Here are Chinese words for animals to start with: 鸟 (niǎo, bird), 猫 (māo, cat), 牛 (niú, cow), 狗 (gǒu, dog). Below are 96 words (A1–C1) with their English translations, part of speech and a romanization to help you say them, across 12 themed lists.
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| bird | 鸟niǎo | noun | A1 |
| cat | 猫māo | noun | A1 |
| cow | 牛niú | noun | A1 |
| dog | 狗gǒu | noun | A1 |
| fish | 鱼yú | noun | A1 |
| horse | 马mǎ | noun | A1 |
| mouse | 老鼠lǎo shǔ | noun | A1 |
| squirrel | 松鼠sōng shǔ | noun | A1 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| animal | 动物dòng wù | noun | A1 |
| chicken | 鸡jī | noun | A1 |
| frog | 青蛙qīng wā | noun | A1 |
| pig | 猪zhū | noun | A1 |
| turkey | 火鸡huǒ jī | noun | A1 |
| creature | 生物shēng wù | noun | A2 |
| feather | 羽毛yǔ máo | noun | A2 |
| harvest | 收获shōu huò | noun | A2 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| endangered | 濒危bīn wēi | adj | A2 |
| conservation | 保护bǎo hù | noun | B1 |
| ecosystem | 生态系统shēng tài xì tǒng | noun | B1 |
| extinction | 灭绝miè jué | noun | B1 |
| habitat | 栖息地qī xī dì | noun | B1 |
| reef | 礁石jiāo shí | noun | B1 |
| firefly | 萤火虫yíng huǒ chóng | noun | B2 |
| gull | 海鸥hǎi ōu | noun | B2 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| snake | 蛇shé | noun | A1 |
| alligator | 短吻鳄duǎn wěn è | noun | B1 |
| chameleon | 变色龙biàn sè lóng | noun | B1 |
| cobra | 眼镜蛇yǎn jìng shé | noun | B1 |
| gecko | 壁虎bì hǔ | noun | B1 |
| iguana | 鬣蜥liè xī | noun | B1 |
| python | 蟒蛇mǎng shé | noun | B1 |
| toad | 蟾蜍chán chú | noun | B1 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| fungus | 真菌zhēn jūn | noun | B1 |
| parasite | 寄生虫jì shēng chóng | noun | B1 |
| algae | 藻类zǎo lèi | noun | B2 |
| microbe | 微生物wēi shēng wù | noun | B2 |
| mold | 霉菌méi jūn | noun | B2 |
| pathogen | 病原体bìng yuán tǐ | noun | B2 |
| toxin | 毒素dú sù | noun | B2 |
| yeast | 酵母jiào mǔ | noun | B2 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| chimpanzee | 黑猩猩hēi xīng xīng | noun | A2 |
| baboon | 狒狒fèi fèi | noun | B1 |
| badger | 獾huān | noun | B1 |
| gorilla | 大猩猩dà xīng xīng | noun | B1 |
| hedgehog | 刺猬cì wèi | noun | B1 |
| mole | 鼹鼠yǎn shǔ | noun | B1 |
| orangutan | 红毛猩猩hóng máo xīng xīng | noun | B1 |
| reindeer | 驯鹿xùn lù | noun | B1 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| oyster | 牡蛎mǔ lì | noun | B1 |
| shrimp | 虾xiā | noun | B1 |
| cuttlefish | 乌贼wū zéi | noun | B2 |
| mussel | 贻贝yí bèi | noun | B2 |
| prawn | 对虾duì xiā | noun | B2 |
| sea lion | 海狮hǎi shī | noun | B2 |
| sea urchin | 海胆hǎi dǎn | noun | B2 |
| walrus | 海象hǎi xiàng | noun | B2 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| robin | 知更鸟zhī gèng niǎo | noun | A2 |
| goose | 鹅é | noun | B1 |
| hawk | 鹰yīng | noun | B1 |
| ostrich | 鸵鸟tuó niǎo | noun | B1 |
| pelican | 鹈鹕tí hú | noun | B1 |
| raven | 渡鸦dù yā | noun | B1 |
| toucan | 巨嘴鸟jù zuǐ niǎo | noun | B1 |
| woodpecker | 啄木鸟zhuó mù niǎo | noun | B1 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| flea | 跳蚤tiào zǎo | noun | A2 |
| shelter | 动物收容所dòng wù shōu róng suǒ | noun | B1 |
| tick | 蜱虫pí chóng | noun | B1 |
| treats | 零食líng shí | noun | B1 |
| vet | 兽医shòu yī | noun | B1 |
| leash | 牵引绳qiān yǐn shéng | noun | B2 |
| neuter | 去势qù shì | verb | B2 |
| spay | 绝育jué yù | verb | B2 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| cockroach | 蟑螂zhāng láng | noun | B1 |
| aphid | 蚜虫yá chóng | noun | B2 |
| larva | 幼虫yòu chóng | noun | B2 |
| locust | 蝗虫huáng chóng | noun | B2 |
| mantis | 螳螂táng láng | noun | B2 |
| pollinator | 传粉者chuán fěn zhě | noun | B2 |
| pupa | 蛹yǒng | noun | B2 |
| termite | 白蚁bái yǐ | noun | B2 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| ray | 魟鱼hóng yú | noun | A2 |
| deep sea | 深海shēn hǎi | noun | B1 |
| skate | 鳐鱼yáo yú | noun | B1 |
| abyss | 深渊shēn yuān | noun | B2 |
| anglerfish | 琵琶鱼pí pá yú | noun | B2 |
| giant squid | 大王乌贼dà wáng wū zéi | noun | B2 |
| sea cucumber | 海参hǎi shēn | noun | B2 |
| hydrothermal vent | 热液喷口rè yè pēn kǒu | noun | C1 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| camouflage | 伪装wěi zhuāng | noun | B1 |
| hibernation | 冬眠dōng mián | noun | B1 |
| foraging | 觅食mì shí | noun | B2 |
| herding | 群居qún jū | noun | B2 |
| mimicry | 拟态nǐ tài | noun | B2 |
| predation | 捕食bǔ shí | noun | B2 |
| scavenging | 食腐shí fǔ | noun | B2 |
| territoriality | 领地性lǐng dì xìng | noun | B2 |
Emoji: Twemoji, CC-BY 4.0
Watch Your LanguageVocabulary widgets for iPhone & Apple Watch
These lists show a sample of the A1–C1 words for animals. The packs in Watch Your Language hold more and reach the advanced levels, along with every other topic.
The app shows them to you a few at a time, in a widget on your iPhone Lock Screen and on your Apple Watch face, and brings back the ones you keep forgetting.
You could start with words like 鸟 (niǎo, bird), 猫 (māo, cat), 牛 (niú, cow), 狗 (gǒu, dog). This page lists 96 Chinese words for animals (A1–C1), each with its English translation and part of speech.
Reading a list once is rarely enough. Watch Your Language shows Chinese words like these in a widget on your iPhone Lock Screen and on your Apple Watch face, and schedules repeats so the words you keep forgetting come back more often.
Yes. The lists on this page are free to read, with no sign-up. The app holds more words for each topic.