animal
HSK level
动物 is written with 14 strokes (动: 6, 物: 8). The animation replays automatically.
动物 (dòngwù) means 'animal' — the general biological category that includes mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and insects.
The two characters literally read 'moving thing,' parallel to the etymology of English 'animal' (from Latin anima, 'breath / soul / that which moves'). Use 动物 as the cover word in everyday speech, school biology, signs, and writing. Common compounds: 动物园 (dòngwùyuán, zoo), 小动物 (xiǎo dòngwù, small animal / pet-like creature), 野生动物 (yěshēng dòngwù, wildlife), 宠物 (chǒngwù, pet — note this uses 物 but not 动).
The opposite category is 植物 (zhíwù, plants). Humans are technically 动物 in biology but socially are 人 (rén) — 动物 normally implies non-human creatures. The measure word 只 covers most individual animals; 头 is used for large mammals like cows and elephants, 条 for long animals like fish and snakes.
Character by character
Memory hook: 动 (move) + 物 (thing) = a moving thing = animal. Plants don't move much, so they're 植物 ('planted thing').
我很喜欢小动物。
Wǒ hěn xǐhuan xiǎo dòngwù.
I really like little animals.
spoken
周末我们去动物园看动物吧。
Zhōumò wǒmen qù dòngwùyuán kàn dòngwù ba.
Let's go to the zoo to see the animals this weekend.
spoken
我们应该保护野生动物。
Wǒmen yīnggāi bǎohù yěshēng dòngwù.
We should protect wild animals.
neutral
这本书介绍了很多种动物。
Zhè běn shū jièshào le hěn duō zhǒng dòngwù.
This book introduces many kinds of animals.
neutral
孩子最喜欢的动物是猫。
Háizi zuì xǐhuan de dòngwù shì māo.
The child's favorite animal is the cat.
neutral
生物 means 'living thing / organism' and includes plants, bacteria, and animals. 动物 is the narrower category of animals only. School subjects: 生物 = biology; 动物 = the animals themselves.
宠物 is specifically a PET — an animal kept for companionship at home. 动物 is the general category. A 宠物 (your dog) is always a 动物, but a tiger in the zoo is a 动物, not a 宠物.
植物 is PLANTS — the opposite category. They share 物 (thing) but 动 (move) and 植 (planted) are opposites. Common pair on biology signs: 动物 / 植物.
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