Speak Chinese at Home: A 30-Day Family Challenge

By the end you can

• Start the morning in Chinese, from wake-up to breakfast. Say it's time to get up with 该……了, let your child choose clothes and drinks with 哪件 and 还是, and check they've eaten enough with 吃饱了吗？
  你要牛奶还是果汁？ · Nǐ yào niúnǎi háishi guǒzhī? · Do you want milk or juice?
• Get out of the door and into the car without a rush. Give a warning with 要……了 before you leave, then check a job is done properly with 好 after the verb: 系好, 坐好.
  系好安全带。 · Jìhǎo ānquándài. · Buckle your seat belt.
• Play, take turns and tidy up together. Ask what your child wants to play, take turns with 该我了 and 该你了, and ask where each toy goes with 这个放哪儿？
  该我了！ · Gāi wǒ le! · My turn!
• Comfort feelings and prompt polite words. Ask what's wrong, guess gently with 你是不是累了？, and prompt please and thank you with 要说什么？ while you model 谢谢 yourself.
  来，抱一抱。 · Lái, bào yi bào. · Come here, let's have a hug.
• Talk about animals, colours and numbers in short games. Ask what an animal says, send your child on a colour hunt, and count everyday things with 一共有几个？
  找一个红色的东西。 · Zhǎo yí ge hóngsè de dōngxi. · Find something red.
• Cook, eat and call Grandma in Chinese. Invite your child into the kitchen, soften a request with a doubled verb like 闻一闻, and get them talking on a video call with Grandma.
  快来跟奶奶说话！ · Kuài lái gēn nǎinai shuōhuà! · Come and talk to Grandma!
• Set calm limits at the park and the shops. Give a five-minute warning before you leave the park, say no to a toy calmly with 这个我们不买, and ask your child to help find the milk.
  再玩五分钟，我们就回家。 · Zài wán wǔ fēnzhōng, wǒmen jiù huí jiā. · Five more minutes, then we go home.
• Read, say goodnight and celebrate in Chinese. Share a picture book, settle your child into bed, end the day by asking about their happiest moment, and celebrate a birthday.
  今天你最开心的是什么？ · Jīntiān nǐ zuì kāixīn de shì shénme? · What made you happiest today?

What’s inside

• Day 1: Wake Up and Get Dressed
• Day 2: Breakfast
• Day 3: Brushing Teeth and Washing
• Day 4: Going Out
• Day 5: Getting in the Car
• Day 6: Snack Time
• Day 7: Daddy Says: A Family Game
• Day 8: Playtime
• Day 9: Tidy Up
• Day 10: Bath Time
• Day 11: Feelings
• Day 12: Please and Thank You
• Day 13: Animals
• Day 14: Guess the Animal: A Family Game
• Day 15: Colours Around Us
• Day 16: Counting Things
• Day 17: Cooking Together
• Day 18: Dinner Table
• Day 19: Calling Grandma
• Day 20: Weather
• Day 21: Family Game: Floor Picnic
• Day 22: At the Park
• Day 23: Shopping
• Day 24: Reading Together
• Day 25: Bedtime
• Day 26: Goodnight
• Day 27: Being Kind
• Day 28: Birthdays
• Day 29: Family Game: Puppy's Birthday
• Day 30: Our Family Day
• Calendar: Your 30-Day Calendar
• Your phrases: Your Family's Own Phrases

How to use this book

Ten minutes a day: hear the day's three lines on the free audio, say them back, then use them with your child in the moment the page shows. A two-minute game helps them stick.

1. Each morning: Hear and say the day's lines. Play the day's audio and say each line back in the pause, then twice more on your own. Mei Lin is SayMei's AI tutor for speaking practice, and her lessons are her own.
2. During the day: Use them in the real moment. Say the three lines where the page shows: at breakfast, in the car, at bath time. Short and often works better than one long lesson. Then play the page's two-minute game.
3. Days 7, 14, 21 and 29: Family review games. Daddy Says, Guess the Animal, a floor picnic and a toy birthday reuse the week's lines. Each has a short exercise you can check in the answer key.
4. Day 30: Our family day. Plan the day with 今天我们做什么？ and let your child choose with 你来决定！ Then sit in a circle and each say one line from the month.
5. Every day: Tick the calendar. Tick a day on page 33 when you used its lines in a real family moment, even once. Missed a day? Keep going and do two the next day.
6. After Day 30: Write your family's own phrases. On page 34, change book lines to fit your home and write the three lines your family needs most, in Chinese with pinyin.

Who it’s for

Parents who want to speak Chinese with their children at home every day, including parents who are still learning Chinese themselves. Every page is written for you to read and say, and your child picks the lines up by hearing them in real moments.

Before you start: No Chinese needed to start. Every line has characters, pinyin and English, the free audio reads each one with a pause for you to say it back, and a Mei Lin note on each page explains the pattern behind the day's lines.

Frequently asked questions

What do the 30 days cover?

A day of family life, one page at a time: wake-up and breakfast, the car and snack time, playing, tidying up and bath time, feelings and please and thank you, cooking and calling Grandma, the park and the shops, then reading, bedtime and birthdays. Days 7, 14, 21 and 29 are family review games, and Day 30 is a family day.

Can I use this if I'm still learning Chinese myself?

Yes, the book is written for that. You learn three short lines a day, hear each one on the free audio and say it back before you use it with your child. A note on each page explains the pattern behind the day's lines.

What does my child do?

Your child hears the lines in real moments and answers in the games: pointing, choosing, counting and giving the orders back to you. A few lines are for your child to say, such as 再读一遍！ (read it again) and 我吃饱了，可以走了吗？ to ask to leave the table.

Is there audio?

Yes, free on the book's audio page, one track for each day and each family game, with a pause after every Chinese line so you can say it back. The code on page 2 opens it.

How long does it take each day?

About ten minutes: hear the day's three lines on the audio, say them back, then use them with your child in the moment the page shows. If you miss a day, the book says to keep going and do two the next day.

What happens after Day 30?

Page 34 has space for your family's own phrases: change book lines to fit your home and write the three your family needs most, in Chinese with pinyin. Mandarin at Home: Everyday Family Phrases is built around single routines, such as mornings, meals and bedtime.

Do I need a SayMei account?

Yes, to download the PDF, and the account is free: sign up with Google, Apple or your email address. With it we email you a copy of the workbook, keep every workbook you download on your account on all your devices, save your place in the free online practice, and you can practise speaking with Mei Lin, SayMei's AI tutor.

How do I print it?

The PDF is US Letter size. On A4 paper, choose "Fit to page" (or "Scale to fit") in the print dialog so nothing is cut off. Print the whole workbook or only the pages you need; colour looks best, and black and white works too.

Keep going

Mandarin at Home: Everyday Family Phrases · Chinese Immersion Homework Helper: Mandarin for Parents Who Don't Speak Chinese · Keep a Mandarin Conversation Going · Talk About Your Day: Mandarin Daily Routines Workbook · Browse all 294 workbooks