小孩 (xiǎohái) — Child in Mandarin

xiǎo​hái
“Child”

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#1408 most common word

Pinyin colour key: tone 1 (high flat), tone 2 (rising), tone 3 (dipping), tone 4 (falling), neutral.

Tone breakdown

小孩 is pronounced xiǎohái. Tap any syllable’s row to hear the whole word.

xiǎo
third tone (low dipping, ˇ)
hái
second tone (rising, ˊ)

In a sentence

Xiǎohái xǐhuān wán.

Children like to play.

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Frequently asked questions

What does 小孩 mean?+

小孩 (xiǎohái) means "Child" in Mandarin Chinese.

How do you pronounce 小孩?+

小孩 is pronounced xiǎohái. It uses the tone 3 (rising/dipping), then the tone 2 (rising). Tap the character on this page to hear native audio.

How common is 小孩 in Mandarin?+

小孩 is the #1408 most frequent word in spoken Mandarin, so it is one of the first words worth learning.

Words at a similar frequency

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Browse more on the Mandarin vocabulary hub, or read how to learn Mandarin tones.