6 Catchy Chinese Songs to Help You Learn Mandarin

In Chinese Culture by Angel Huang

Chinese songs can be an amazing tool for Mandarin learners.

Apart from helping you pick up new vocabulary and grammar…

… they can provide an enjoyable way to immerse yourself in Chinese culture and boost your motivation to keep learning!

At the end of this post I’ll show you How To Learn Chinese With Songs. But first, allow me to introduce a few tracks to you.

6 Catchy Chinese Songs to Help You Learn Mandarin

(Full versions of the songs recommended in the video above)

1. "不得不爱 bù dé bù ài" by 潘玮柏 pān wěi bó & 弦子 xián zi

A Brief Introduction to This Song:

这是一首男女对唱的歌。是潘玮柏和弦子对唱的。歌名叫不得不爱。歌词讲述了一对情侣之间的爱情故事。歌曲的节奏很轻快,而且副歌的部分很容易上口。相信你听几次就会唱了。

zhè shì yī shǒu nán nǚ duì chàng de. shì pān wěi bó hé xián zi duì chàng de gē. gē míng jiào bù dé bù ài. gē cí jiǎng shù le yī duì qíng lǚ zhī jiān de ài qíng gù shì. gē qǔ de jié zòu hěn qīng kuài,ér qiě fù gē de bù fēn hěn róng yì shàng kǒu. xiāng xìn nǐ tīng jǐ cì jiù huì chàng le.

This is a male-female duet. It's sung by Pan Weibo & Xianzi. The name of the song is "Bu De Bu Ai". The lyrics are about a love story of a couple. The rythm of the song is very brisk, The chorus is very catchy. I'm sure that you can sing it after listening a couple of times.

2. "思念是一种病 sī niàn shì yī zhǒng bìng" by 张震岳 zhāng zhèn yuè & 蔡健雅 cài jiàn yǎ

You can find Pinyin lyrics here & English lyrics here.

A Brief Introduction to This Song:

这也是一首男女对唱的歌。是张震岳和蔡健雅对唱的。歌名叫思念是一种病。可能大家有听过这首歌。因为这首歌非常流行。到处都可以听到。每次当我听到这首歌的时候,我会想起我的初恋。

zhè yě shì yī shǒu nán nǚ duì chàng de gē. shì zhāng zhèn yuè hé cài jiàn yǎ duì chàng de . gē míng jiào sī niàn shì yī zhǒng bìng. kě néng dà jiā yǒu tīng guò zhè shǒu gē. yīn wèi zhè shǒu gē fēi cháng liú xíng. dào chù dōu kě yǐ tīng dào. měi cì dāng wǒ tīng dào zhè shǒu gē de shí hòu,wǒ huì xiǎng qǐ wǒ de chū liàn.

This is also a male-female duet. It's sung by Zhang Zhenyue & Cai Jianya. The name of the song is "Si Nian Shi Yi Zhong Bing". Everyone has probably heard this song. Because this song is very popular/famous. You can hear it everywhere. Every time when I hear this song, I think of my first love.

3. "普通朋友 pǔ tōng péng yǒu" by 陶喆 táo zhé

You can find the English lyrics here.

A Brief Introduction to This Song:

如果你喜欢R&B的话,你可以听一下陶喆的普通朋友。歌词讲述了一个男生暗恋一个女生的故事。他不敢对女生表白,女生只把他当作是普通朋友。有点小伤感。

rú guǒ nǐ xǐ huān R&B de huà,nǐ kě yǐ tīng yī xià táo zhé de pǔ tōng péng yǒu. gē cí jiǎng shù le yī gè nán shēng àn liàn yī gè nǚ shēng de gù shì. tā bù gǎn duì nǚ shēng biǎo bái,nǚ shēng zhǐ bǎ tā dāng zuò shì pǔ tōng péng yǒu.  yǒu diǎn xiǎo shāng gǎn.

