Learn Chinese on TikTok 🤔 12 Killer Accounts to Improve Your Mandarin (PLUS Bonus Extras)

Q: Are Tiktok and Douyin the same?

In many ways yes but they are different apps. We wrote a blog about the similarities and differences for Douyin and Tiktok .

By Max Hobbs
Best Of
January 4, 2021
6 Comments

How To Learn Chinese on TikTok & Who To Follow (in 2022)

TikTok, the latest social media platform taking the world by storm, but how can you Learn Chinese on TikTok and who should you follow?

Let’s find out more…

2020 was a rough year for many of us.

However, for a small minority, it was a chance to thrive.

Think Zoom, never before had their stock been so valued with the world going online!

The app TikTok was another beneficiary, with millions around the world locked down, TikTok had the chance to thrive, and so it did, having it’s best year to date.

IN FACT, DID YOU KNOW – TikTok was the most downloaded app worldwide in 2020. Doesn’t get much better than that!

Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you’ll probably be aware of what TikTok is all about. Short form videos where everyone dreams of “going viral”.

DID YOU KNOW – China has it’s very own version of TikTok which is called Douyin. If you want to discover the main differences between Douyin and TikTok, check out our guide.

Douyin vs TikTok || Spot the Difference Between Tiktok and Chinese TikTok

Chinese Tiktok vs Tiktok || Are they the same app? Douyin is aimed at domestic users in China, whilst TikTok is aimed at overseas users.

Today though, we focus on how you can learn Chinese on TikTok and, despite the fact it remains relatively young, there are still some cracking accounts which we love, and wanted to share with you today.

Learn Chinese on TikTok – @chinesewithmia
Learn Chinese on TikTok – @everydayeasychinese
Learn Chinese on TikTok – @everythingchinese
Learn Chinese on TikTok – @chinese_handwriting
Learn Chinese on TikTok – @learnnorthernchinese
Learn Chinese on TikTok – @duanduanmandarin
Learn Chinese on TikTok – @chinesemasterrr
Learn Chinese on TikTok – @chinachinesee
Learn Chinese on TikTok – @learnchinesewithjinnie
Learn Chinese on Tiktok – @chinese_dianka
Learn Chinese on TikTok – @tangyuanchinese
Learn Chinese on TikTok – @chelsteacheschinese
BONUS – Other Honourable Shoutouts

Learn Chinese on TikTok – @chinesewithmia

Amassing well over 100,000 followers and over half a million video likes already, Mia has nailed TikTok!

This account embodies a lot about how TikTok can be used to learn Chinese.

There is little special about the effects, filters and video, it’s simple learning nuggets which allow us to learn about day to day Chinese.

Mia speaks clearly and slowly allowing us to mimic her voice. Her English level is clearly very strong also.

You’ll notice in the thumbnail below on the top left she doesn’t just include Pinyin and Hanzi, but also a phonetic transcription, allowing even the most beginner students an insight into how to say each part of the phrase.

Each video is short and snappy. Mia posts a video everyday meaning this account is a sound one to follow for a “word/phrase of the day” style account.

Great work Mia, we approve!

FOLLOW ON TIKTOK – Follow Mia here

Learn Chinese on TikTok – @everydayeasychinese

Everyday Easy Chinese provides an eclectic mixture of videos which we love.

They vary from cultural videos (like Chinese Names), describing emotions and even TV shows to watch.

The thumbnails are bright and sharp, the videos are crisp and clear, and the people on camera are smiley and welcoming.

It makes for a great TikTok account which appears to be growing steadily by the month.

Despite gaining only 7,000 followers so far (we know this will grow fast), they have amassed a huge 250,000 video likes in total, showing people are liking what they create.

We are also big fans of the Everyday Easy Chinese YouTube channel which provide much of the same sort of stuff.

FOLLOW ON TIKTOK – Follow Everyday Easy Chinese here

Learn Chinese on TikTok – @everythingchinese

Everything Chinese is run similarly to our 1st recommendation.

The account provides useful phrases that can be handy in day to day conversation.

Posting on this account compared to Mia is slightly less frequent, with posts generally spread out around the month rather than guaranteed daily posts, but the content is still solid.

