猫
cat
māo
What does 猫 mean?
猫 (māo) is the Chinese word for cat — the household pet. The character pairs the 犭 (dog/animal) radical with 苗 (miáo) as the phonetic, and the word is also onomatopoeic, echoing a cat's 'meow.' Two practical notes: first, the correct measure word is 只 (zhī), not the generic 个 — 一只猫 'one cat,' not 一个猫.
Even at HSK 1, using 只 with animals marks you as careful; second, in Chinese internet culture, cats are wildly popular and have spawned terms like 撸猫 (lū māo, 'pet a cat'), 云吸猫 (yún xī māo, 'cloud-petting cats' — watching cat videos when you can't own one), and 猫奴 (māo nú, 'cat slave,' a self-deprecating term cat owners use). 熊猫
Character breakdown
cat (犭 animal radical + 苗 phonetic 'sprout/seedling')
Memory hook: māo sounds like 'meow' — Mandarin's word for cat is basically the sound the cat makes.
Measure word for 猫
Example sentences
我有一只猫。
Wǒ yǒu yī zhī māo.
I have a cat.
neutral
这只猫很小。
Zhè zhī māo hěn xiǎo.
This cat is very small.
neutral
你喜欢猫还是狗？
Nǐ xǐhuān māo háishì gǒu?
Do you prefer cats or dogs?
spoken
小猫在睡觉。
Xiǎo māo zài shuìjiào.
The kitten is sleeping.
neutral
Common phrases with 猫
Synonyms
猫咪 is the affectionate, baby-talk version — what owners say to their pets or in cute social media captions. 猫 is the neutral term. Like 'kitty' vs 'cat' in English.
Don't confuse 猫 with
苗 ('sprout / seedling') is the phonetic component inside 猫 — same right side, no 犭 animal radical. 苗 is in 苗条 'slender' or surnames; 猫 is the animal.
毛 ('hair / fur / 1/10 yuan') is a separate character that sounds close (máo vs māo, second vs first tone). Cats have 毛 (fur), but 毛 itself isn't 'cat.'
FAQ
Acquire by listening
Hear 猫 in real Chinese, not in a flashcard.
Fluentide picks the next news episode at your level, so this word shows up again and again in real sentences. Pinyin, translation, and the episode where you heard it — every time. Free to start, no card.