This set of magnets is useful for anyone first learning to read Chinese, including adults. It includes just over 140 magnets, with a few key words ("I", "to be", "you", etc.) duplicated a few times. Several key Chinese particles and category words ("le", "de", "ge", etc.) are included, so you can compose actual grammatical Chinese sentences. The characters are aesthetically pleasing. This is a quality product with thought behind it.
My set included an envelope with two corrected tiles (the originals had incorrect pinyin).
I agree with the other reviewers that it would be much better to have the pinyin (Roman alphabet Chinese) on the reverse with the English: not only does it make the tiles less useful for character memorization, but also the refrigerator calligraphy you make with the tiles isn't as pretty.
A little bit of Chinese knowledge is helpful for enjoying these tiles, but they're entirely suitable for anyone who has had their first few lessons of Chinese.
I had initially gone looking for this for myself, but ended up buying it for my nieces first. They love it. They watch enough Ni Hao Kai-Lan to appreciate Chinese, plus they know my interest. They are barely school-age, but these magnets are great because they're relatively simple in vocabulary, yet enough to stoke their curiosity.
I purchased my own set, as well. I wasn't thrilled about having the Pinyin (pronunciation guide) printed above the characters, but the magnets are soft enough that you can cut them off with scissors fairly easily. (Though I know Chinese well, I find that I stop reading the character and start reading the Pinyin words).
My only regret is that they don't have expansion sets. Overall, this is a great product.
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My son learned his letter sounds with letters on the refrigerator. My son learned to put together letters to make words with the letters on the refrigerator. And now, for the past 15 months, my son has been in Chinese Immersion school...it only makes since that has another reinforcement activity on the refrigerator!
I don't know a thing about Chinese, but I do know that my son is doing an awesome job reviewing the Chinese characters on the refrigerator like he did when he was a toddler. He also loves to leave messages for me and tries to get me to learn to read it as well.
Perhaps it was just good timing, but I am thrilled to have the pinyin on the same side as the character. The past 14 months of his instruction focused on the character. His class just began working on pinyin this month! I am very happy that he is able to put the character together with the pinyin!
I am also thrilled with the price! Most Chinese reinforcement content that I have come across is pretty spendy....but these are comparable to the amount that I was spending on the English letters/words gadgets that also went on the refrigerator!
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Though this kit is classified as a toy, it may not work for very young (under 10 or 12) children because the magnetic squares are small. I use mine on the refrigerator door, but you can also use them on the metal box lid or any other magnetic surface. For kids, a metal easel would be a really good accessory. The tiles are the same material as magnetic business cards -maybe not quite as sturdy because of their smaller size. They are black on white and large enough to read easily (though not from a distance), but they only have the Pinyin word and the character on the side that faces out. The corresponding English word is in white on dark grey on the side that one sticks to the metal surface. There are duplicate tiles for frequently used words. They are definitely meant for active learning, not just as visual reminders of past learning. For a children's toy, I wish they were a little larger and more colorful, perhaps a different color for each part of speech. The kit is best suited to older children and adults who are actively engaged in fairly formal study of the Chinese language or who already speak it. Then they could be used for word scrabble games to make sentences with the available tiles.
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My three year old actually like playing with these. I thought I'd save them for later but she likes them now.
I'm very pleased wit this toy. It is very well made, the boats do float indeed. The magnets are strong enough to hold the set together when riding on the floor. They've been thrown of the hard surface few times and that didn't harm them at all. Good buy.
