Learn the Names of 172 Animals in Chinese 🙉

Animal in Chinese is 动物 (dòngwù).

This guide lists 172 animal names in Mandarin Chinese with characters, pinyin, and literal translations, organised into 13 categories: zodiac animals, sea creatures, land mammals, birds, marsupials, reptiles, amphibians, insects, pets, farm animals, plus measure words, radicals, idioms, and example sentences.

Do you know how to say your favourite animals in Chinese? 🐼🐯🐬

If not, you’re in the right place!

We’ve created the ultimate Chinese animal names encyclopedia 动物 (dòngwù) with over 170 examples. Here you’ll find the Chinese characters, pinyin pronunciation, and even the funny literal translations behind each name.

You might have heard the saying: “Don’t translate Chinese word by word.” Well… sometimes that’s true, but when it comes to animals, the results are more fun than confusing.

For example, in Chinese a kangaroo is called a “pouch mouse” (袋鼠 dài shǔ), surprisingly logical once you think about it!

BONUS || If you enjoy this kind of thing, you’ll love seeing how animal Pokémon names translated into Chinese, some of them are genuinely inspired.

Get ready to explore everything from the 12 zodiac animals to sea creatures, birds, insects, and more, and discover why learning animal names in Chinese can be both practical and entertaining.

TIP💡 A quick note on tones before you start: Chinese has four tones plus a neutral tone, and getting them right matters. 马 (mǎ, 3rd tone) means horse, but 妈 (mā, 1st tone) means mum, very different!

As you work through the tables below, say each pinyin out loud rather than just reading it. If you want extra pronunciation practice, our pronunciation trainer is a free tool built exactly for this.

Top 20 Animals in Chinese // Quick-Reference Table

Before you dive into the full lists below, here are the 20 most common animals you will hear in everyday Mandarin. Bookmark this and come back to it often!

Quick Answers

Chinese Zodiac Animals

Sea Animals in Chinese

Land Mammals in Chinese

Birds in Chinese

Marsupials in Chinese

Reptiles and Amphibians in Chinese

Insects in Chinese

Pets and Domestic Animals in Chinese

Farm Animals in Chinese

Measure Words for Animals in Chinese

Animal Radicals in Chinese // A Learner’s Shortcut

Chinese Animal Idioms // 成语 with Animals

Animals in Chinese // Example Sentences

BONUS || Animal Quiz

Chinese Animals || Quick Answers

Now just a heads up, we’ve got a LOT of animals in Chinese listed below!

There are some people search for more than others so here are some of the most popular!

Chinese Zodiac Animals

The Chinese Zodiac (十二生肖 shí’èr shēngxiào) is one of the most famous parts of Chinese culture.

It’s made up of zodiac animals in Chinese, 12 in total, each representing a year in a repeating cycle.

Below you’ll find the zodiac animals in Chinese, with their characters, pinyin, literal meanings, and a key personality trait, a perfect place to start learning animal names in Chinese.

So which sign is the luckiest? The Dragon (龙 lóng) is widely considered the luckiest zodiac sign in Chinese culture.

It’s the only mythical creature in the cycle, and years of the Dragon typically see a spike in birth rates across cities like Beijing and Shanghai as families hope to raise a Dragon child.

TOP TIP💡 You’ll notice the zodiac uses 羊 (yáng), often translated as ‘Goat’ or ‘Ram’.

In everyday Mandarin, 羊 covers both sheep and goat. Context (or the full words 绵羊 mián yáng for sheep and 山羊 shān yáng for goat) is how native speakers clarify. Don’t let it trip you up!

Now we’ve discovered our first twelve animals in Chinese, it’s time to find out which animal you represent.

To do this is easy.

What year were you born? Match it up below with the animal and that’s your Chinese zodiac.

Sea Animals in Chinese

When learning sea animals in Chinese, it helps to know that the word 鱼 (yú) means fish.

You’ll notice it appears at the end of many names, like 鲨鱼 (shā yú) – shark and 鲸鱼 (jīng yú) – whale.

Other creatures get wonderfully descriptive names too. For example, a dolphin is a “sea pig” 海豚 (hǎi tún) and a jellyfish is a “water mother” 水母 (shuǐ mǔ).

Check out the table below for some of the most common sea animals in Chinese.

Land Mammals in Chinese

Mammals are some of the most commonly mentioned animals in everyday Chinese, from pets to wild animals.

Many of their names give a clue to their meaning through vivid literal translations.

Below you’ll find a table of land mammals in Chinese, including the characters, pinyin, English word, and literal meaning to make learning them straightforward and memorable.

94 Countries in Chinese 🌏 What Are Their Literal Translations?

Discover how to say 94 country names in Chinese and what the literal translations are. There are some funny ones!

Birds in Chinese

In Chinese, the word for bird is 鸟 (niǎo), and you’ll notice it appears in many bird names.

Here’s a full list of common birds in Chinese with their characters, pinyin, English meaning, and literal translation to help you remember them more easily.

Marsupials in Chinese

Ok ok… Marsupials are a type of mammal too, but because they have such great names in Chinese we thought they deserved their own separate section.

Another appropriate name could be ‘Pouch Animals in Chinese‘.

Reptiles and Amphibians in Chinese

Insects in Chinese

Pets and Domestic Animals in Chinese

Whether you’re talking about your own pet or asking about someone else’s (a great conversation starter in China!), this vocabulary is genuinely useful from day one.

A quick example sentence to get you started:
— 你有宠物吗？(Nǐ yǒu chǒng wù ma?) = Do you have a pet?
— 我有一只猫。(Wǒ yǒu yī zhī māo.) = I have a cat.

