I Can Sing in Mandarin Songs for Kids in Chinese, Pinyin, Zhuyin
If you’re raising bilingual children, I highly recommend the I Can Sing in Mandarin music album. These beginner Mandarin songs are fantastic for children and parents. They teach everyday vocabulary and boost language skills in a fun way. To help you teach your kids Chinese, I’m sharing printable lyrics at the end of this post.
Benefits of learning Mandarin Chinese with songs
When my eldest child began to learn Mandarin a couple of years ago, she was initially resistant until I started to sing Chinese children’s songs.
I Can Sing in Mandarin! was one of the first Chinese albums that my daughter enjoyed. Years later, my son is singing and dancing to these Mandarin songs with his big sister.
Songs are especially important when teaching children minority languages.
Beginner Mandarin learners often feel overwhelmed with new words, grammar rules, and tones. Confusion and frustration can get in the way of learning.
Thankfully, music can boost your mood and help you remember Chinese words.
Because you don’t have to worry about tones, kids can sing lyrics of words that could be challenging to say.
Plus, you can listen to music anywhere! Our family has listened to Chinese songs during meals, car rides, and dance parties at home.
Learn common Chinese words through I Can Sing in Mandarin!
The songs in the I Can Sing in Mandarin! album teaches common Chinese words that are part of the daily routine. Why is this important? Whether you’re learning a first or third language, learning words about day-to-day activities should be the priority.
Through music, children and parents can learn words about food, family members, body parts, animals, clothes, and food. When kids can communicate their basic needs, they will gradually become more confident about learning how to speak Chinese.
These Mandarin songs also teach colors and how to count in Chinese.
In the I Can Sing in Mandarin! album, my only complaint is song number 11 – My Favorite Food – which suggests that milk, hamburgers, and cake are healthy. But this could be another teaching opportunity: many tasty foods are fun but not exactly healthy. In addition, dairy milk is not a necessary part of a healthy diet; many children with dairy allergies and intolerances are thriving without milk.
In any case, the melody is catchy, and my kids enjoy the lyrics from these Mandarin Chinese songs.
Where to listen to I Can Sing in Mandarin! Chinese music
Although the Chinese music CD is no longer available, you can hear these Mandarin songs on Amazon and Spotify.
I Can Sing in Mandarin! song titles
- I Can Count In Mandarin
- Colors Outside My Window
- Little Animals
- One Red Apple
- My Family
- Head, Shoulders, Tummy, Hands
- Let’s Get Dressed for School
- Boats, Cars, & Planes
- Let’s Play!
- I have a Little House
- My Favorite Food
- Smile to the Sun
Tips for kids learning songs from I Can Sing in Mandarin!
Since I am not fluent in Mandarin Chinese, many songs are too fast for me to follow along. Although the pace of the I Can Sing in Mandarin! lyrics is just right for me, you can use the Anytune app to slow down any song. This can help you hear and learn the lyrics.
Download lyrics for I Can Sing in Mandarin! songs for kids
To help us all learn Chinese, I typed up these Mandarin song lyrics for you and your kids! Follow along with the text while listening to the music.
Each page has plenty of space for doodles and note-taking on the side. Choose your preferred language:
- Simplified Chinese with or without Pinyin OR
- Traditional Chinese with or without Zhuyin and Pinyin
I hope your kids have a blast learning Mandarin with these songs!
Hello,
Many thanks for transcribing the lyrics. I found this albumon spotify to help expose my 19 month old daughter to some chinese songs. Being a first generation Chinese, I already lost most of my language heritage. But with catchy songs, it helps to rebuild some confidence. It doesn’t matter what word I say, my daughter thinks its funny to repeat.
Thank you for taking the time to write and share your experience! I’m so glad that your family can use the printable lyrics! Have fun learning with your daughter! 🙂
Thank you very much for this!
You are so amazing to done up all these nicely.
I feel like a failure mom for not putting in more effort to teach my son Mandarin though.
Thank you for taking the time to write, Shirley! Please don’t feel that way. It’s not easy, and I’m always happy to share anything that we have made so that hopefully it can save other families time. The hardest part is building momentum and developing the routine. Took me a year to get in the mindset! But thankful for the support of this community!