60 printable cards — 30 survival Chinese phrases and 30 matching example sentences, colour-coded so children can use them as a matching activity or carry them as a ready reference. Print, cut, and use straight away.

What’s in the set?

This set contains two cards for each of the 30 essential survival Chinese phrases:

• Phrase card: large Chinese characters + pinyin + English meaning
• Sentence card: a complete example sentence showing the phrase in real use, with the target phrase highlighted in colour so children can spot it instantly

Each phrase and its matching sentence card share the same border colour. This means children can use the cards as a self-correcting matching activity — sort all 60 cards, match phrase to sentence by colour, flip to check. No adult needed to verify the answer.

The 30 phrases cover six areas of daily communication:

• Greetings and farewells (你好, 再见, 生日快乐)
• Physical needs (我渴了, 我饿了, 我累了, 疼, 上厕所, 休息一下, 睡觉时间, 我迷路了)
• Permissions and requests (请, 帮, 帮我, 可以吗？, 可以玩吗？)
• Emotions and opinions (高兴, 好吃, 好看, 有趣, 好玩吗？, 我爱你)
• Social skills (谢谢, 对不起, 好朋友, 我不喜欢, 我想要, 好吗？)
• Classroom language (不懂, 我喜欢学中文)

How to use the cards

As a matching activity: Shuffle all 60 cards. Ask your child to match each phrase card to its sentence card. The colour coding makes it self-correcting — children can check their own work.

As environmental prompts: Place individual cards where the phrase is needed. Put 我渴了 near the water jug, 上厕所 near the bathroom, and 好吃 on the dinner table. Children see the phrase in the moment they need it — no memorisation required.

In a lanyard or pocket holder: Children can carry their cards to Chinese class, community school, or when visiting Chinese-speaking family. Having the language available in the moment is more useful than having memorised it at home.

As a sorting game: Ask children to sort cards by category (needs, feelings, greetings) or by colour. Sorting activities build familiarity with the phrases without any pressure to produce them.

Who is this for?

• Children aged 4–10 learning Mandarin at home or in a community Chinese school
• Parents who want a ready reference for daily Chinese conversation with their child
• Chinese language teachers who want a practical classroom tool for the first weeks of term
• Families preparing for a visit to China or time with Chinese-speaking grandparents

What’s included in the download?

• 1 PDF file, print-ready
• 30 phrase cards
• 30 matching example sentence cards
• Colour-coded matching system (5 colours)
• All phrases in simplified Chinese characters + pinyin + English

Print on standard A4 paper. Cut along the card borders. Optional: laminate for durability.

Instant download. No waiting — the file is available immediately after purchase.

A companion video is available

A free companion video goes with this set. It covers all 30 phrases with audio so children can hear the correct pronunciation. Use the video alongside the cards for the first few sessions, then let the cards do the work independently.