each colored stroke on the magnet board. The color coding helps with finding the piece that you need.

After forming the desired Chinese words, put the pieces back in the matching colored board immediately to keep things organized. If you take too many pieces out, it will be difficult to find the piece that you need.  It will also be easy to lose a piece.

Matching games with Chinese Characters puzzle

You can create simple Chinese character matching games in 2 ways:

1. Trace the Chinese characters and fill in the outline

2. Stamp Chinese characters in play dough

The imprinted play dough serves as an opportunity to practice matching and re-matching for hands-on Chinese character review!

Try this: 7 Fun Ways to Teach Chinese with Play Dough (VIDEO + Easy Recipe)

Where to buy the Chinese Characters puzzle

Update: This set has been discontinued, but you can have fun building Chinese characters with the versatile LEGO DOTS message board kit.

Have you used these Chinese Characters magnets?

If you try this activity, please let us know in the comments below! What age(s) are your kid(s), and how did it go? We’d love to hear about your learning experience!

Happy learning, friends!