Movies are one of the most popular and easy-to-get forms of entertainment in our society. Everyone, at some point or another, just craves to sit down and watch their favorite type of movie, and to immerse themselves in the movie-world.
There’s a great variety of Chinese movies. For example, there are Chinese war movies, martial arts movies (which are mostly kung-fu movies), Chinese cooking movies, and the list goes on. If you enjoy watching movies and wish to learn some daily-spoken Chinese language, this way of learning will definitely be an adventure for you!
All the movies listed here offer a glimpse into the very unique Chinese culture. They’re the very best Chinese movies for you as a language learner! By watching them, you’ll improve both your listening and speaking ability immensely. It may even further intrigue your passion for Chinese! We hope you’re able to get some helpful info on learning Chinese from movies on our Chinese movies blog. Here are some tips to improve your pronunciation while watching movies in Chinese.
Table of Contents
- The Top 12 Chinese Movies for Studying the Language
- Websites and Places for Watching Good Chinese Movies
- How Can Watching Chinese Movies Become a Great Tool for Learning the Language?
1. The Top 12 Chinese Movies for Studying the Language
1- You are the Apple of My Eye
- Chinese Title: 那些年，我们一起追的女孩
- Pinyin: nà xiē nián ，wǒ men yī qǐ zhuī de nǚ hái
- English Title: You are the Apple of My Eye
This movie was released in 2011 and aroused memories of many people’s innocent youth. It’s one of the best Chinese romantic movies for students or for people who want to be nostalgic for their past school romances. It contains many easy-to-understand daily speaking Chinese words and phrases, especially for teenagers. The story includes all the innocence, beauty, struggles, romance, and growth that take place during one’s youth. Remember to prepare some tissues when you watch it!
- Chinese quote: 青春是一场大雨，即使感冒了，还盼望回头再淋它一次。
- Pinyin: Qīng chūn shì yī chǎng dà yǔ, jí shǐ gǎn mào le, hái pàn wàng huí tóu zài lín tā yī cì.
- English Meaning: Youth is like a rain. Even though you catch a cold from it, you still wish to relive it again.
2- Lost in Thailand
- Chinese Title: 泰囧
- Pinyin: tài jiǒng
- English Title: Lost in Thailand
This is a Chinese comedy film about an adventure Lang Xu, Bo Gao, and Bao Wang have in Thailand for a competitive business war. Explore their magical trip with them as you watch and learn from the movie! Go ahead and have a good laugh while you’re at it, and learn some funny phrases in Chinese! Maybe you’ll even be able to make classic jokes in Chinese as you progress in your studies.
- Chinese quote: 你是不是一生下来你妈就把你扇到地上来着！
- Pinyin: Nǐ shì bú shì yī shēng xià lái nǐ mā jiù bǎ nǐ shān dào dì shàng lái zhe!
- English Meaning: Your mother slapped you to the ground once you were born! Is that right!
3- Love is not Blind
- Chinese Title: 失恋33天
- Pinyin: shī liàn sān shí sān tiān
- English Title: Love is not Blind
This movie is one of the best Chinese movies for people who long for some comfort from a breakup, and it will teach you a great lesson. Particularly, you can watch this movie for learning standardized Mandarin. The story talks about a girl’s thirty-three-day journey from the loss of love to being herself again, in a humorous way. It was known as the first “healing” love movie customized for the Singles Day (11/11) in mainland China.
- Chinese quote: 每个人的故事，就像别人的小说或电影，只要事不关己，永远遥不可及。
- Pinyin: Měi gè rén de gù shì, dōu xiàng bié rén de xiǎo shuō huò diàn yǐng, zhī yào shì bù guān jǐ, yǒng yuǎn yáo bù kě jí.
- English Meaning: Everyone’s story is like someone else’s story or movie. As long as it’s not your business, it will always feel faraway.
4- Let the Bullets Fly
- Chinese Title: 让子弹飞
- Pinyin: ràng zǐ dàn fēi
- English Title: Let the Bullets Fly
This is one of the best Chinese action movies. It talks about the story of a man’s great transformation from a purposeless robber to the responsible governor of Goose City. Soon, an aggressive battle is on with the bully Silang Huang who guards the Goose City. The legend of the hero is always passed down, and at the end of the story, Mazi Zhang finally realizes what he needs to pursue.
