Building a Mandarin chat buddy for kids — looking for families to join a free trial

[declan]

Hi parents,

I’m a new dad who recently moved to Singapore. As I think about raising my child here, I’ve become interested in how children in English-speaking families get comfortable speaking Mandarin.

I’ve been building Xiaozhu (小竹), an AI Mandarin chat buddy for children aged 5–9.
The idea is simple: give children a friendly partner to talk to, where it’s okay to start in English or mix both languages. Xiaozhu responds in simple Mandarin and encourages them to join in, at their own pace.

We’re currently looking for a few families to join a free early trial. It’s still early, and I’d love honest feedback on whether children enjoy the conversations and what we could improve.

You can find out more and apply here:
https://xiao-zhu.xyz/

You’ll need to sign in and submit a trial application. Once approved, we’ll guide you through getting started.

Feel free to reply here or PM me with any questions.

Thanks for reading!

[declan]

This post is deleted!

[thebottomsupblog]

@declan Thanks for providing more info! I’ve listed this on our sidebar.

[declan]

Thanks so much for adding Xiaozhu to the sidebar, @thebottomsupblog! Really appreciate your support and the chance to share it with the community.

[declan]

Hi parents, I thought I’d add a quick walkthrough of Xiaozhu (小竹), so you can see what the experience looks like for children and parents.

A panda to talk to, with room for imagination

Children speak to Xiaozhu in the app — about their day, a curious question, or a story they want to make up together. They can start in English or mix English and Mandarin. Xiaozhu responds in simple Mandarin and keeps the conversation going around their interests.

Follow the conversation from the parent view

Parents have a separate web dashboard. You can read the conversation and its English translation, see what sparked your child’s interest, and find something to chat about together afterwards.

Add words you’d like your child to explore

You can add words from everyday life or things your child is learning. Xiaozhu can bring them into conversations and stories, rather than just asking children to memorise a list.

See the bigger picture

The parent overview brings together conversation topics, words practised and time spent chatting. It can also flag potentially concerning moments for you to review and follow up on with your child.

These screenshots use illustrative demo data, not real children’s conversations.

How to try it

Sign in at https://xiao-zhu.xyz/ and submit a free trial application. Once approved, you can create your child’s profile and pair your phone with a code. The iOS beta is available through TestFlight, and Android through an APK.

I’m building this and would love to work with a few families to improve it. I’d be especially interested in what your child wants to talk about, where the conversation feels natural, and where it needs work. Feel free to ask questions here or PM me!

Thanks @thebottomsupblog for inviting me to share more about Xiaozhu here!