四五快读 Chinese Curriculum Review From an American Family

四五快读 review of the Chinese reading curriculum for children

If you’re raising bilingual children, 四五快读 is a popular Chinese reading curriculum that you’ll want to consider. This is an update on my review of 四五快读 SiWuKuaiDu, which I used with both of my children to master Chinese characters without pinyin.

As you’ll see in the videos and photos, 四五快读 is a fantastic program that prepares kids for reading Chinese chapter books.

四五快读 SiWuKuaiDu Chinese curriculum review

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四五快读 Chinese reading curriculum
  • Title: 四五快读 (Sìwǔ kuài dú / 4, 5, fast read)
  • Author: 杨其铎
  • Publisher: Hunan Science Technology
  • Age level: 3-8 years
  • Language: Simplified Chinese with some Hanyu Pinyin, no English

Related: What’s the Difference Between Simplified and Traditional Chinese?

What is 四五快读 SiWuKuaiDu?

四五快读 is a Chinese reading curriculum that’s commonly used in China, Singapore, and Malaysia. It consists of 8 books that teach 825 simplified Chinese characters and >4000 words, including ~130 idioms and sayings.

What’s included in 四五快读 SiWuKuaiDu curriculum?

Here’s what’s included in the 四五快读 Chinese reading curriculum.

Parent guide

The first book starts with a 30-page guide for parents. To summarize, the author suggests:

  • Children can learn up to 8 to 10 characters a day.
  • Review new characters for 6 to 8 consecutive days for better long-term retention.
  • After completing this series, children should be able to read around 80% of the words in Chinese picture books.

Chinese flashcards

  • Flashcards are included with the first six books.
  • Each square flashcard has a simplified Chinese character on one side and Pinyin on the other.

Here’s a peek at the tear-out Chinese flashcards at the back of most of the 四五快读 books.

四五快读 SiWuKuaiDu Chinese flashcards at the back of each workbook

Related: When Should My Child Learn Hanyu Pinyin?

Chinese characters exercises and stories

Books 1 through 6 teach 552 simplified Chinese characters. The first book introduces simple sentences with plenty of pictures. Subsequent books are more challenging, with longer stories for reading practice (2 to 3 pages) and fewer pictures.

Brand new Chinese characters are presented in big font. Each lesson features various reading exercises to review new words.

Here’s a video and close-up photos of the first six 四五快读 books.

四五快读 Book 1

四五快读 Book 1 lesson 1 introduces 16 Chinese characters
Book 1 Lesson 1 introduction to basic Chinese characters
四五快读 Book 1 lesson 1 Chinese characters picture matching exercise
Chinese characters picture matching exercise
四五快读 Book 1 lesson 1 sentence picture matching
Sentence-picture matching
四五快读 Book 1 lesson 1 Chinese character finding activity on left page; lesson 2 on right page
Lesson 1 Chinese character activity on the left page; Lesson 2 on the right page

四五快读 Book 2

Reading passages are 2 to 3 sentences each.

四五快读 SiWuKuaiDu Book 2 Chinese reading practice for kids
四五快读 SiWuKuaiDu Book 2 Chinese reading practice

四五快读 Book 4

Time to read 1-page long Chinese stories!

Book 4 Chinese stories reading curriculum
Book 4 short Chinese stories
Chinese stories in 四五快读 Book 4
Book 4 Chinese story followed by questions.

四五快读 Books 5 and 6

New Chinese characters continue to be introduced in large font. Stories are 2 to 3 pages long, but the text size gradually decreases.

四五快读 Book 5
四五快读 Book 5 story with illustrations
四五快读  SiWuKuaiDu Book 6 stories and new Chinese characters
Book 6 stories and new Chinese characters

四五快读 Book 7

Book 7 is very different than the others. It’s filled with lists of previously taught 552 Chinese characters in 四五快读.

Chinese character lists for review
四五快读  Chinese charactersChinese character lists for review

四五快读 Book 8

Last but not least, Book 8 is a collection of stories that adds another 273 simplified Chinese characters to your bucket list. Each story has a lesson, such as the importance of saying sorry in Chinese (对不起 / duìbùqǐ).

对不起 Chinese story for reading practice
四五快读 SiWuKuaiDu Book 8 stories

Some stories are famous folktales, such as the Three Little Pigs 三只小猪 (Sān zhī xiǎo zhū) and Si Ma Guang Breaks a Jar 司马光 (Sīmǎ guāng).

Since this book has no flashcards, new words are highlighted with Pinyin at the end of each story.