- Chinese quote: 如果你活着，早晚都会死；如果你死了，你就永远活着。
- Pinyin: Rú guǒ nǐ huó zhe, zǎo wǎn dōu huì sǐ; rú guǒ nǐ sǐ le, nǐ jiù yǒng yuǎn huó zhe.
- English Meaning: If you are alive, you will die sooner or later; if you die, then you will be living forever.
5- Youth
- Chinese Title: 芳华
- Pinyin: fāng huá
- English Title: Youth
This is a modern Chinese historical movie about the lives of the army’s young new recruits during the 1970s. It was a great transformation period for China, and the youth of that generation is worth being recorded.
- Chinese quote: 一个始终不被人善待的人, 最能识得善良, 也最能珍视善良。
- Pinyin: Yī gè shǐ zhōng bú bèi rén shàn dài de rén, zuì néng shí dé shàn liáng, yě zuì néng zhēn shì shàn liáng.
- English Meaning: A person who was never treated kindly, is the most capable of recognizing kindness and as well as cherishing it.
6- Ip Man
- Chinese Title: 叶问
- Pinyin: yè wèn
- English Title: Ip Man
This one is a great hero Chinese movie about a famous Chinese martial artist called Ip Man, who is also the mentor of Bruce Lee. Throughout the movie, Chinese patriotism is passionately present.
- Chinese quote: 每个人走的路都是自己选的。
- Pinyin: Měi gè rén zǒu de lù dōu shì zì jǐ xuǎn de.
- English Meaning: Everyone is the decider for the journey of their life.
7- Rob-B-Hood
- Chinese Title: 宝贝计划
- Pinyin: bǎo bèi jì huà
- English Title: Rob-B-Hood
This movie is a Chinese action comedy film that stars the famous actor Jackie Chan. It tells the story of the journey of two men who, after stealing an infant, start to have a unique and humorous experience.
- Chinese quote: 人本来就是很复杂的，三岁定八十，你给他吃什么，教他什么都是不可以马虎的。
- Pinyin:
- Rén běn lái jiù shì hěn fù zá de, sān suì dìng bā shí, nǐ gěi tā chī shén me, jiāo tā shén me dōu shì bù kě yǐ mǎ hu de.
- English Meaning: Humans are complicated. How one is going to be at the age of eighty depends on the age of three. You need to pay attention to what you feed and teach him.
8- Go Away Mr.Tumor
- Chinese Title: 滚蛋吧，肿瘤君！
- Pinyin: gǔn dàn ba ，zhǒng liú jūn
- English Title: Go Away Mr.Tumor!
Whilst battling against a malignant tumor, a woman writes a story that inspires millions of people worldwide. This story makes you reflect upon life and death, and sheds some light on the saying “living in the moment.” A great movie to start for a beginner for learning Chinese.
- Chinese quote: 人不能因为害怕失去，就不去拥有。死，只是一个结果，怎么活着才是最重要的。
- Pinyin: Rén bù néng yīn wèi hài pà shī qù, jiù bú qù yōng yǒu. Sǐ, zhǐ shì yī gè jié guǒ, zěn me huó zhe cái shì zuì zhòng yào de.
- English Meaning: You cannot refuse to embrace things just because you are afraid of losing them. Death is just a result, and the ways of living is the most important thing.
9- My Memories of Old Beijing
- Chinese Title: 城南旧事
- Pinyin: chéng nán jiù shì
- English Title: My Memories of Old Beijing
This classic old movie is originally from an autobiographical novel by Lin Haiyin, which has become one of the best Chinese movies of all time. The story was told from the perspective of a little girl, Yingzi, who had a memorable childhood in Beijing.
- Chinese quote: 无论什么困难的事，只要硬着头皮去做，就闯过去了。
- Pinyin: Wú lùn shén me kùn nán de shì, zhǐ yào yìng zhe tóu pí qù zuò, jiù chuǎng guò qù le.