Things taught include:

I hate you
You’re so cute
Will you go out with me

Again, Hanzi and Pinyin are listed with clear pronunciation which is why we think this a good account to follow for learning Chinese.

With fewer than 10,000 followers at the time of writing, this is an account we expect to make solid growth in 2021, if posts remain regular enough!

FOLLOW ON TIKTOK – Follow Everything Chinese here

Learn Chinese on TikTok – @chinese_handwriting

Run by a chap called Blake, this is a really simple, but effective account for learning stroke order.

If you are a student of Chinese you’ll be well aware that Mandarin isn’t just about getting tones correct and reading the characters, but it’s also about learning the radicals and how characters are constructed.

We’ve recommended an app called Skritter before to help you with constructing characters, and this is a nice account to follow to keep you on the right track.

There is nothing incredibly technical or flashy about the account, but there doesn’t need to be. If you want to learn the best way to write Chinese characters, this is a sound account to add to your follow list.

Blake can now boast over a quarter of a million video likes to date. 加油！

NOTE | Account now inactive

Learn Chinese on TikTok – @learnnorthernchinese

This is an account that you’ll find hard to ignore when searching for Chinese accounts to follow on TikTok, as it pops up everywhere you look.

For that reason, we had a little look and enjoyed what we saw.

The account is run by a chap called Waldon who gives us a humorous insight into the Northern Chinese dialect, typically much stronger and harsher than the souther equivalent.

Walden’s account has grown hugely in popularity and the numbers are impressive, some of the most spectacular on this list in fact.

With now well over 100,000 followers and 3 million video likes, he’s striking all the right chords with his informal look at learning Mandarin.

Learn Northern Chinese provides some cracking and entertaining videos teaching us all about slang, profanity, nicknames, celebrities and everything else in between.

We’d file it in the X-Rated category, with some choice words taught along the way, just a disclaimer for anyone who isn’t into that kind of content!

FOLLOW ON TIKTOK – Follow Learn Northern Chinese here

Fancy learning more naughty words…?

Learn Chinese on TikTok – @duanduanmandarin

There’s nothing more pleasing than visiting an account with a beautifully laid out, colourful homepage. Duan Duan Mandarin are one of the neatest we have found to date.

Plenty of colour coupled with excellent content, we believe this is an account that could grow fast in 2021 if they keep up the good work.

Duan Duan are similar to our 4th entry, the focus is all on handwriting, however Duan Duan post far more frequently than Chinese Handwriting and would certainly be the easier on the eye of the two.

That’s taking nothing away from the above entry, both accounts teach exactly what they want to do, but perhaps Duan Duan have prepped the tidier looking account of the two.

The words taught are fairly random, with no set theme, but the videos are relaxing and enjoyable to watch and again, do exactly what they go out to do – teach you how to write Chinese characters.

With over 4,000 followers, we feel they deserve more; but there’s no doubt they can smash the 5 figure mark by the end of 2021.

FOLLOW ON TIKTOK – Follow Duan Duan Mandarin here

Learn Chinese on TikTok – @chinesemasterrr

Our Chinese Master has provided some excellent videos about things not often covered on other accounts, which made it stand out for us when looking for new accounts to follow.

One video that particularly caught our eye was “How to hold a pen to write Chinese”.

Sounds rather odd, but upon watching the video it gives a sound insight into how Chinese Calligraphy is written, an important element of Chinese culture.

Learn Chinese on TikTok – @chinachinesee

Sometimes everything just clicks!

China Chinesee is one of those accounts that took off and it’s not showing any signs of stopping!

With well over 4 MILLION video likes and 500,000 subscribers @chinachinesee is one of the biggest Chinese language learning accounts on the whole of TikTok.

Oddly enough the Instagram equivalent only holds 6,000 followers to date!

The account isn’t revolutionary with its content, but @chinachinesee got on the bandwagon early and has been consistently posting about Mandarin, Culture and Chinese life since.

As it is so often the case with a social media platform, getting in there early is a big part of the work. Keeping your users engaged is the next challenge and @chinachinesee has succeeded with flying colours in both aspects.

Sadly though, the account hasn’t seen a post since 2019, we hope 2021 sees a return to action as there are plenty of followers waiting for more!

FOLLOW ON TIKTOK – Follow China Chinesee here

Learn Chinese on TikTok – @learnchinesewithjinnie

Jinnie runs a great little account that deserves bigger numbers in our opinion.