Benefits of 四五快读 SiWuKuaiDu curriculum

  • Cost: This is one of the most affordable Chinese reading curriculums available.
  • Big font: Tear-out flashcards with characters in large black font.  Pinyin is on the opposite side, so you can’t “cheat” when looking at the character side.
  • Minimal Pinyin: Most of the series has no Hanyu Pinyin to distract you from looking at the Chinese characters. Only a few Chinese characters are paired with Pinyin in book 8.
  • Cute pictures: The cartoon illustrations are colorful and support the text.
  • Take-away points: Most stories are anthropomorphic with a simple plot and a moral “lesson”. (This could be a con if your family prefers realistic stories.)

Recommended: 15 Fun and Free Chinese Cartoons for Kids

Downsides of 四五快读 SiWuKuaiDu curriculum

  • Occasional typos: We used the 2010 edition of 四五快读, so I’m not sure if corrections have been made in newer editions.
  • Negative comments: Some of the “lessons” in the 四五快读 stories conflict with our positive parenting philosophy. Here are some examples:
    • One story stated that “you’re a good kid” when you don’t cry.
    • Another mentioned that “good kids” do a lot of homework.
    • Yet another had a character called “stupid bird”.

Although these demoralizing phrases could be a dealbreaker for some families, I decided to use them as teaching opportunities for our children. Plus, they have heard these types of messages from other people. These were great changes to discuss the importance of validating emotion, prioritizing kindness over achievements, and recognizing effort.

Recommended: Effective Praising Words for Kids Instead of “Good Job”

What age is best for the 四五快读 Chinese books?

child reading 四五快读 Chinese program
Reading 四五快读

In Chinese, 四五快读 translates to “four or five quick reading”. Although the title claims that this book will quickly teach reading to children ages 4 to 5 years, every child learns at their own pace.

四五快读 books can also help middle-aged children (ahem, adults like me) learn how to read Chinese without pinyin.

So please ignore tiger parent pressures to force your toddler to read.

The best age is different for everyone, and it’s never too late to learn!

Related: How I’m Learning Chinese as a Busy Parent

Do you have to be fluent for the 四五快读 Chinese curriculum?

No, you don’t need to speak Chinese fluently. But yes, you should be fairly conversational.

If you’re a parent who cannot read Chinese well, you probably won’t be able to read the 四五快读 SiWuKuaiDu parent guide. But that’s okay! You can get free Chinese teaching tips from the Chalk Academy website.

However, if you’re a parent who can read at least a few hundred Chinese characters, you can use the book to learn with your child. You might be unable to do all the reading exercises in the books.

On the other hand, native Chinese-speaking parents have used 四五快读 as the sole reading curriculum.

Tips for using the 四五快读 Chinese curriculum

  • Don’t feel the need to do every single reading exercise. Some might be more appealing than others for your child.
  • Take turns reading aloud with your child, especially if they don’t like the pressure of being the only one reading aloud. If you’re a non-fluent parent worried about sounding “wrong,” it’s a chance to model humility, practice, and perseverance.
  • Be consistent but flexible with reading schedules. Life happens! Some days, you might be able to read for an hour. On other days, ten minutes might be hard to squeeze in.
  • Make sure you are still reading fun “non-homework” stories to your child. This is so important for family bonding.
  • It is okay if your child cannot memorize every Chinese character!  Parents always ask this, but when children first learn to read, they do not need to master every word out of context. Instead, take note of the difficult characters and find opportunities to highlight them in other stories or activities.

Our experience with 四五快读 as a non-fluent family

Several years ago, I completed the full 四五快读 curriculum with my daughter. More recently, I went through half of the books with my son.

For context, we’re an American family living in a small town in California. Initially, we used the One Parent One Language method with me as the primary Chinese exposure to our children.

When my children first began to learn Chinese, my vocabulary was limited. I forgot all of the Chinese I learned as a child and had to start over with my children.

As such, we would not have been able to start our language journey with 四五快读 due to the lack of English, pinyin, and audio.

Building a foundation before 四五快读

As a non-native family, we benefited from starting with other Chinese reading programs.

  • Both of my children learned Chinese characters through my curriculum and Sagebooks.
  • My oldest child had completed the Greenfield Chinese Reading Curriculum and comfortably knew about 600-700 simplified Chinese characters. She could read easy Chinese bridge books like the Little Bear series. So 四五快读 was primarily helpful for boosting her confidence and reading stamina.
  • On the other hand, my son had less reading experience when he started the series.

Years ago, when my daughter and I reached the higher 四五快读 levels, our Chinese tutor needed to help us finish the last couple of books. She helped us read complex stories, clarify typos, and explain idioms.

Here is a video of my daughter reading a story from 四五快读 Book 8 at age four years.  Please pardon her squeaky voice – she was very tired from a cold during this reading!