- English Meaning: No matter how difficult it is, as long as you just go ahead and do it, you will always overcome the difficulty.
10- So Young
- Chinese Title: 致我们终将逝去的青春
- Pinyin: zhì wǒ men zhōng jiāng shì qù de qīng chūn
- English Title: So Young
This story is about the bittersweet youth of a girl who discovers university life and learns many lessons from it. Later, she also faces the challenges of being in a society full of pressure. This movie is a mirror of reality. Many characters in the movie become the kind of people they used to dislike. We can gain much more than love from this film; we can also gain much wisdom about the journey of growth.
- Chinese quote: 再好的过去，回忆的次数多了味道也就淡了。
- Pinyin: Zài hǎo de guò qù, huí yì de cì shù duō le wèi dào yě jiù dàn le.
- English Meaning: No matter how wonderful the memories were, if you recollect and reminisce too many times, the good in it will eventually go away.
11- Once Upon a Time
- Chinese Title: 三生三世十里桃花
- Pinyin: sān shēng sān shì shí lǐ táo huā
- English Title: Once Upon a Time
This movie, released in 2017, has another beautiful name: Eternal Love. It’s a bittersweet love tragedy featuring Bai Qian, a goddess and monarch from Heavenly Realms, who is sent to the mortal world to undergo a trial to become a High Goddess. She meets Ye Hua there and falls in love with him. This fairy tale will show you the regrets and struggles that come with love and will also introduce a glimpse of Chinese culture regarding the Heavenly Realms.
- Chinese quote: 我明白得太迟，而你终究不会在原地等我了。
- Pinyin: Wǒ míng bái dé tài chí, ér nǐ zhōng jiū bú huì zài yuán dì děng wǒ le.
- English Meaning: It was too late when I realized everything, and now you are not there waiting for me anymore.
12- The Mermaid
- Chinese Title: 美人鱼
- Pinyin: měi rén yú
- English Title: The Mermaid
This film tells the romantic story of the rich man Xuan Liu and the mermaid Shanshan. Xuan Liu’s real estate project threatens Shanshan’s families who live under the sea, and thus Shanshan as a spy was meant to assassinate him in order to save them. Surprisingly, they fall in love. This beautiful fairy tale is starred by the famous actor Stephen Chow and was released in 2016.
Chinese quote: “假如你的生命只剩下一分钟的话你会做些什么？” “看着你。”
Pinyin: “Jiǎ rú nǐ de shēng mìng zhǐ shèng xià yī fēn zhōng de huà nǐ huì zuò xiē shén me？” “Kàn zhe nǐ.”
English Meaning: “What would you do if there is only one minute left in your life?” “Looking at you.”
2. Websites and Places for Watching Good Chinese Movies
Netflix:
There’s a variety of classic Chinese movies on Netflix. Although they might not be the newest ones, many of them are still very entertaining and are a great fit for learning Chinese culture and language. You can find one of the classics we just mentioned here: Ip Man!
YouTube Chinese movie:
YouTube usually has the newest Chinese movies and shows, and most of the movies we mentioned in this article can be found there! A great thing about newly made Chinese movies is that they’re often made with both Chinese and English subtitles. Just research the movie title on YouTube and enjoy!
Chinese Movie Theaters in China:
If you plan to visit China, don’t forget to take a glance at some of the best Chinese movie theaters: Wanda International Cinemas and China Film Stellar Theater Chain. Hope you have a fantastic experience there!
3. How Can Watching Chinese Movies Become a Great Tool for Learning the Language?
By watching movies, you can practice both your listening and speaking skills in the language. As you look at the subtitles, your vocabulary knowledge will boost dramatically as well! They’re not as dull as most language textbooks. Instead, they teach you the most close-to-life Chinese!
ChineseClass101.com will definitely help you learn Chinese more efficiently, providing you with a great source of information on the Chinese language. You can also research some new vocabularies and questions you may have from watching the movies! Soon you’ll be able to watch Chinese movies with absolute confidence in understanding them!
Start with a bonus, and download the Must-Know Beginner Vocabulary PDF for FREE! (Logged-In Member Only)
