Animals in Chinese: 100 Animal Names with Pinyin & Audio
Quick answer: Animal in Chinese is 动物 (dòngwù, “moving thing”).
The two you'll use most are 猫 (māo, cat) and 狗 (gǒu, dog). Below are
100 animals with characters, pinyin, English, and a 🔊 button to hear each one — grouped
into pets & farm, wild mammals, birds, sea creatures, and insects.
Tap to listen.
Chinese counts nouns with a measure word between the
number and the noun. For animals the default is 只 (zhī), but a few take their own:
Measure word
Used for
Example
Meaning
只 (zhī)
Most animals — birds, cats, small & medium animals
一只猫 / 三只鸟
one cat / three birds
匹 (pǐ)
Horses
一匹马
one horse
头 (tóu)
Large livestock — cattle, pigs
一头牛 / 两头猪
one ox / two pigs
条 (tiáo)
Long-bodied animals — fish, snakes, dogs
一条鱼 / 一条狗
one fish / one dog
Study tip: notice the recurring parts — 鼠 (shǔ) appears in 松鼠 (squirrel), 仓鼠
(hamster), and 袋鼠 (kangaroo, “pouch-rat”); 海 (hǎi, sea) starts 海豚, 海龟, 海星, 海豹, 海马;
and 鱼 (yú, fish) ends 鲨鱼, 鲸鱼, 章鱼, 鳄鱼. Learning these building blocks lets you guess new animals.
