Interesting Animal Names in Chinese

In different languages, Animal names can reveal a lot about what people think about different animals. Today we will talk about some animal names in Chinese that are very interesting! 

Before we look at these names, I would like to ask you to answer a question: Is turkey chicken? 

vs

Well, if you are an English speaker, you would probably say: Of course no! They are different animals.

Try ask a Chinese the same question in Chinese: Huǒjī shì  jī ma？And most likely they would answer yes.

For many Chinese people, turkey is one kind of chicken, and the reason is because of their names!

Turkey in Chinese is Huǒjī, and chicken in Chinese is jī, so Huǒjī literally means fire chicken in Chinese, and that’s why people think these two animals are in the same category.

There are some animal names in Chinese that are very vivid, let’s check it out!

1

熊xióng(bear)  猫māo(cat)

xióngmāo

熊猫

Interestingly, in ancient China, people used to call panda 食铁兽shí tiě shòu (shí=to eat, tiě=iron, shòu=beast). Pandas were predator before, and they sometimes eat people’s farming tools and kitchen utensils. And that’s why pandas got this terrifying name.

2

长cháng(long)  颈jǐng(neck)  鹿lù(deer)

chángjǐnglù

长颈鹿

3

袋dài(pocket)   鼠 shǔ(mouse)

dài shǔ

袋鼠

4

变biàn(change)  色sè(colour)  龙lóng(dragon)

biàn sè lóng

变色龙

5

毛máo(hair)  毛máo(hair)   虫chóng(bug) 

máo máo chóng

毛毛虫

6

龙lóng(dragon)    虾xiā(shrimp) 

lóng xiā

龙虾

7

树shù(tree)  懒lǎn(lazy)

shù lǎn

树懒

It’s very interesting how names can affect their image in people’s mind, do you know any interesting names in Chinese or other languages? Let us know in the comments below. 

Supervisor: Crystal Huang

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