找朋友 (Zhǎo Péngyǒu): The Chinese "Looking for Friends" Playground Song

Quick answer: 找朋友 (Zhǎo Péngyǒu, "Looking for Friends") is a short, extremely well-known Chinese circle-game song sung in nearly every Mandarin-speaking preschool — children walk around singing, then pair up, bow, shake hands, and say goodbye before finding a new partner. It's as close to a universal "first day of Chinese kindergarten" song as exists.

The lyrics

Chinese	Pinyin	English
找呀找呀找朋友	Zhǎo ya zhǎo ya zhǎo péngyǒu	Looking, looking for a friend,
找到一个好朋友	Zhǎo dào yí gè hǎo péngyǒu	Found a good friend,
敬个礼	Jìng gè lǐ	Give a bow,
握握手	Wò wo shǒu	Shake hands,
你是我的好朋友	Nǐ shì wǒ de hǎo péngyǒu	You are my good friend,
再见	Zàijiàn	Goodbye!

Where it comes from

找朋友 is a traditional Chinese children's song (传统儿歌) without a single credited composer — it's been part of the standard preschool and kindergarten repertoire across the Mandarin-speaking world for generations, functioning less as a song to listen to and more as the soundtrack for a specific social game. Children typically walk in a circle or around a room while singing, and at "找到一个好朋友" (zhǎo dào yí gè hǎo péngyǒu, "found a good friend"), they pair up with whoever's nearest, exchange a small bow and handshake, then split up on "再见" (zàijiàn, "goodbye") to find someone new when the song repeats.

It's a genuinely social song by design — the point isn't just the melody, it's giving children a low-stakes, repeatable script for approaching and greeting a peer, which is likely part of why it's stayed so ubiquitous in early-childhood settings.

How to sing it with your baby

• Newborn – 6 months: Sing it while gently taking baby's hands in yours for the "握握手" (wò wo shǒu, "shake hands") line — a first, very literal introduction to the gesture, long before it means anything social.
• 6–18 months: Do the actions with your baby directly — a little nod for "敬个礼" (jìng gè lǐ, "bow"), a handshake or high-five for "握握手." Babies at this stage enjoy the predictability of the same gesture landing on the same word every time.
• 18 months+: Play it as a real game with a sibling, playdate, or even a stuffed animal lineup — walk around together, "find" a partner when the song gets there, and do the bow-and-handshake before saying "再见" and moving to the next friend.

Continue building your song list

This is one of the songs in the collection of Chinese lullabies and nursery rhymes on Twiglet Tales — browse the full set for more songs at every stage, or see the Growth Roadmap for a staged plan beyond songs alone.