10 Chinese YouTube Videos and Channels to Build Your Vocabulary

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Videos made for Chinese-speaking audiences can turn textbook Chinese into language you recognise in real conversations. Mandarin is usually written with Chinese characters, while Hanyu Pinyin uses Latin letters to show pronunciation. You can start listening before you can read every character on screen.

YouTube gives you cooking, gaming, crafting and plenty more in Mandarin. Captions and transcripts can support your reading while you train your ear. Start with a short clip: watch once for the gist, replay it with Chinese captions, then note two or three useful words.

This guide provides help with finding Chinese videos to watch, tips for using YouTube subtitles, and Chinese video recommendations you could use as a starting point. Have fun boosting your Chinese vocabulary!

A note from the Fluent in 3 Months team before we get started: You can chat away with a native speaker for at least 15 minutes with the “Fluent in 3 Months” method. All it takes is 90 days. Tap this link to find out more.

How to Search for Chinese YouTube Videos

To search for and watch YouTube videos in Chinese, you have three basic options:

Option 1

Type “learn Chinese” or “learn Mandarin Chinese” into the YouTube search bar. You will find results made for English speakers and beginners, along with advice about how to learn Chinese.

Option 2

Search for 学中文 (xué Zhōngwén, “learn Chinese”). If you cannot type tone marks, xue zhongwen will usually still return relevant results. Expect plenty of videos for children and beginners, with some intermediate material mixed in.

Option 3

Type what you are looking for in Chinese. For gaming videos, try 游戏 (yóuxì) or the tone-free youxi. Searching with Chinese characters usually gives the most targeted results, but the difficulty will vary.

If you do not know a search term, ask a Chinese speaker or look it up in a bilingual dictionary or translation tool. Check an example sentence too, because a one-word translation may not fit every context.

How to Translate YouTube Subtitles into Another Language

If captions are available, the CC button appears in the video player. Click or tap it to turn captions on.

Open Settings and choose Subtitles/CC to see the available languages.

If your language is not listed, Auto-translate may be available. Treat machine-translated captions as a gist aid, not an exact transcript.

For a captioned video, open the video description and select Show transcript. You can read along or select a line to jump to that point in the video.

Not all YouTube videos come with captions, subtitles or transcripts. You can try using browser extensions, such as Language Reactor, but they vary in quality, effectiveness and reliability.

Chinese YouTube Channels

These recommendations focus mainly on Mandarin. Some creators use traditional characters, others use simplified characters, and accents vary by region. Check the subtitles on the specific video before settling in, because channel options change.

1. Vidol TV

Vidol TV offers dramas, variety shows and live broadcasts to watch. If you’re into romance, there are plenty of options along with some animal, sports, comedy, talk shows and game shows.

If you’re into learning about celebrities, I recommend their “exclusive interview” series Vidol 獨家專訪 (Vidol dújiā zhuānfǎng). Their 娛樂大小事 (Yúlè Dàxiǎoshì, “Entertainment News, Big and Small”) series offers shorter videos such as 影帝吳慷仁到底多會演？ (Yǐngdì Wú Kāngrén dàodǐ duō huì yǎn?, “How good an actor is Best Actor winner Wu Kang-ren, really?”).

Their videos are best for upper-intermediate and advanced learners because the speech can be fast and accents vary. Check each video for traditional Chinese subtitles before you watch.

2. TGOP (This Group Of People)

Another YouTube channel from Taiwan, TGOP produces jokes and comedy sketches about everyday situations. Familiar settings give beginners useful context, although the dialogue moves quickly.

Because the videos are fast-paced, they best suit intermediate learners. Check each video for subtitle options. To start, try 購物的經典語錄 (Gòuwù de Jīngdiǎn Yǔlù, “Classic Quotations for Shopping”).

3. iQIYI 爱奇艺

iQIYI, or 爱奇艺 (Àiqíyì), offers films and TV shows on its international YouTube channel. You will find clips, trailers and some full episodes, often with several subtitle languages.

This episode-eight clip from Bright Eyes in the Dark has both simplified and traditional Chinese subtitle options: 他从火光中走来 (Tā Cóng Huǒguāng Zhōng Zǒulái, literally “He walks out of the firelight”).

Historical and fantasy dramas mix everyday language with genre-specific vocabulary. You might hear 等等 (děngděng, “and so on”), 情緒/情绪 (qíngxù, “emotion” or “mood”) and 暫停/暂停 (zàntíng, “pause”), alongside a more evaluative word such as 假惺惺 (jiǎxīngxīng, “insincere” or “hypocritical”). Keep a separate list for useful everyday vocabulary so costume-drama terms do not crowd it out.

For example, I’ve spent hours watching 苍兰诀 (Cānglán Jué), officially titled Love Between Fairy and Devil. Its food, clothing and settings give you cultural topics to investigate away from the subtitles. Treat a drama as a jumping-off point, then verify historical or cultural details with a reliable source.

