Great Chinese Songs for Learning Chinese

Learning through songs is not just something for children. In fact, learning a language through music is a great way to assimilate syntax and enrich your vocabulary. It also helps with memorization and makes it much easier to learn and remember new words!

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How can I use Chinese songs to improve my Chinese?

Using music to learn Chinese is one of the best and most fun ways to improve your listening and reading skills. It is a great way to acquire more vocabulary and to experience Chinese culture at a deeper level. Listening to Chinese songs not only helps reinforce the vocabulary you learn in Chinese textbooks, but also helps you learn more authenticate, everyday Chinese, like slang

One of the great things about Chinese music, in general, is that every music video and song you play has accompanying lyrics, so you can always sing along. Karaoke culture is also very big in China, so knowing some Chinese songs will definitely help you next time you go to KTV with your friends.

It is best to start out with slower songs until you have built the confidence to sing faster or even start rapping! For now, here are some famous song suggestions to get you started:

Tian Mi Mi by Teresa Teng (an oldie but a goodie!)

Mingming Jiu by Jay Chou

Paomo by G.E.M.

Yanyuan by Joker Xue

Say It by Luhan

PengYou by Zhou HuaJian (another great classic)

Pinyin Learner’s YouTube channel is a great resource to find hundreds of songs accompanied with Chinese pinyin to help you sing along.

Where can I listen to Chinese songs?

There is a range of Chinese music streaming services and apps, but the most popular ones are QQ Music, Baidu Music and KuGou.

These apps can each provide you with a new playlist every day based on your listening habits and preferences, thus making it much easier to discover new music. You can even download the songs for free!

Popular streaming apps and services such as iTunes and Spotify also work in China. If you are outside of China, YouTube Music is another great place to search for Chinese songs. 

Want to find out more about Chinese pop culture? Check out our list of recommended Chinese TV shows, peruse our list of excellent Chinese podcasts or read our article on Chinese standards of beauty to keep learning.

Chinese music-related vocabulary

ChinesePinyinEnglish
个性电台gèxìng diàntáipersonal Radio
新歌推荐xīngē tuījiànnew song recommendation
排行páihángranking
歌手gēshǒusinger
最新专辑zuìxīn zhuānjílatest album
歌词gēcílyrics
歌曲gēqǔsong
音效yīnxiàosound effects
视频shìpínvideo
分享fēnxiǎngshare
音质yīnzhìsound quality
作曲家zuòqǔ jiācomposer
摇滚yáogǔnrock
流行音乐liúxíng yīnyuèpopular music
古典乐gǔdiǎn yuèclassical music
传统音乐chuántǒng yīnyuètraditional music
电音diàn yīnelectric tone
爵士乐juéshìyuèjazz
跑调pǎodiàooff tune
声音太大了shēngyīn tài dàleIt is too loud

Put on your dancing shoes

No matter where you are in your Chinese language learning journey, you can use music as a fun and inspirational way to improve your speaking (and singing) skills. You will also learn more about Chinese pop culture and the music scene in general, so why not give this learning method a try and listen to some Chinese songs today?

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