You want to improve your Mandarin skills? For some of the greatest online resources for Chinese you don’t have to look far: they can be found on YouTube. But where to start? This is my updated top 10 of YouTube channels for learning Chinese.
10. Eazy Mandarin with Li Can
- Followers: 12,4K
- Since: 2019
- Nr. of videos: 100 – 200
- Language level: Intermediate / Upper intermediate / advanced
Chinese teacher Li Can is a passionate educator who likes to reflect on complex matters and shares his thoughts. You can find a number of audiobooks on his channel, as well as a playlist with learning advice for Chinese. During the Covid-lockdowns in China, he openly discussed questions that seemed very controversial at the time.
Positives
- Chinese teacher based in Mainland China
- Chinese perspectives on controversial matters
- Learning advice from an experienced teacher
Negatives
- Not the clearest pronunciation
- His complex vocabulary and turn of phrase don’t always suit his target audience
9. Talk Taiwanese Mandarin With Abby
- Followers: 9K
- Since: 2018
- Nr. of videos: 100 – 200
- Language level: Intermediate / Advanced
Talk Taiwanese Mandarin With Abby is a YouTube channel dedicated to exploring Taiwan and improving Chinese listening skills. Abby Chen is a Mandarin teacher and author of Chinese graded readers and other learning materials. You can find transcripts of her podcasts on her Patreon-page.
Positives
- Creative and personal approach
- Taiwanese perspective and accent
8. Speak Chinese With Da Peng
- Followers: 11K
- Since: 2020
- Nr. of videos: 300 – 400
- Language level: Intermediate – upper intermediate
Da Peng has been creating his own upbeat Chinese learning podcast since 2020. Although his content suggests otherwise, he is not a Chinese teacher. His main focus are Chinese daily expressions. He not only explains their meaning, but also how to use them with his dialogues. Sometimes he invites Chinese learning guests to join his podcast. He manages to keep things fresh and interesting without overwhelming his audience with complexity. It’s the kind of listening material to put on repeat.
Positives
- Clear pronunciation, good tempo
- No English
- Natural talent for explaining with examples and dialogues
- Element of repetition
7. Rita Mandarin Chinese
- Followers: 39K
- Since: 2020
- Nr. of videos: 100 – 200
- Language level: Beginner / Intermediate / advanced
Rita aka Fàn lǎoshī is a Chinese teacher from Beijing, specially qualified to teach Chinese phonetics. Her channel is one of the few – if not the only – focused on teaching the ins and outs of Chinese pronunciation. Her videos are both witty and informative, covering many details that your Chinese teacher won’t tell you. She argues – and I couldn’t agree more – that tones and pronunciation are a neglected subject in the typical Chinese course and most teachers lack a background in phonetics to be able to teach them properly.
Positives
- Clear focus: tones and pronunciation
- Solid advice for typical pronunciation problems
- Professionally edited videos with subtitles
Negatives
- For a Chinese teacher she uses more English than she has to
6. Chinese Podcast With Shenglan
- Followers: 1,5K
- Since: 2019
- Nr. of videos: 100-200
- Language level: Intermediate
Shenglan is a freelancer and produces original content for Chinese language learners. She discusses issues in Chinese society, her personal life and travel adventures in cities like Wuhan and Changsha. Recommended for slow, in-depth listening.
Positives
- Original and unique content
- Showing life in China
- Discussing complex topics related to contemporary Chinese society
Negatives
- Sometimes a little too slow, but that’s a matter of preference
5. ChinesePod
- Followers: 178K
- Since: 2014
- Nr. of videos: 300 – 400
- Language level: Beginner / Intermediate / Upper intermediate
ChinesePod is a popular learning website for Mandarin Chinese where you can find over 4000 video and audio lessons. Their YouTube channel “shares just a taste” of all this content, so to get full access to all the material – similar to Mandarin Corner – you have to sign up.
What makes ChinesePod stand out is the abundance of quality content for all levels, their bilingual approach and their years of experience.
What I’m not a big fan of though is the fact they are using so much English. From a teaching point of view that’s less than optimal. I know many learners, especially people new to the language, appreciate all the explaining in English, BUT – in the long run it’s actually not that helpful.