4. 李子柒 Liziqi

Li Ziqi, or 李子柒 (Lǐ Zǐqī), focuses on handicrafts, food and Chinese cultural traditions. Her channel has built an international audience, and some videos offer subtitles in several languages.

Her videos show Chinese characters on screen, which helps you learn names for ingredients, tools and household items. They do not normally explain pinyin or pronunciation, so keep a dictionary handy and pause when a useful word appears.

She made a special programme on Lunar New Year snacks: 年货小零食特辑 -花生瓜子糖葫芦，肉干果脯雪花酥 (Niánhuò xiǎo língshí tèjí: huāshēng, guāzi, tánghúlu, ròugān, guǒfǔ, xuěhuāsū, “A special on Lunar New Year snacks: peanuts, sunflower seeds, candied hawthorn, dried meat, preserved fruit and snowflake crisps”).

5. 曼食慢语 Amanda Tastes

Amanda Tastes, or 曼食慢语 (Mànshí Mànyǔ), is a Chinese food creator who teaches recipes. In this video, she shows viewers how to make a matcha mousse cake.

The linked video has English captions and simplified Chinese text on screen. The visual instructions and repeated cooking vocabulary make it useful for beginners.

6. Chinese with Mandarin HQ

Mandarin HQ makes short videos for English-speaking Mandarin learners. Topics include grammar, characters, pronunciation and everyday expressions.

The videos are organised by topic, so you can focus on an area you want to practise. Clear repetition and a slower pace make many lessons easier for beginners to follow.

Their videos are ideal for beginners and intermediate learners, covering everything from pronunciation to real-life dialogue. They offer both English and Chinese subtitles, using simplified Chinese characters. For example, here is a video on common expressions to say when receiving a gift.

7. 老高與小茉 Mr & Mrs Gao

Mr and Mrs Gao, or 老高與小茉 (Lǎo Gāo yǔ Xiǎo Mò), cover mysteries, urban legends, popular science and speculative ideas. Episodes are often long and mostly scripted, but the delivery is conversational. Treat factual claims as entertainment and verify them elsewhere.

One example is 前往地球中心的旅行，超出你想象的地下世界 (Qiánwǎng Dìqiú Zhōngxīn de Lǚxíng, Chāochū Nǐ Xiǎngxiàng de Dìxià Shìjiè, “A journey to the centre of the Earth: an underground world beyond your imagination”).

I recommend this channel to at least upper-intermediate learners, because their videos use topic-specific language. If you’re really interested in their topics, you can quickly learn vocabulary that’s relevant to you, though.

8. JO Channel

The JO Channel offers videos with toy unboxing and parent-child games and activities. Their videos offer dialogue between the family members, which is fairly simple and has useful, common vocabulary, along with lots of context. This makes their videos suitable for beginners.

Their “The Floor Is Lava” video is 地上有岩漿短劇~爸爸和孩子們的故事！ (Dìshang yǒu yánjiāng duǎnjù: bàba hé háizimen de gùshi!, “The floor is lava skit: a story about a dad and his children!”). This video includes English and traditional Chinese subtitles.

9. Thomas阿福

Thomas Afu, or 阿福 (Āfú), makes videos about food, travel and everyday life across China and Germany. I liked the natural interactions in his food tour video in Xi’an, western China.

His videos feature natural dialogue at full speed, so they best suit intermediate learners. Beginners can still work with a short section and replay it. You will hear slang, everyday vocabulary and connected speech.

10. Mandarin Corner

Mandarin Corner offers dialogues, grammar explanations, audio podcasts with transcripts and short HSK courses. The channel labels material by level, which helps both new learners and people returning to Chinese after a break.

Chinese learners can benefit from the more immersive environment, and if you’re planning to take the HSK test, Mandarin Corner covers HSK vocabulary and casual conversations. If you’re an intermediate or advanced learner, try their intermediate listening video “What is Kung Fu Really Like in China?”. They offer English, pinyin and Chinese subtitles, and they focus on simplified Chinese characters.

Would you like even more Chinese videos to watch?

China’s Versions of YouTube

Content creators post Chinese videos on plenty of other platforms. Platform access, catalogues and subtitle options change, so check what is available where you live. If you’re specifically looking for Chinese videos for children or beginners, then check out this list of child-friendly cartoons with links to where you can watch them.

If you want to watch Chinese videos, but you don’t want to spend time finding them, there are courses that have lots of videos pre-selected for you. For example, if you’re interested in learning conversational Chinese, I recommend checking out the review that advanced Chinese learner Shannon Kennedy posted about YoYo Chinese. YoYo Chinese created a mostly video-based course that’ll let you pick up Chinese naturally through dialogues with brief explanations and study materials.

Pick one channel that matches your level and interests. Watch a short section, check the captions, and save a few phrases you would actually use. That turns YouTube time into focused Mandarin practice.

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