Animals in Chinese

In this Rocket Chinese lesson we'll be taking a trip to the zoo – 动物园 (dòngwùyuán) – to talk about all types of animals – 动物 (dòngwù!) You might have a dog or cat at home, but I bet you don't have an elephant. You'd have to take a zoo tour while in China to see some of these animals.

After this lesson you'll be able to talk about the animals in your life and also about the rare ones you don't see every day.

Let's get started with this free lesson on animals in Chinese!

Resources for further reading:

Pronouncing animals in Chinese

Practice Your Pronunciation With Rocket Record

Rocket Record lets you perfect your Chinese pronunciation. Just listen to the native speaker audio and then use the microphone icon to record yourself. Once you’re done, you’ll get a score out of 100 on your pronunciation and can listen to your own audio playback. (Use a headset mic for best results.) Problems? Click here!
gǒu
dog
māo
cat
niǎo
bird
horse
马驹
mǎjū
pony
奶牛
nǎiniú
dairy cattle
老鼠
lǎoshǔ
mouse
猴子
hóuzi
monkey
zhū
pig
鹿
deer
大象
dàxiàng
elephant
长颈鹿
chángjǐnglù
giraffe
山羊
shānyáng
goat
niú
ox
猩猩
xīngxing
gorilla
动物
dòngwù
animals
动物园
dòngwùyuán
zoo

How did you do? A lot of these animal words sound totally different from to the names in English. So you still need to practice, practice, practice to get the pronunciation right! Feel free to go through this lesson again and say the words out loud until you have animal names perfected. Here are a few recommended Chinese lessons to try next!

回头见!Huítóu jiàn!

Lin Ping: Rocket Chinese

Make It Stick With The Rocket Activities

Reinforce your learning with activities that test your recall, listening and speaking skills!

Let's get you talking in Chinese.

We love Chinese people and Chinese culture - from irresistible C-dramas and comforting wonton soup to the majestic Forbidden City and ancient martial art forms! And there's no better way to connect with them than by learning 中文 (Chinese).

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