Positives
- Great variation of content for all levels between complete beginners and upper intermediate learners
- The channel is neatly organized
- It’s easy to find the kind of video’s or playlist(s) you are looking for
- Bilingual Chinese-American teachers who bridge the gap between the two cultures really well and understand the needs of non-Chinese students
- Team of charming teachers
Negatives
- A lot of explaining in English
4. Yoyo Chinese
- Followers: 284K
- Since: 2006
- Nr. of videos: 400 – 500
- Language level: Beginner / Intermediate / Upper intermediate
Yoyo Chinese is probably the first and most well-known Chinese learning video channel, founded by Yangyang Cheng, a former Chinese TV host. If you look at some of the first uploads, you’ll discover she actually started out teaching English to Chinese people. It’s a pleasure to watch her teach: very passionate and upbeat. Newer content is mainly done by junior staff members.
Most videos are meant for beginners. Yoyo Chinese covers the whole spectrum to get you started: from Pinyin, tones to basic grammar and essential vocabulary. And Yangyang does a great job at this.
Positives
- Great for beginners and English speakers
- Passion for teaching + longtime experience
- Innovation
Negatives
- For such a longstanding channel the content is not that well ordered: only a couple of playlists, most videos are not categorized, but then again Yangyang’s username is “sloppycheng”
3. Everyday Chinese
- Followers: 580K
- Since: 2017
- Nr. of videos: 400 – 500
- Language level: Beginner to upper Intermediate
The Everyday Chinese channel has grown quite popular in only a few years time. Young teachers from Mainland China do a good job on creating new and original content. It seems to me they take their inspiration directly from the classroom as they cover lots of topics people learning Mandarin genuinely struggle with.
Positives
- Great content for beginners and intermediate learners
- Good understanding of the needs of students, thinking from the learner’s perspective
- Covering Mandarin basics and HSK levels 1 – 4
- Chinese-English subtitled + Pinyin
Negatives
- Some videos only show slides with text and grammar which is OK, but a little static
- Use too much English
2. Fragrant Mandarin 香橘子
- Followers: 10K
- Since: 2019
- Nr. of videos: 100 – 200
- Language level: Beginner / Intermediate / advanced
Fragrant Mandarin 香橘子 started out with fresh and original content for Chinese learning and language immersion. Overtime, it has moved beyond that and turned into a place where the makers, a Chinese-English couple, share their journey together, their reflections and dreams. They tell the story how they start doing what they really wanted to do and become more fulfilled human beings.
Positives
- Authentic and high quality content from a charming couple in Guangxi Provence, China and other places
- Original approach to Mandarin learning
- Very inspirational, there are no limits if you have the guts to live your dreams
1. Mandarin Corner
- Followers: 172K
- Since: 2017
- Nr. of videos: 200 – 300
- Language level: Beginner / Intermediate / Upper intermediate
Mandarin Corner is centered around Eileen Xu and still seems to be a rather underrated channel. Not only does Eileen create original and authentic content, she does so with using as little English as possible. That means you get to hear a lot more of the language than in most other Chinese learning videos. Mandarin Corner’s content is typically English-Chinese subtitled and – very important – also includes Pinyin, which makes the videos accessible for beginners too.
As for the more basic stuff: Mandarin Corner covers HSK levels 1 to 5 and provides loads of tips to improve your overall fluency. But what you can’t hardly find elsewhere – or not in the same quality – are the street interviews Eileen does, asking random people in her city about topics like “leftover women“, Japan, South-Korea and foreigners in general. Very interesting to watch, even if you are not in the least interested in learning Mandarin, but simply want to hear the opinions of average Chinese people.
Eileen has a very personal approach to creating videos. She takes you on a bicycle ride downtown, showing you around, and she even gives a tour of her old hometown. She also interviews interesting people like tattoo artists, rock climbers, the local phone repair shop owner and waiguoren in China.
To get full access to all the content and materials you need to sign up.
Positives
- Highly original and authentic content from Mainland China for beginners up to upper intermediate learners
- Covering the Mandarin basics
- Interesting topics for people interested in China and Chinese society
- Personal and innovative approach to online learning
- Using a minimum quantity of English to explain. Subtitles: English, Chinese and Pinyin
Negatives
- The channel is not that frequently being updated
That’s my top 10 of YouTube channels for learning Mandarin. I know there are many more – I just couldn’t include all. I do very much admire all the work online teachers put into their videos, especially those who work more or less on solo-projects and who produce great results with limited means.
What are your favorite YouTube channels? Feel free to let me know which one(s) helped you to get to the next level.
