动物
animal
HSK level
- Pinyin
- dòngwù
- Part of speech
- noun
- Level
- HSK 3
- Strokes
- 14
- Register
- neutral
- Measure word
- 只 / 种
- In episodes
- 1
Stroke order for 动物
动物 is written with 14 strokes (动: 6, 物: 8). The animation replays automatically.
What does 动物 mean?
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').
Hear 动物 in real episodes
动物 appears in 1 Fluentide podcast episode at natural native speed. Each sentence plays at the easiest difficulty it exists in — switch it to hear the same moment at your level, with full pinyin and English throughout.
猫和狗，都是动物。
Cats and dogs are both animals.
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Example sentences
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
Common phrases with 动物
Synonyms
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.
Don't confuse 动物 with
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.
Frequently asked questions
Related words from the same episodes
Acquire it by listening
Meet 动物 again — in real Chinese, at your level.
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