If you like R&B, you can listen to a song called "Pu Tong Peng You" by Taozhe. The lyrics are about a story of a guy who has a crush on a girl. He doesn't dare to confess his love to that girl. The girl just sees him as a ordinary friend. It's a bit sad.

4. "我的歌声里 wǒ de gē shēng lǐ" by 曲婉婷 qú wǎn tíng

A Brief Introduction to This Song:

曲婉婷的我的歌声里。这是一首抒情的慢歌。钢琴的伴奏非常好听。这位女歌手有一副非常好的嗓子。她把歌曲演绎地特别好。

qú wǎn tíng de wǒ de gē shēng lǐ. zhè shì yī shǒu shū qíng de màn gē. gāng qín de bàn zòu fēi cháng hǎo tīng. zhè wèi nǚ gē shǒu yǒu yī fù fēi cháng hǎo de sǎng zi. tā bǎ gē qǔ yǎn yì de tè bié hǎo.

"Wo De Ge Sheng Li" by Qu Wanting. This is an emotional slow song. The piano accompaniment is very nice. This female singer has a great voice. She performs the song exceptionally well.

5. "平凡之路 píng fán zhī lù" by 朴树 pǔ shù

A Brief Introduction to This Song:

朴树的平凡之路。这是一部电影的主题曲。歌词讲述的,就是我们的人生。在生活中,我们会遇到各种各样的问题,有起有落。我们要坚持自我,要过平凡的生活。

pǔ shù de píng fán zhī lù. zhè shì yī bù diàn yǐng de zhǔ tí qǔ。gē cí jiǎng shù de, jiù shì wǒ men de rén shēng. zài shēng huó zhōng, wǒ men huì yù dào gè zhǒng gè yàng de wèn tí, yǒu qǐ yǒu luò。wǒ men yào jiān chí zì wǒ, yào guò píng fán de shēng huó.

"Ping Fan Zhi Lu" by Pu Shu. This is a theme song of a movie. The lyrics are about our lives. We face all kinds of problems, & ups and downs in life. We need to persevere and adhere to our own identity and live in an ordinary life.

6. "全部都是你 quán bù dōu shì nǐ" by Dragon Pig (feat. Cnballer & Cloud Wang)

You can find the Pinyin lyrics here.

A Brief Introduction to This Song:

如果你喜欢嘻哈或者说唱的话,我建议你去听一下Dragon Pig的全部都是你。歌词讲述了一个男生疯狂地爱上一个女生。他想要和那个女生一起去旅行。他的眼里全部都是那个女生。又甜蜜又浪漫。我觉得那个女生太幸运了!

rú guǒ nǐ xǐ huān xī hā huò zhě shuō chàng de huà, wǒ jiàn yì nǐ qù tīng yī xià Dragon Pig de quán bù dōu shì nǐ. gē cí jiǎng shù le yī gè nán shēng fēng kuáng de ài shàng yī gè nǚ shēng. tā xiǎng yào hé nà gè nǚ shēng yī qǐ qù lǚ xíng. tā de yǎn lǐ quán bù dōu shì nà gè nǚ shēng. yòu tián mì yòu làng màn. wǒ jué de nà gè nǚ shēng tài xìng yùn le!

If you like Hip-hop or Rap, I recommend you listen to "Quan Bu Dou Shi Ni" by Dragon Pig (feat. Cnballer & Cloud Wang). The lyrics are about a guy who has fallen madly in love with a girl. He wants to travel with this girl. It's sweet and romantic. I think that girl is so lucky!

How to Learn Chinese With Songs 

7 Simple Steps...

  • 1
    Choose a Chinese song that you really like.
  • 2
    Listen to the song a few times without looking at the lyrics.
  • 3
    Listen to the song a few times while reading along with the lyrics.
  • 4
    Make notes about unknown words (look up the meaning & pronunciation).
  • 5
    Read the Chinese lyrics out loud a few times.
  • 6
    Sing along and memorize the lyrics.
  • 7
    Create memorable sentences with new words from the song and make use of these in real life.