Farm Animals in Chinese

Farm animals come up constantly in beginner textbooks, graded readers, and HSK vocabulary lists, so knowing them early pays off.

Measure Words for Animals in Chinese

Once you know how to name an animal in Chinese, the next step is counting them correctly. Chinese uses measure words (量词 liàngcí) between a number and a noun. Get these right and your Mandarin sounds noticeably more natural.

Here are the four measure words you will use most often with animals:

TIP💡 When in doubt, 只 (zhī) is your safe default for most animals. Native speakers use it broadly, so you will rarely go wrong.

Want to practise these in a real class? Visit our Chinese Grammar Bank for more on measure words and other core grammar patterns.

Animal Radicals in Chinese // A Learner’s Shortcut

Here’s something that will speed up your vocabulary learning: many Chinese animal characters share a radical, a visual building block that hints at the category of the word.

Spot the radical, and you can often guess that an unknown character is an animal even before you look it up.

犭(quǎn), the dog radical
Appears in characters related to dogs and dog-like mammals.

• 狗 (gǒu) = dog
• 狼 (láng) = wolf
• 狐 (hú) = fox
• 猫 (māo) = cat

鸟 (niǎo), the bird radical
Appears in characters for birds.

• 鸡 (jī) = chicken
• 鸭 (yā) = duck
• 鹰 (yīng) = eagle
• 鹦鹉 (yīng wǔ) = parrot

虫 (chóng), the insect/creature radical
Despite meaning ‘insect’, this radical appears in a wide range of creature characters.

• 蛇 (shé) = snake
• 蝴蝶 (hú dié) = butterfly
• 蚊子 (wén zi) = mosquito
• 虾 (xiā) = shrimp

TIP💡 Once you learn these three radicals, you will start recognising patterns across dozens of animal characters you have never studied before.

That’s the power of learning characters systematically rather than one at a time.

Chinese Animal Idioms // 成语 with Animals

Chinese is full of four-character idioms called 成语 (chéngyǔ).

A huge number of them feature animals, and learning even a handful will impress native speakers enormously.

Here are five worth knowing:

马到成功 (mǎ dào chéng gōng)
Literal meaning: The horse arrives and success follows.
Usage: Said to wish someone good luck before a task or exam.
Example: 明天考试，马到成功！(Míng tiān kǎo shì, mǎ dào chéng gōng!) = Good luck on your exam tomorrow!

虎头蛇尾 (hǔ tóu shé wěi)
Literal meaning: Tiger’s head, snake’s tail.
Usage: Describes something that starts strong but fizzles out.
Example: 他的计划虎头蛇尾。(Tā de jì huà hǔ tóu shé wěi.) = His plan started well but came to nothing.

对牛弹琴 (duì niú tán qín)
Literal meaning: Playing the lute to a cow.
Usage: Wasting effort on someone who cannot appreciate it.
Example: 跟他解释没用，对牛弹琴。(Gēn tā jiě shì méi yòng, duì niú tán qín.) = Explaining to him is pointless.

狐假虎威 (hú jiǎ hǔ wēi)
Literal meaning: The fox borrows the tiger’s power.
Usage: Describes someone who bullies others by relying on a powerful backer.

鸡飞狗跳 (jī fēi gǒu tiào)
Literal meaning: Chickens fly, dogs jump.
Usage: Describes complete chaos or a scene of great commotion.
Example: 家里鸡飞狗跳。(Jiā lǐ jī fēi gǒu tiào.) = The house is in total chaos.

TIP💡 Try our Chinese Proverb of the Day to pick up a new piece of Chinese wisdom every single day.

Animals in Chinese // Example Sentences

Vocabulary lists are a great starting point, but hearing animals used in real sentences is where the language clicks.

Here are ten natural examples, read them, say them out loud, and notice how the measure words and grammar patterns work.

1. 我喜欢猫。(Wǒ xǐ huān māo.) = I like cats.
2. 那只狗很可爱。(Nà zhī gǒu hěn kě’ài.) = That dog is very cute.
3. 中国的大熊猫很有名。(Zhōngguó de dà xióng māo hěn yǒu míng.) = China’s giant pandas are very famous.
4. 我在动物园看到了一头大象。(Wǒ zài dòng wù yuán kàn dào le yī tóu dà xiàng.) = I saw an elephant at the zoo.
5. 他属虎。(Tā shǔ hǔ.) = He was born in the Year of the Tiger. (lit. ‘He belongs to the tiger.’)
6. 水里有很多鱼。(Shuǐ lǐ yǒu hěn duō yú.) = There are many fish in the water.
7. 花园里有一只蝴蝶。(Huā yuán lǐ yǒu yī zhī hú dié.) = There is a butterfly in the garden.
8. 农场里有很多牛和羊。(Nóng chǎng lǐ yǒu hěn duō niú hé yáng.) = There are many cows and sheep on the farm.
9. 你属什么？(Nǐ shǔ shén me?) = What is your Chinese zodiac sign? (lit. ‘What do you belong to?’)
10. 那条蛇爬得很快。(Nà tiáo shé pá de hěn kuài.) = That snake moves very fast.

There you have it, learning Chinese really is that logical! Want to keep learning Mandarin? Why not start taking Chinese lessons online with us from the comfort of your own home?

Chinese Zodiac Animals Quiz

So now you’ve had time to learn the Zodiac Animals in Chinese, want to put your knowledge to the test?

Take our quiz and see how many of the 12 names you’ve remembered!

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