Teaching us a mixture of useful phrases (see the screenshot below), whilst providing number of excellent but contrasting looks for the camera, her homepage is eye-catching and impressive.

Jinnie provides videos that teach us little phrases like “Sorry to bother you” and “I changed my mind” whilst also providing short, snappy content on the tones in Chinese along with initials and finals – all imperative stuff for a Mandarin language student.

Currently Jinnie has just over 6,000 followers with 30,000 video likes. Her posting dried up slightly towards the end of 2020 but we hope, if she gets back into a regular posting rhythm as before, she’ll take off.

Either way, there’s some great content for you to learn on her channel.

FOLLOW ON TIKTOK – Follow Learn Chinese with Jinnie here

Want to discover how to say the initials and finals as mentioned above? We’re here to help! 👇

Learn Chinese on TikTok – @dianka.yaya

The video that brought this account to our attention was a great guide on how to type pinyin with tones on your phone.

The video was clear, concise, and within a minute you’d learnt something very useful, very fast.

Having had a flick through the rest of Dianka’s profile we liked what we saw!

Diane has 30,000 other people who agree and well over a quarter of a million likes on her videos.

Her content is mixed and include things like:

Basic Chinese (months of the year)
Tonal and pronunciation practice
Cultural Mandarin (brand names in Chinese)

For a bit of everything, we recommend dropping Diane a follow!

FOLLOW ON TIKTOK – Follow Diane here

Learn Chinese on TikTok – @tangyuanchinese

Tangyuan Chinese follows in the footsteps of entries four and six where handwriting is the main focus.

The concept is simple, but again, executed well.

Thumbnails across the channel are all uniform giving a lovely aesthetic to the homepage and each video is accompanied by a little music as well.

Nothing more needs saying in truth, a solid account and another great handwriting one to follow.

Tangyuan have built up a popular channel with over 30,000 followers and nearing 200,000 video likes.

FOLLOW ON TIKTOK – Follow Tangyuan Chinese here

Learn Chinese on TikTok – @chelsteacheschinese

Our final recommendation is actually from an account we discovered on YouTube.

Upon researching we gladly found out Chels also runs a TikTok page, and she does it very well!

Chels uses her TikTok to teach things many others do not, avoiding things like numbers, how to say hello and the more basic side of Mandarin.

Videos and topics include:

Making a wish
To procrastinate
Don’t beat around the bush

You’ll notice these are the kinds of things, that although not essential in every sentence, come up very often when speaking.

Chels runs her TikTok, YouTube and also Instagram accounts in tandem, and the content is thoroughly engaging and enjoyable.

Whichever platform takes your fancy, we say follow her!

The account is certainly under-repped on numbers with just over 2,500 followers making her the smallest on our list here, but these numbers certainly do Chels a disservice.

Drop her a follow, along with the other 11 mentioned above!

FOLLOW ON TIKTOK – Follow Chels Teaches Chinese here

BONUS – Other Honourable Shoutouts

Sadly there isn’t room for everyone but there are a few other accounts we want to list also.

Some of these accounts we’ve actually recommended through other social media platforms.

Below we will list their username, and the other platform we recommended them on, so you can check which platform suits you the most!

@han_characters – recommended previously on Instagram here

Han Characters have had huge success on Instagram, so much so that the girl behind the account has turned the account into a real life brand, with flashcards available to purchase!

Although her TikTok account has some way to go to match the numbers of others, it’s still a great one to follow, and we believe it could mirror the success of her Instagram account soon enough.

Han Characters on Instagram

@chinesewithlia – recommended previously on Instagram here

Whereas Han Characters made their name on Instagram, Lialiu has done it the other way around, amassing some huge numbers on TikTok.

In truth, she’d have made our list if we hadn’t featured her already. Well over 100,000 followers and already over 3 MILLION video likes. Wow!

@chineseskill

The reality is, we should really be making space for @chineseskill (not to be confused with the app called Chinese Skill itself) in our main list.

This is one of the more successful TikTok accounts around with some more huge numbers to boast, but as we said before, we can’t mention them all.

The account is run by a lady called Danxia, who also has her own Instagram page you can follow too. However it’s on TikTok that she saves her best content.