8 Short Chinese Poems for Beginners to Read with Your Child

Start with one free poem

New to Mandarin? Start with Thoughts on a Quiet Night. Play the Mandarin recording, find the moon together, and try a movement. The free lesson also includes voice-only repeat-along, a game and a choice of two printable PDFs.

Each poem below has public Chinese text, pinyin and an English meaning. The other full audio lessons, games and workbooks require S01 access. For a step-by-step starting point, see the English guide for parents.

Ode to the Goose: begin with movement

Look for the long neck and the red feet. Make a gentle paddling movement with a hand, then return to the line about the goose moving through water. The three opening repetitions of 鹅 also give a parent and child a simple way to take turns.

On a Painted Rooster: notice colour

Find the red comb and white feathers before reading about the rooster’s call. The poem is traditionally attributed to Tang Yin, though its authorship is uncertain; the poem page explains that attribution. Afterwards, notice a real bird and compare its colours with the picture.

Spring Morning: listen outside

Read the poem once, then pause to listen to the room or the world beyond a window. Ask what your child can hear. A single answer about a bird, rain or the wind can become a bridge back to the poem’s morning scene.

Thoughts on a Quiet Night: moonlight and home

Use the illustration in daylight or look for moonlight in the evening. Try looking up and lowering your head as the poem describes. Then talk about someone your family misses. This is the complete free lesson, including narration, activities and a printable workbook.

Toiling Farmers, Part Two: begin with a meal

This is the poem beginning 锄禾日当午. Look at a few grains of rice and talk about where they grew. Connect the lines to farming and food, giving your child something concrete to notice rather than making the meal into a recital test.

On the Pond: follow the clue

A child returns from picking lotus seedpods, hoping to hide the little journey. A trail through the duckweed gives it away. Tell that short story first, then look for the boat and the trail. Ask what shows that someone has passed through.

Small Pond: find a dragonfly

The scene contains a spring, shade, a young lotus leaf and a dragonfly. Choose one thing to find at a time. Once the picture feels familiar, read part of a line and let your child answer with a word, a point or a description of where the insect is resting.

Wind: notice what has changed

The wind is invisible, but falling leaves, waves and bending bamboo reveal its presence. Watch a curtain or a leaf before returning to the text. The poem uses large numbers expressively; they describe a vivid scene rather than a measurement to reproduce.

For ages 2–3: listen, point or move

Read a short passage and offer one way to join: pointing at a picture, making a paddling movement or repeating a favourite word. A child can participate before being ready to recite a whole line. Follow their interest when deciding where to stop.

For ages 4–5: take a line and share a discovery

Leave a familiar line for your child, or compare the scenes in two poems. If the picture starts a story of their own, make space for that conversation. You can return to a line that connects with what they have said.

Meet the same poem on three occasions

First listen and look. Next try a movement or take turns with a line. On another day, notice something similar in everyday life. These encounters can be brief, and each can begin with whatever your child remembers.

Choose your next poem

Poem texts, pinyin and introductions are public. Thoughts on a Quiet Night is the only complete free family lesson; full audio, games and workbooks for the other lessons require S01 access.