You will notice that her reading level and fluency have improved considerably through our Chinese reading progress videos.

As for my son, we decided not to finish the 四五快读 books. Since we have been going through an extremely busy phase of life, we needed to change the goals of our family’s bilingual plan. Learning how to read Chinese is no longer a priority.

Related: Should My Bilingual Family Drop a Language? 6 Reasons To Quit

Our approach to the 四五快读 Chinese character lists

As for the lists of Chinese characters in books 7 and 8, we created a sticker system to keep track of unfamiliar words. We marked words my daughter hesitated or forgot with mini red dot stickers. When she memorized those Chinese characters, we replaced the red with green dot stickers.

As you can see in the photo below, a few red stickers remain in the word list. That’s because dwelling on a few words is efficient and painful.

四五快读 SiWuKuaiDu Book 7 review Chinese characters

Here’s a video of my daughter reviewing the Chinese characters at the end of Book 8.

Is 四五快讀 available in Traditional Chinese 繁體中文?

Since 四五快读 was published in China in simplified Chinese, there is no traditional Chinese edition. However, a mom, Sin-Yee Tan, generously translated part of 四五快讀 into traditional Chinese and gave me permission to share them. 

Siwukuaidu traditional Chinese 四五快讀  繁體中文

I’m thankful for her passion for helping children learn traditional Chinese characters.

Please respect that the traditional Chinese translation of 四五快讀 is for personal, non-commercial use only. 

Also, getting the original simplified Chinese books for the illustrations and reading exercises is a good idea.

Summary of 四五快读 SiWuKuaiDu Review

四五快读 SiWuKuaiDu is an amazing bargain for teaching Chinese characters effectively and comprehensively.

四五快读 learn-to-read Chinese books

I do wish that 四五快读 had audio like other popular Chinese reading programs. Non-fluent families lacking a fluent teacher or caregiver should start with other books.

Even if you start with another program, 四五快读 can catapult your reading to new heights! I highly recommend this series if you’re serious about learning to read Chinese.

What do you think of the 四五快读 SiWuKuaiDu Chinese reading curriculum?

If you end up using 四五快读 SiWuKuaiDu to teach Chinese reading, please let us know in the comments. We’d love to hear about your experience with this curriculum.

If you have any questions about 四五快读, leave a note below, and I’ll try my best to help!

Other Chinese reading programs to consider

10 Comments

  1. Hi! Thanks for your brilliant review! I just got this set, to teach myself Chinese. I’m a native (at home) speaker but I forgot or didn’t ever learn reading/writing most characters, so now it’s memorization central basically. Plus, dialect vs proper Mandarin (Beijing) sounds for words.

    My question is, is there a list of the typos anywhere? You mentioned every book has typos. I’m afraid I’ll learn the wrong thing. And I won’t even know, cause I have no teacher to tell me.

    Thanks! I love you’re reviews of the different sets. Yes, I did get this set because of the cost, lol.

    1. I’m so glad that the review was helpful! Unfortunately, I did not have the chance to compile a full list of errata. If you practice reading other Chinese books, that helps to balance out the minor mistakes in this series.

  2. I am an adult learner. Do you think these books would be helpful for me?

    1. Sorry for the late reply. If you’re a parent, I think the series would be very helpful to learn as an adult. If you’re not a parent, then I would look for another resource that caters to the types of interactions you would be having in Chinese, such as business and adult topics.

  3. Your daughter is amazing! Please tell me she was 4 almost 5 in that video so I feel better about my almost 4 yr old 😛 No, seriously, good job on teaching and learning with your child. Definitely an inspiration!

  4. Angie Yeow says:

    Thanks for the mention! Haha I like the joke on 四五慢读! It is for my case because we go so slowly for each word with our illustrations.. Now finally into book5! For your girl it is indeed 快读! She’s really such a darling and can read superbly under your patient guidance. Great review as usual.

    1. Thank you for your wonderful 四五慢读 resources! I wish the title of this series didn’t include age or speed, as I think that could be a discouraging factor for some families! Congratulations on reaching book 5!! Hard work and perseverance for the win!

  5. Wow my son is almost 4 yrs old and he is not able to read or recognize that many Chinese words though his exposure to the language is there and he attends Chinese enrichment class. Shall be diligent in using this curriculum. But first I need to read the parent’s guide

    1. Hi Serene, thank you for sharing! No worries about age – each child learn various skills at their own pace. I do think that full language immersion at home may accelerate language potential compared to the classroom setting, at least in the United States. What are Chinese enrichment classes like in your area? Are they full immersion?

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