Looking for something to watch in Mandarin? Netflix can be a useful source of listening practice, but your homepage may show only a small slice of what’s available. Finding a Chinese-language movie or your next favorite show often means looking beyond the usual recommendations.
This guide shows you how to browse by language, jump to Netflix’s Mandarin collection, check audio and subtitle options, and use category codes to find more movies and shows to try.
Browse Netflix by Language
Want more Mandarin options in your watchlist? Netflix's Browse by Languages feature makes it easier to find them. You can search by language and see what’s available beyond your homepage recommendations.
Open Browse by Languages, then choose original language, dubbing or subtitles. For Mandarin listening practice, select Mandarin.
This can reveal titles you might otherwise miss. Some movies and shows originally made in other languages offer Mandarin dubbing, giving you more choices than you might expect.
Go Directly to Mandarin Movies & TV
Netflix has a dedicated Mandarin Movies & TV collection. This is a useful starting point because it brings Mandarin-language movies and television programs together across several genres.
There’s also a broader Chinese Language Movies & TV collection, which gives you another way to find Chinese-language content.
Check the Audio & Subtitle Options
Found something you’d like to watch? Open its Audio & Subtitles menu to see how you can make it part of your Mandarin practice.
Depending on what’s available for the title, you can pair Mandarin audio with Simplified or Traditional Chinese subtitles, follow along in English, or switch subtitles off to focus on listening.
In the mood for a movie in another language? If Chinese subtitles are available, you can still fit in some reading practice while you watch.
Use Netflix Genre and Category Codes
Netflix organizes its catalog using thousands of category IDs, commonly called genre codes or secret codes. Many of these categories are more specific than the sections normally displayed on the Netflix homepage. The basic format is netflix.com/browse/genre/GENRECODE. Replace GENRECODE with the number for the category you want. For example, Mandarin Movies & TV uses 107556.
These codes do not unlock content that is unavailable in your country. They simply provide another way to browse titles already available through your Netflix account.
Want More Netflix Category Codes?
The independent Netflix news site What's on Netflix maintains a searchable directory containing thousands of Netflix category codes, ranging from broad genres to very narrow collections. You can search the Netflix category code directory to find more.
Using Category Codes on a Phone or Tablet
Browsing on your phone or tablet? A web browser is usually the easiest way to use Netflix category codes. If a link doesn’t open the collection you expected, try copying and pasting the full address into your browser’s address bar.
What happens next can depend on your device, browser and Netflix app settings. You may see the collection in your browser or be prompted to continue in the Netflix app.
Use Language Reactor for More Study Tools
Want to follow the Mandarin dialogue a little more closely? If you watch Netflix in Google Chrome on a desktop or laptop, Language Reactor gives you tools to pause, look things up and listen again. Dual-language subtitles let you compare Chinese and English, while a pop-up dictionary helps with unfamiliar words. You can also move through the dialogue one subtitle at a time and replay individual lines, giving yourself time to catch what you missed.
A Simple Way to Practice Mandarin with Netflix
You do not need to understand every word of a movie or episode for it to be useful listening practice. Instead of trying to study an entire program intensively, work with a short section.
- Watch a short scene normally and focus on understanding the general meaning.
- Replay it without subtitles and concentrate on the Mandarin audio. Notice any words or phrases you can pick out.
- Turn on Chinese subtitles and replay the scene to check what you heard and notice anything you missed.
- Look up only unfamiliar words or phrases that seem important, useful or appear repeatedly.
- Turn the subtitles off and replay the scene once more. Listen for the words and phrases you just reviewed, and repeat one or two useful lines aloud.
Even a few minutes of focused listening can help train your ear for natural Mandarin while reinforcing pronunciation, vocabulary and common sentence patterns.
