About this book
Two friends meet at the park, share snacks, play together, and say goodbye at the end of the day. The story introduces common greetings, social words, and basic feeling characters in short, repeated sentences.
两个小朋友在公园见面，一起分享零食、做游戏，傍晚说再见。故事用简短重复的句子介绍了常用的问候、社交词和基础情感汉字。
Vocabulary preview
Greetings, social words, feelings (问候、社交词、情感). Eight sample characters from the book with pinyin and English. The full book has 30-150 unique characters total.
| Character | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 朋友 | péngyou | friend |
| 你好 | nǐ hǎo | hello |
| 再见 | zàijiàn | goodbye |
| 谢谢 | xièxie | thank you |
| 玩 | wán | play |
| 开心 | kāixīn | happy |
| 一起 | yìqǐ | together |
| 请 | qǐng | please |
How to read this book with your child
- Day 1 — Pictures first. Read the English translation and look at the illustrations together. Let your child notice what is happening in the story.
- Day 2 — Read with pinyin. Read the Mandarin aloud, using the pinyin as your guide. Point to each character as you read.
- Day 3 — Pick three words. Choose three characters from the vocabulary preview and use them in real life during the day.
- Day 4 — Point and listen. Let your child point to the matching picture as you read each sentence.
- Day 5 — Repeat one phrase. Ask your child to repeat one short phrase from the book after you.
- Day 6 — Full read-aloud. Read the full story in Mandarin with pinyin, end to end, without stopping.
- Day 7 — Retell. Ask your child to retell the story from the pictures. Any mix of Mandarin and English is fine.
For the full routine across all Little NiHao books, see the parent guide.
Parent questions
What age is this book for?
Good Friends is a Sprout level book for ages 4-5. The social-vocabulary focus is especially useful for children starting preschool or kindergarten where Mandarin greetings come up naturally.
How many characters will my child learn?
Good Friends introduces about 30-80 unique characters over 28 pages, focused on greetings, social words, and basic feelings. The characters reappear multiple times in context.
Does this book align to a specific language standard?
Good Friends aligns to YCT 1 (Youth Chinese Test level 1) vocabulary scope. Little NiHao is independent and not affiliated with Chinese Testing International.
Will my child be able to greet a friend in Mandarin after reading this?
Yes — that is one of the main goals. The book is built around a real playdate arc so children can use 你好 (hello),谢谢 (thank you), 再见 (goodbye), and一起 (together) immediately in real social settings.
Start with the Sprout Bundle
Five books at the same level for $9.99 — the best value for building vocabulary.
See the Sprout Bundle